NORTH MANKATO — For the last few years, North Mankato city staff and consultants have been studying what Belgrade Avenue should look like when it’s rebuilt in the near future.
Soon, residents will be able to take a look at renderings of what is proposed on the main business block of Belgrade.
City Engineer Dan Sarff told the City Council Monday night that the current plan would change the street to three lanes instead of the existing four and substantially widen sidewalks.
The heavily traveled corridor has been studied since 2017 with the goals of slowing traffic speed, increasing pedestrian safety and accessibility and replacing the decades-old sidewalks that are narrow and slope too much to be compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.
The renovation of the 200 block will likely happen in a couple of years, coinciding with the major Minnesota Department of Transportation project on the Highway 169 corridor through Mankato and North Mankato, which will take two years to complete and cost $70 million.
Sarff said changing the current two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane would calm and slow traffic.
The project will also include new decorative lighting featuring a shepherd hook and globe, with taller traditional lights at the intersections of Range Street and near Wall Street, which is next to the base of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Sarff said he’s been talking to MnDOT to make sure the lighting the city is considering will meet state standards, but thinks the lighting plan will be approved by the state.
Proposed bump outs at Range Street would include bricks and decorative concrete as well as space for trees and plantings. The rest of the Belgrade would include raised planter beds and hanging planter baskets.
Sarff said the area near the base of the Vets Bridge would include a center median, which could include bases for sculptures in the annual CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour.
He said the wider sidewalks would also allow for more sculptures that would be more visible as they wouldn’t have to be up against buildings as they are now.
The city now plans to create renderings and seek input from business owners and residents before making final design decisions.