The Groveland Crosswalk

During his 2019 campaign for Ward 3 City Council, Bradley Schaeppi heard from many in the Groveland neighborhood who were disappointed that there was no safe crossing of Minnetonka Blvd near Groveland Elementary.

Once he was elected, he vowed to follow through, and he proposed installing a new crosswalk near Groveland. Residents were organized as well, contacting the city council. After much back-and-forth, there seemed to be consensus that the crosswalk could be included in the upcoming construction along Minnetonka Blvd, but that section was not prioritized by the city planners and wouldn’t be completed for many more years. Councilmember Schaeppi and the community worked together to prove this segment of sidewalk and the crosswalk had higher value than originally measured, and it was reprioritized – with the crosswalk being installed in summer 2022.

As it happened, I was also an advocate for this crosswalk, because I saw first-hand how much it affected the ability of Groveland students to walk or bike to school. Because of the lack of a crosswalk, parents would drive their children to a school they could see from their yard! I have organized the annual bike/walk to school day at Groveland since 2020, and this was repeatedly identified as a barrier. Now, with a crosswalk, we had over 250 kids bike or walk to school on May 3rd, and this created a sustained amount of kids who continued to bike/walk – reducing congestion around Groveland, and creating “safety in numbers” for kids.

Other schools, like Scenic Heights Elementary, have a similar issue – the lack of a safe crossing is inhibiting kids from getting to school. But the example of Groveland can be easily emulated. All it takes is a little organizing!