Rather than driving next to the Lowertown light-rail stop at Fourth and Wacouta streets in downtown St. Paul, imagine sitting in an outdoor cafe smack in the center of the westbound lanes, within view of CHS Field, the St. Paul Farmers’ Market and Mears Park.

From Landmark Towers to CHS Field, property and business owners are contemplating what passes in some corners for heresy: closing at least part of a major downtown street to motorists.

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“What attracts people more than anything? More people,” said Tracey Kinney, assistant director of Urban Design for the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation.

Members of the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association held a lunchtime panel discussion Monday to review a recent report looking at new approaches for Fourth Street in downtown St. Paul.

With a block-by-block analysis of Fourth Street from the J.J. Hill Center on Washington Street to the new CHS Field ballpark on North Broadway Street, the report “explores the latent potential of Fourth Street as the best alternative for an east-west bike and pedestrian thoroughfare in downtown.”

“I think it’ll be awesome,” said Bill Bisanz, CEO of Real Estate Equities, which owns the Lowertown Commons and manages the Tilsner Artists’ Co-operative. “Fourth Street really is the natural place for this to happen.”

The report finds general support for three road treatments in particular. From Washington to Minnesota streets (or Rice Park to the Central Station light-rail stop), the report recommends adding bicycle lanes and similar infrastructure “that complements parking.”

From Minnesota to Wacouta streets, the report recommends a “shared” or “convertible road” with limited vehicular traffic except perhaps at certain times.

“The details are not really worked out yet, but essentially limited to only vehicles accessing the parking structures and loading docks, and potentially during certain hours of the day,” Kinney said.

For the final stretch to CHS Field, it recommends allowing vehicles to travel on the eastbound lanes of Wacouta to Broadway streets.

The westbound lanes of Wacouta to Broadway would be entirely restricted to cars at all or most hours, opening up the possibility of extending the St. Paul Farmers’ Market all the way to Union Depot.

Panelist Julie Bauch, of Bauch Enterprises, said that before the Green Line light-rail line opened in 2014, planners once promised it would draw people out of the city’s skyway system, which would help building owners attract retailers to their ground-level storefronts. With the notable exception of some restaurants, that hasn’t really happened.

“If we create the walkability, the retail will follow,” said Bauch, whose company runs an office building at 180 East Fifth St., which maintains a back entrance at Fourth and Sibley streets.

St. Paul City Council member Rebecca Noecker said that when visitors ask about getting from Rice Park to Mears Park, some downtown hotel managers encourage them to get in a car and drive the short distance because there are so few visible attractions on the ground floor between the two destinations. Besides that, there are safety concerns.

“We gain nothing by having people drive down Fourth, Fifth or Sixth,” Noecker told the audience. “They’re not looking at retail. They’re not looking at businesses.”

The 16-page report, titled “4th Street Market District: Connections, Retail and Art from Washington Street to North Broadway Street,” was prepared by the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation on behalf of Rich Pakonen, the developer behind the upscale residences in the Pioneer-Endicott building and the Jackson Ramp; Stephanie Weir of St. Paul Smart Trips/Women on Bikes; and Joe Spartz of the Downtown Business Alliance.

At least 18 business and building owners have sponsored and endorsed the report, including property owners Ted Bigos, John Rupp and Clint Blaiser.

Other suggestions include sidewalk lighting and public art; alley improvements; signage pointing to the St. Paul Farmers’ Market, CHS Field, the light rail, the Mississippi River and a future “River Balcony” promenade; and perhaps even public restrooms. The report says, “4th Street has two LRT stations and limited wayfinding to city and regional assets. Additionally, the street has underutilized storefronts that could attract and invite people with retail and art.”

Key questions remain, including how improvements would be funded.

The city is still finalizing the layout of a proposed Capital City Bikeway, or downtown bike loop, and it’s unclear whether the southern end of the loop would follow Fourth Street. Even if the bikeway lands on Kellogg Boulevard, that doesn’t necessarily undermine plans for a Fourth Street promenade, Noecker said.

Any changes to St. Paul driving lanes would have to pass muster with city officials.