Midtown Greenway growth

Originally uploaded by paytonc.

The Midtown Greenway is a sunken rail-to-trail-with-future-rail traversing the diverse (and dense, by Twin Cities standards) neighborhoods of South Minneapolis, from yuppie haven Uptown, through Midtown and past the Midtown Exchange, crossing the Hiawatha light-rail-with-trail, and eventually landing in Longfellow. The trail very nearly links two major park systems: the Chain o’ Lakes to the west and the Missisippi River on the east. Current proposals would put either LRT or a streetcar along the south half of the former freight ROW, as part of a LRT service to the near southwest suburbs.

There’s no view whatsoever — neither the babbling mountain brooks of Denver’s flood control ditches nor enchanting murals on the concrete retaining walls — and the plants have died. Still, the rhythm of all those bridges crossing overhead looks pretty neat at bicycle speeds.

As with all grade-separated trails, it’s not cheap: a good number of the bridges have been replaced, a new grade-separated crossing is underway at Hiawatha Avenue, and a CCTV/”blue light” security system had to be installed. Yet the trail is definitely encouraging new investment, like the lofts on the left.