The Lowry Avenue station will be an important stop on the Blue Line Extension (BLE). It will serve North Memorial Hospital, users of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway and Victory Memorial Parkway, as well as nearby neighborhoods where many people don’t have access to a car. Project partners are evaluating several design options to ensure the station works for all users and integrates with the surrounding environment and community. Municipal consent design The current design approved by cities as part of the municipal consent process in fall 2024 features an at-grade station and crossings of Wirth/Victory Memorial Parkway, Grand Rounds Trail, and Lowry/Oakdale Avenue. View Municipal Consent design (PDF). Watch a video of the current design. Feedback on municipal consent design In summer 2024, feedback on the current design from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) expressed concerns with the at-grade crossing of the parkway and trail, as well as impacts to park property. North Memorial Hospital expressed concerns about hospital vehicles access due to the crossing gate proposed at Oakdale Avenue. The cities of Robbinsdale and Minneapolis asked for more analysis of the municipal consent design and exploration of other potential options for the Lowry Avenue Station as part of their official review and approval of preliminary design plans through the process known as municipal consent in fall 2024. Collaborative design process In response to these concerns, BLE project staff convened a collaborative stakeholder workgroup with staff from MPRB, North Memorial, Hennepin County, Metropolitan Council, Robbinsdale, and Minneapolis. The group held a series of workshops to better understand potential impacts of the municipal consent design and develop and evaluate 8 possible alternate designs for the station. The collaborative design workgroup considered several factors in their analysis, including: Station accessibility, safety, experience Hospital traffic and access Park and trail impacts General traffic operations Neighborhood connectivity Minimizing impacts to recently reconstructed bridges over Lowry Avenue Constructability and cost These design options were presented for public feedback at a community workshop December 3, 2024. View the designs. View the presentation. Tell us what you think. Posted In: Transportation