The Hennepin County Transportation Department is planning a major makeover of Osseo Road in north Minneapolis — and for Amber Brock, it can't happen soon enough.
Brock, a resident of the city's Victory neighborhood, said she's frustrated and angry about the number of speeding motorists using the center turn lanes on the busy corridor to pass stopped or slow-moving traffic "every time I drive that road."
Brock said she was recently cut off at the 47th Avenue traffic light by a driver who came up beside her, darted out of the center turn lane and back into the northbound traffic lane to avoid an oncoming motorist who was also illegally using the turn lanes to get around traffic. "I don't know how they missed each other," she said. "It's scary. It's out of control."
Hennepin County reconfigured Osseo Road between Penn and 49th avenues about seven years ago, turning the four-lane roadway into three lanes with dedicated left-turn lanes in the center of the road to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety. In Brock's view, it hasn't worked.
"I think it has made things way worse," she said. "People think it's OK to pass in the center lane. Residents are fed up with it and feel there is nothing we can do."
With pavement on Osseo Road nearing the end of its life cycle, county transportation officials are drawing up plans that may solve the problem. The county wants to rebuild the bustling corridor used by 12,000 to 15,000 vehicles a day traveling between north Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. Using surveys and a walking tour last fall, residents pointed out problems with motorists using the turn lanes as a driving lane.
"That is a concern if [drivers] are doing that," said project manager Amber Klein. "Safety is a top priority for the corridor."
Plans call for removing center left-turn lanes along the entire 1½-mile stretch, which goes through business and residential areas and provides a connection to the regional trail system at Victory Memorial Drive.
