By unanimous decision, the St. Paul City Council voted Wednesday evening to approve construction assessments for Wheelock Parkway between Rice and Edgerton streets over the objections of a series of homeowners opposed to the new road design.

Property owners will foot about a fourth of the cost of the $12 million, 1.5-mile reconstruction. The project will narrow the parkway and install new lighting and sidewalks in front of an off-road bicycle trail bordering homes and businesses on the south side of the street.

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St. Paul City Council agrees on no levy increase “The streets are in terrible condition, and I think it’s time to improve them,” said council member Amy Brendmoen, who represents the area. “I see (people) walking down the street in winter with their grocery bags on a parkway. It’s just not right.”

The assessments for property owners total $131 per linear foot of road frontage, or $5,240 for a home with a 40-foot yard. Many yards along the parkway are about three times that size.

“We were assessed over $11,000,” said Wheelock Parkway resident Mindy Lang, one of about a dozen property owners who addressed the council before the vote. “We live in a three-bedroom, one-bath house.”

Several Wheelock Parkway residents and fans of the Grand Round bicycle route also spoke in favor of the changes, noting the widespread lack of sidewalks and high traffic speeds.

“I think that narrowing it will make it safer,” said Wheelock Parkway resident Marjorie Kidnie. “I’m not too thrilled about paying for it, but I think that’s a given.”

“Connecting the Grand Round, we believe, will increase property values,” said Stephanie Weir, organizer of St. Paul Women on Bikes, pointing to national evidence. “Basic amenities like lighting and sidewalks … are important for things like neighborhood safety and vitality.”

City officials have said that residents are being assessed for 25 percent of the sidewalk and road improvements, but they are not being charged for the off-street trail itself, which is being covered through funding from the city’s “8-80 Vitality” account.

“It’s still high. I know that,” said Brendmoen, acknowledging that road work costs have risen in general for the city. “We worked really hard to get it down from a number that was almost three times that high.”

Officials also noted that the road narrowing is intended to calm traffic and would take place even if the off-road trails are not constructed.

“The project would not be cheaper without the off-road trail,” Public Works spokesman Joe Ellickson said in an interview. “It could be more expensive because a road with in-street bike lanes costs more to build.”

Residents of side streets who have been assessed for road improvements within the past 20 years are exempt from the new charges.