While kids are preparing for back-to-school, Minneapolis has yet to experience a beloved Open Streets event thanks to a messy budgeting process last year. However, the previous organizer, Our Streets, is carrying on with another community event series. Imagine 6th Ave North will be in Harrison Park this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Billed as “more than just a block party,” the event aims to gain community input on neighborhood transportation issues.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is evaluating options for the future of Olson Memorial Highway in Near North Minneapolis. The project’s outcome will greatly impact those who live and work in this area. Our Streets has done extensive public history on how racial covenants affected the neighborhood and the subsequent displacement by Olson Memorial Highway. That history has informed its campaign to “Bring Back 6th,” advocating for safety improvements and a highway-to-boulevard conversion, an increasingly popular trend in transportation planning that addresses environmental and racial injustice.
In March, the campaign received a $1.6 million federal grant as part of the Reconnecting Communities Program, which aims to reconnect communities that were cut off due to past transportation and infrastructure decisions.
“Near North residents continue to indicate that community engagement around this project has been confusing and poorly done,” says José Antonio Zayas Cabán, executive director of Our Streets. “Neighbors don’t know about the project or know what options are available to them. This event allows us to inspire community imagination around how we get places and what the future of our neighborhoods can look like.”
The event includes musical performances from Northside artists including Traiveon, Casual Confusion, and Se’anna. Community members will have the opportunity to contribute to a community quilt with Million Artist Movement and leave a message on the “Imagine Dream Phone” and share their ideas for the future. Attendees will be offered free food and can shop at the pop-up market with The Dream Shop featuring more than 20 Northside artists and makers. Kids will be able to get their faces painted and play in a bouncy house.
“The Imagine event is an example of joy activism and a way to collectively co-create a better future with those most impacted by the harms of the highway,” says Ember Rasmussen, events manager for Our Streets. “The highway should never have been built through Near North. What do reparations look like to those who lost that opportunity for generational wealth and continue to endure the health harms of the highway?”
About Our Streets
Our Streets works to lead the nation in putting people first by transforming transportation and infrastructure in the Twin Cities, the metro region and the state of Minnesota. We do this by making our streets places where people can easily and comfortably walk, bike, roll, and use public transit.