Sidewalk of the Week: Cedar Avenue

This sidewalk, at the corner of Cedar and Washington Avenues in Minneapolis, has a story to tell. Originally, there wasn't supposed to be any sidewalk here at all. This land is right next to Washington Avenue as it has its brief moment in the high-speed, limited-access, four-lane sun, speeding over the Mississippi River, under the University's pedestrian bridge, and through the Metrodome corridor until it lands in Minneapolis' downtown core, right next to the Star Tribune parking lot. The only sidewalk at this corner ran along Cedar Avenue -- a lovely poured concrete sidewalk, though a bit lacking on scenery what with the freeway running underfoot.

But, after they realized that a bus stop at this corner was necessary, someone poured asphalt along this patch of land, in the attempt to have people stop walking on the grass. But even that didn't work -- people love to cut their corners as they process from the bus stop to the dense, diverse Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Now you can see the muddy tracks of those bus riders cutting through the snow. Perhaps another sidewalk is in order?