Sanders says it’s a high priority as plans are being made for improvements along the 65 corridor. But as it stands now, crossing the highway without a car is not safe.
“It is almost impossible to cross, in fact when you see someone trying to cross it, there’s a knee jerk reaction, ‘what are you doing, this is a highway,’” Sander said.
Since 2015, there have been five pedestrian and bicycle fatalities along Highway 65 in Anoka County. In all, 98 pedestrians have been hit and 41 bike crashes reported according to county officials.
Sanders told the committee it’s not uncommon to see teenagers dressed in their restaurant work uniforms trying to cross the road to work.
“How would you feel trying to cross a trunk highway, even at an intersection, that has as many cars on it every day as [Interstate] Highway 35? It’s just not safe, it’s almost not possible,” said Sanders.
Sanders said pedestrian safety was a top priority in drafting design alternatives for highway improvements along 65. Officials were testifying with the hope that lawmakers would support legislation to fund improvement projects.
“These are issues that we’ve been dealing with for a long time on 65 and on the University corridor as well,” said Representative Erin Koegel, DFL from Spring Lake Park. Koegel serves as Vice-Chair of the Transportation Finance Committee, and says the timing is good for federal funding.
“That [federal] infrastructure bill has some priorities set around pedestrian safety and multi-modal transportation,” said Koegel. “It’s really kind of what our vision is for that Highway 65 corridor where we have multi-modal transportation, bikes, peds, how ever people want to get around, they should be able to.”
Sanders urged lawmakers to help fix problems along 65 for everyone.
“This is a major issue that’s top of mind for us,” Sanders said. “Not only should we fix it for vehicles, but even more so that pedestrians, residents and tourists can move safely about the City of Blaine.
Legislation has been introduced for Highway 65 funding to improve two intersections: Highway 65 at 99th Avenue and at 117th Avenue.
