The RiverLake Greenway will connect east and west to make a one neighborhood linear village square.
The King Bridge Partnership is an out growth of the RiverLake Greenway. The RiverLake Greenway, originally conceived as a one-neighborhood linear village square, will transform 40th street on the west side and 42nd street on the east side of Minneapolis into a green corridor that will connect Lake Harriet to the Mississippi River by forming the third east/west pedestrian route across south Minneapolis.
The Greenway is a grassroots effort of five neighborhoods. So far, 16 blocks of bikeways and plantings have been completed between Lake Harriet and MLK Park. The remaining miles are scheduled for construction in 2009.
The pedestrian bridge at 40th street over I-35W is at a crucial point in the RiverLake Greenway. The current bridge is a small concrete bridge engulfed by chain-link fence. With covered openings, it constricts the flow of pedestrian traffic and presents numerous safety hazards. In many ways the bridge reflects the impact the freeway has had on relationships between the neighborhoods on each side of I-35W.
The current pedestrian bridge presents numerous hazards.
With the RiverLake Greenway on schedule, it became clear that a community driven effort would be needed to replace the current bridge with something people could be proud of.To this end the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) and the Bryant Neighborhood Organization (BNO) formed the King Bridge Partnership in the summer of 2005.
The purpose of the Partnership is to bring together the diverse communities in South Minneapolis to construct a pedestrian bridge at 40th street that will become a capstone to the RiverLake Greenway and an iconic gateway to Minneapolis.
The partnership is run by a committee made up of representatives from the Kingfield and Bryant Neighborhoods. This committee is responsible for identifying a designer, raising funds from public and private sources and bringing the community together around the project.
The Partnership is fueled by the grassroots work of residents from both neighborhoods. There are a wide range of opportunities for people to be involved in the work of the partnership. To find out how to get involved click here.