Summit Avenue can be both beautiful and safe!

The City of St. Paul is going to rebuild Summit Avenue over the next few years. This is a once in a generation chance to update the street.

Voice your support for safer walking, biking and driving options on Summit. Help make this vital corridor accessible to ALL.

Read the City’s draft plan here.

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5 key take-aways from the draft Summit Avenue plan

Voice your support! The plan was approved by the City Council in May of 2023, but the City still needs to hear from you. Get in touch with your city councilperson and the candidates running for City Council in your ward.
Cost: Summit will be rebuilt anyway from the ground up to fix its hundred-year-old infrastructure, including the roadbed and our sewer and water lines, so implementing this plan doesn’t add meaningful additional expense or inconvenience.
Safety: Separated, protected bike paths and more prominent intersections are the modern standard for safety on a street like Summit. They’ll make Summit safer for all of us whether we’re walking, biking or driving. The plan proposes one-way bike paths going in each direction on Summit. They’d be placed at the same height as the sidewalk.
Trees: Along most of Summit, the curb line will not be changed. In two sections, the curb may be moved up to three feet. If this happens (and it hasn’t been decided yet), it could increase risk to 89 of Summit’s 1,561 trees. The City will also plant even more trees on Summit as part of the plan. (p117-118)
Parking: West of Lexington, parking won’t be affected; East of Lexington, parking will be reduced to one lane. Today, only ~30% of parking is used on Summit. (p113)

Read the entire draft plan here or a summary version here.

FAQs

St. Paul is planning to rebuild Summit anyway. So the City put together a vision document — the Summit Avenue plan — for what an updated version of Summit could look like.
This planning process is a good time to evaluate whether Summit should stay exactly the same or if anything should be updated.
For example, the existing on-street bike lanes were added in the 90s. We now know that elevated, separated bike lanes are safer; they’ve become the industry standard for a road like Summit. This is a great chance to update Summit to reflect that and ensure more people feel safe using Summit.
St. Paul is planning to rebuild Summit anyway because critical infrastructure like the water and sewer lines need to be rebuilt. So, it’s a good time to evaluate whether Summit should stay exactly the same or if anything should be updated.
The proposed plan is to add a one-way, elevated bike trail going in both directions on Summit, as well as safer pedestrian crossings at intersections.
- West of Lexington, the elevated path will just replace the existing bike lane space
- East of Lexington, the elevated path will replace the bike lane space and one lane of parking
Nope! The whole street has to be rebuilt anyway to update critical infrastructure like the water and sewer lines. The cost will be the same whether it’s rebuilt exactly the same or with updates like safer elevated bike lanes.
No! An explicit goal of the City’s plan is that the new design “limits impacts to greenspace and trees.” Preserving the incredible tree canopy on Summit is critically important. The beautiful trees are of course a big part of why it’s so wonderful to spend time on Summit!
- Trees will not be cut down as part of the plan, but some trees’ root zones may be affected
- Along most of Summit, the curb line won’t change and trees won’t be disproportionately affected by adding elevated bike lanes
- In two sections of Summit (west of Fairview and between Lexington and Snelling) the curb may move out up to two feet. This may affect the root zones of an incremental 89 trees (Summit has a total of 1,561 trees).
The fact is, even without making any changes to Summit, 8% of the avenue’s 1,561 trees are considered “at risk.” With the proposed changes, this number increases to 14% (that is, an incremental 89 trees are deemed at risk).
But being at risk doesn’t mean the tree will be cut down – in fact it means the tree will get special attention from arborists to evaluate what can be done to keep it growing healthy and strong.
West of Lexington, parking will stay essentially the same.
East of Lexington, one lane of parking will be removed. The proposal is for parking to alternate sides of the street over the course of the avenue.
See the latest version of the plan at engagestpaul.org/summit and leave a comment here.
1. Write to your city councilperson and tell them you’d like to have safer walking and biking options on Summit
2. Reach out to us to find out about more ways you can show support — like getting a yard sign!