Road diet case study
St. Paul, Maryland Avenue between Payne Avenue and Johnson Parkway
In 2018, Ramsey County completed a 4-to-3 lane conversion on a segment of Maryland Avenue between Payne Avenue and Johnson Parkway in Saint Paul. The traffic volume was 21,000 to 23,000 vehicles per day in that 1.3 mile segment of roadway. Traffic includes trucks and city buses and the road is posted “no parking.”
The conversion was undertaken as part of a mill and overlay and is one of the first conversions in Minnesota on a road carrying over 20,000 vehicles per day. The segment of Maryland Avenue is less than one mile east of the Maryland Avenue interchange on Interstate-35W.
Speeding and pedestrian safety were factors the conversion was intended to address. Preliminary crash data shows a reduction in the number of crashes since the conversion and a reduction in average speeds. The County engineer who worked on the project reports that traffic is congested approximately one more minute per day since the conversion (averaging two hours per day in total). She also reports that the road performs better most of the time. Long blocks and few driveways contribute to the success of the conversion.
Before reconstruction - 2017
- The road was 40 feet wide with four 10-foot lanes.
- There were marked pedestrian cross walks at several intersections.
After reconstruction - 2018
- The road is still 40 feet wide, but the new configuration has two 11 foot travel lanes, a 12 foot center turn lane, and two 2.5 foot shoulders.
- Raised median refuges were installed at two intersections.
Project and project area overview
In 2016, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and killed crossing Maryland Avenue at Greenbrier. That crash occurred when a westbound driver stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk, but a second driver in the next westbound lane did not. This can be a common type of crash on four-lane undivided roads. In May of 2017, Ramsey County undertook significant public engagement and then began a temporary test (using striping, signage, and bollards) of a 4-lane to 3-lane conversion on Maryland Avenue.
The temporary test of the 4-to-3 lane conversion continued through the spring of 2018. Before the test, survey respondents were evenly split between support and opposition. After the test, residents remained concerned about:
- Delays for left turning vehicles on side streets
- Additional traffic on parallel streets
- Speeding on parallel local routes
- Traffic congestion
- Fewer gaps in traffic
The Payne-Phalen Community Council supported making the conversion permanent. The Council noted that it did not see traffic diverting to side streets during congested times. The County has had few complaints since the conversion was made permanent.
Before the conversion, vehicles weaved left and right to avoid right and left turning motorists. After the conversion, there is occasional passing in the left turn lane which is illegal.
New center crossing medians at two locations
Crash and speed information
MnDOT data shows fewer crashes in the one year after the conversion was implemented. Ramsey County reports that average speeds went down between 0 – 6 mph depending on the location in the corridor.