Minneapolis City Council approves Lyndale Avenue South redesign—parking and timeline

Minneapolis City Council on July 16 advanced a Lyndale Avenue South redesign tied to Hennepin County’s reconstruction plans for the corridor between Franklin Avenue and 31st Street. Supporters say the project is overdue for safer walking and biking. Opponents—especially some businesses along Lyndale—have warned about parking loss and the disruption of a multi-year construction window.

What the council vote does (and what it doesn’t)

The approval moves the county-led project forward, but it does not mean construction is about to start. Hennepin County’s project page continues to list construction beginning in 2028 (subject to change), after additional design/layout and engineering steps.

What’s changing on Lyndale Avenue South

Across reporting and county project materials, the redesign focuses on improving safety and mobility for non-drivers—while also updating transit operations where planned.

• Separated walking and biking facilities: Be Heard Hennepin says the refined design includes a separated bikeway on the east side and a new separated sidewalk and two-way bikeway intended to connect to the new bikeway north of Franklin Avenue.
• Traffic calming/safety geometry: The refined design description cites narrower lanes, curb bump-outs, and a center median to improve safety and reduce traffic speeds.
• Transit elements: Axios reports dedicated bus lanes between West 24th Street and the freeway. Separately, Be Heard Hennepin says the design includes space for a future northbound transit lane between 31st Street and 28th Street.
• Full “sidewalk-to-sidewalk” reconstruction scope: Be Heard Hennepin describes planning work that covers streetlights, curbs, signals, sidewalks, pavement, and underground utility work.

Parking impacts: why you’ve seen two different numbers

Parking is the most disputed part of the Lyndale redesign. CBS Minnesota reports the project is set to eliminate 24% of existing parking spaces. Axios, citing Hennepin County officials, says the plan would maintain roughly three-quarters of the corridor’s current parking spaces.

Those descriptions can be pointing to the same underlying tradeoff—but they frame outcomes differently (spaces eliminated vs. spaces remaining). Either way, curb/parking management details are the kind of decision that typically gets refined as the project advances beyond the council sign-off.

Timeline you can plan around: 2028 start, then years of work (possibly 2–3)

Hennepin County’s posted schedule keeps the construction start at 2028 (with the explicit caveat “subject to change”). Be Heard Hennepin also lays out the post-approval stages leading toward that start:

• Late Spring 2026: seek layout approval from government agencies
• Summer 2026–Summer 2027: final engineering and planning
• Fall 2027: contractor bids
• 2028: construction expected to begin

CBS Minnesota also frames the construction window as delayed—saying work is not expected to begin immediately after the July 16 vote—and estimates the project, once underway, would take between two and three years to complete.

Axios adds another reason stakeholders may not get the delay they want: a project manager warned the council that the county faces a deadline to spend $9 million in federal funding—described as nearly half the project’s budget. That kind of funding pressure can limit how far a schedule can be shifted.

What residents and businesses should watch next

• Layout approval steps in late Spring 2026—because that’s when details like curb geometry and overall street configuration move closer to their final shape.
• Final engineering and planning during 2026–2027, when staging assumptions and access/parking logistics tend to become clearer.
• Contractor bidding in fall 2027, which often helps confirm what residents will actually experience during construction.

If you rely on curb access—whether as an employee, shopper, or business operator—start planning now for shifting parking and access patterns later, with updates likely to keep coming through the county’s and Be Heard Hennepin’s project materials as each milestone approaches.

Sources

• MPR News (July 13, 2026) — Business owners seek to delay Lyndale reconstruction
• CBS Minnesota (July 16, 2026) — City Council approves Lyndale redesign
• Axios Twin Cities (July 16, 2026) — Reconstruction vote, parking estimates, and federal-funding deadline
• Hennepin County — Lyndale Avenue South reconstruction project page
• Be Heard Hennepin — Lyndale Avenue South updates (project timeline + design refinements)