Victoria Bridge – Friendly Streets Initiative

What are your stories and memories of the Victoria Street bridge and the neighborhood that stood here before the construction of the freeway? How do you, your family members, and your neighbors use the bridge now? What kinds of changes or improvements would you like to see on and around the bridge in the future? How could improvements of the Victoria Street bridge serve as reconciliation and healing for communities harmed by the construction of I-94?

The Victoria Street Bridge project is part of a community-led effort to re-envision the future of the bridges over I-94.We are partnering with with the Summit-University Planning Council, Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation, Frogtown Neighborhood Association and the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation on community engagement and visioning for the Victoria Street bridge over the freeway. Additional partners who have joined us to participate include Maxfield Elementary School, the Victoria Theater Arts Initiative, Community Stabilization Project, Brooks Funeral Home, Rondo Avenue Inc., Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Victoria Garden, and Frogtown Green.

The Victoria Street Bridge Report is available to view here.

2015 Block Party & Community Design Workshop

Victoria Street Bridge map © Jon Pavlica

Streetcorner Letterpress by Jon Reynolds. © Jon Pavlica

Click here to see more photos from the Victoria Bridge Block Party in September. Thanks again to the volunteers and partner organizations who helped make our block party on the bridge 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.

Victoria Street Project Outreach, 2014 – 2015

Haitian Dancers at National Afternoon Out at Aurora & Victoria

National Afternoon Out at Aurora & Victoria

Aztec Dancers at Aurora & Victoria National Afternoon Out

Working group walk to evaluate the bridge

Springboard’s Jun-Li plays broccoli attendant

PedalBear, don’t eat our community organizers either!

Patricia Ohmans & Caroline Devany with their Veggie Golf

Railvolution attendees get a preview of Veggie Golf

Parklet + VeggieGolf at St. Paul Open Streets

Parklet in progress on University Ave for St. Paul Open Streets

Summit-University Garden Tour with Victoria Bridge Placemaking, 2013

In the summer of 2013 Friendly Streets Initiative began working on a project with the Summit University neighborhood group. There were three primary purposes of this collaboration; first, to support the Summit-U Garden Tour; second, to remember the Rondo Neighborhood which was demolished to make way for the Interstate; and third, to make the bridge over I-94 — which was identified by neighbors as a physical and psychological barrier to bicycling and walking access to the Green Line LRT — better overall and more aesthetically pleasing. The aim was to help residents overcome the feeling of distance that is created by the bridge.

We walked with community members and were also joined by the Frogtown Crew as we went to the different community gardens along Victoria. We spoke with the gardeners and learned about healthy food and gardening. Along the bridge the Summit-U Neighborhood Group and Friendly Streets Initiative did a temporary installation. Determined to make it a friendlier space, we installed large photos of the Rondo Neighborhood on the bridge. The results of our effort on the bridge slowed down cars, created an environment that was pleasant to cross, and also helped people envision how much better bridges could be. This was the first Friendly Streets Initiative project involving a bridge transformation.