Friendly Streets has been collaborating with the Union Park District Council and Selby Snelling Area Business Association for the past year, culminating in a Bastille Day Block Party on July 12th, 2015 which included music, art activities, a flea market, scavenger hunt, a plethora of sales and activities presented by the many small businesses, and Friendly Streets visioning and engagement activities to spark ideas and conversation about how to continue improving the safety, accessibility, and unique aesthetic character of this historic intersection. With a large new development project under construction on the northeast corner and additional construction going on this summer with the improvements the city, MNDOT and Metro Transit have planned for the Snelling Avenue corridor, this was a chance to support local businesses during a difficult time and rally the community around looking ahead to the future of this corner of St. Paul in a way that preserves its historic legacy. Friendly Streets’ gallery of images post-it vote process and survey hit record numbers for participation, and a report on the results will be available later this summer. We also debuted our newest demonstration Parklet, designed and built by Glow Ox Design/Build LLC to bring up the question of where a parklet might work well in the Union Park neighborhood.
