Hiawatha LRT traffic lights – What is the City doing about the LRT traffic light timing problems on Hiawatha?
Since the LRT opening in June, there have been traffic problems at intersections of Hiawatha and local streets near the LRT line. The traffic signals system along Hiawatha Avenue is owned by MnDOT. It will eventually be operated by Minneapolis under a maintenance agreement with MnDOT. Last spring, Public Works stepped in and assigned engineers to work full time with MnDOT and others to alleviate the situation. Over the summer some revisions to the signal timing and gate operations have been made. We also received a waiver from the State that exempts buses to stop before crossing the tracks. We realized more work needed to be done and last summer, Public Works made a request to the Federal Highway Administration for technical assistance to identify and make recommendations on Hiawatha Ave traffic issues due to the LRT line. We have been meeting regularly with the Federal Highway (who also brought in national experts), State and Hennepin County on the Report.
