FARGO - A new park and a narrower three-lane roadway that leaves room for a bike lane are among ideas being explored as the city considers rebuilding Main Avenue as it goes through the downtown area.

As one of the oldest roads in the city, with base pavement dating back to the 1950s, Main Avenue and the utility lines beneath requires more frequent maintenance, Jeremy Gorden, the city's division engineer overseeing transportation, told city leaders Monday Feb. 6.

listen live watch live

That makes it a good candidate for rebuilding. But the area's built-up nature leaves limited space for expansion, despite some congestion problems and shortage of parking.

Gorden said staff plans to tackle the section between University Drive and Second Street in 2018 and the section between 25th Street and University Drive in 2020.

Estimated cost of construction for the 2018 phase is about $5 million, not including land acquisition and various optional improvements. Estimated cost of construction for the 2020 phase ranges from $6 million to $7 million.

Staff also mentioned a possible skyway linking the two halves of downtown divided by Main in a future phase. The estimated cost for the skyway is $6 million.

Narrower road?

In the 2018 phase, staff recommends keeping the current five-lane configuration and adding some features such as sidewalk extensions at pedestrian crossings.

The extensions would require the removal of a few parking stalls, but City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn asked staff to find a way to add parking though he conceded he didn't know where. Parking is important to businesses, he said, and could be more important if parking lots along Main were redeveloped in the future.

Commissioner John Strand said the five lanes is too wide, acting almost like a barrier cutting south downtown off from north. He said he also wanted to see bike lanes on Main.

However, he said, if Main were reduced to three lanes, he'd like to find a way to shift some traffic to another east-west corridor.

Bob Walton, the state Transportation Department's district engineer here, said the state would want to see that other corridor identified to avoid serious congestion. The state is expected to provide as much as half the funding because Main is considered a state route.

Gorden noted Second Avenue North and NP Avenue North are already designated east-west bicycle corridors.

A new park?

West of University Drive, staff recommends keeping the current five lanes between 25th and 18th Streets North and adding a fifth lane between 18th Street and University.

The problem is there's little wiggle room to add a lane. The sidewalks built before the Americans with Disabilities Act are already too narrow to accommodate wheelchairs, Gorden said. That means the city will have to buy right-of-ways from properties along Main Avenue.

The city could buy properties only on the north side, which has fewer businesses than the south side. The north-side buildings were built decades ago when buildings were allowed closer to railroad tracks. If the city bought those properties out and demolished the buildings to add a lane to Main, the remaining land would not be attractive for redevelopment, City Engineer April Walker said. City staff suggests building a long park in this area.

During earlier public input sessions, this option got the most support.

Other options include buying properties only on the south side, which might leave more room in the north for redevelopment; buying properties on both sides, which would affect businesses on both sides of the road; and rebuilding only the four lanes that now exist.

Public input was mixed on buying properties south of the road, with input running mostly negative for the both-sides and lane-reducing options.

Walker said staff has not studied these options in detail and offers no recommendation.