Recently rebuilt segment of South Robert Street could receive additional safety improvements; residents invited to weigh in

Mars King, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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West St. Paul residents are invited to a public meeting next month to discuss safety and connectivity improvements for South Robert Street.

The retail-heavy stretch between Mendota Road and Annapolis Street has been under the microscope for close to a decade and received a $42.5 million reconstruction that wrapped up in 2017 with the goal of improving mobility and safety.

“Despite those improvements, the section of roadway has seen continued safety concerns for users,” according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Where South Robert Street intersects with east Wentworth Avenue and east Butler Avenue has drawn attention for its transit and walking issues, according to an online comment map that is open to the public.

Other concerns from West St. Paul residents date to the 2017 reconstruction, which added medians and reduced left-turn options to increase safety. With fewer left turn opportunities, motorists are making more U-turns at traffic lights.

More U-turns are an expected result of more medians, Derek Leuer, a traffic safety engineer for MnDOT, told the Pioneer Press after the 2017 reconstruction. For a road like South Robert, which has lots of access points to businesses, medians reduce “conflict points” by restricting left-hand turns, which are generally considered unsafe, Leuer said.

Before the reconstruction, MnDOT had deemed it a high-crash corridor due to the number of crashes and their severity. Between 2005 and 2014, the corridor’s 23 intersections were the site of 1,025 crashes.

Between 2018 and 2022, there were 462 crashes at intersections located along the corridor, according to MnDOT, and an additional 146 crashes at other locations along South Robert Street.

Additional improvements sought

The latest study of the corridor, conducted by MnDOT, runs from February 2024 to February 2025 “to identify possible improvements to safety and connectivity for people who walk, bike, use transit and drive,” per the release.

The study, which costs $175,000, will coordinate with Metro Transit to prepare the corridor for the upcoming G Line arterial Bus Rapid Transit service as it will include new on-street transit stations.

The G Line is planned to run from Little Canada through downtown St. Paul and to the Dakota County Northern Service Center in West St. Paul, primarily along Rice and Robert Streets.

Construction of the G Line project is planned for 2026-28, with a goal of completing all work on Robert Street within the G Line corridor by the end of 2028, according to the G Line project page.

South Robert Street information meeting

The public is invited to share their feedback at 6 p.m. June 4 at the Wentworth Library, located at 199 E. Wentworth Ave.

For those unable to attend the meeting, the online comment map will be open until June 9 at mndothwy3srobertststudy.com.

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