952-378-5017
De La Salle Athletic Field
Minneapolis, MN
Project Type: Event
Development Overview
De La Salle High School has been located on Nicollet Island in the Mississippi River in Minneapolis since 1900. They are one of two private land owners on Nicollet Island with the remaining parcels being owned by the Minneapolis Park Board. De La Salle entered into an agreement with the Park Board to build an athletic field partially on De La Salle property and partially on Park Board property. This required vacating Grove Street, a public street with historical significance as one of the first streets platted in Minneapolis. The athletic field will be used by both the Park Board and De La Salle. It will have bleachers for 750 people and the peak event will be a high school football game. An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was prepared by Leonard, Street, and Deinard law office to assess the environmental impacts of the proposed project.
Project Scope
Mr. Spack developed a Travel Demand Management Plan (TDM) per Minneapolis requirements to document the traffic impacts of the event and to document the traffic impacts of closing one block of Grove Street. The TDM was used for the traffic impact section of the EAW. The TDM provided a parking analysis for the school and an analysis of the operation of five intersections during a Friday night football game. An active railroad line runs across Nicollet Island and the Grove Street closure would require modification of emergency response routes on the island. It was found the area streets and intersections would operate acceptably with the Grove Street closure and a Friday night football game. A new bus loading/unloading pattern was recommended to accommodate the Grove Street closure.
This project involved significant public involvement. Mr. Spack participated in design charettes with school staff and neighborhood residents, park board meetings, city planning commission meetings, and city council meetings.
Accomplishments
The approval process for the athletic field took approximately three years. The TDM prepared for the project was part of the approved EAW. Grove Street was vacated and the athletic field was built in 2008. The field will be used by De La Salle's football team for the first time in 2009.