On Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 a block party was held on the Victoria Street bridge over I-94 from 6-9pm. Artist performances and projects included Rondo Monologues by Points of Entry Players, Victoria Theater Arts Initiative Youth-led Open Mic, Afoutayi Haitian Dance and Music Company, SPARKit pop up trailer, and Streetcorner Letterpress. We served free food from Lee’s & Dee’s BBQ, Pizza Luce, Golden Thymes and St. Paul Pops. Friendly Streets presented engagement activities and a survey about the bridge, and demonstrated a temporary protected bike lane, party lighting on the bridge, and peace poles on each end. Rick Cardenas organized wheelchair tests of the sidewalks to raise awareness of accessibility issues on and around the bridge.
Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy the party, connect with neighbors and give feedback on the bridge! The online survey for Victoria is still open, please fill it out if you have not had a chance to do so at one of our Victoria events yet, and pass it along to other friends, family and neighbors in the Summit-University and Frogtown neighborhoods. Fill it out by October 4th to have your ideas included in our first round of results. See our Victoria project page for more background and information.
Thanks again to the volunteers and partner organizations who helped make this event a success. Project and event partners and collaborators to date include:
Aurora / St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, Summit-University Planning Council, Frogtown Neighborhood Association, the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation, Maxfield Elementary School, the Victoria Theater Arts Initiative, Community Stabilization Project, Brooks Funeral Home, Rondo Avenue Inc., Victoria Garden, and Frogtown Green. This project is ongoing and we welcome additional community partners, please contact us if you would like to get involved or have suggestions for other organizations that should be invited.
This project is supported by the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, the Knight Foundation Green Line Challenge and the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.