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During its work session Monday night, the Austin City Council heard options regarding upcoming work on 16th Street NW, a one way that runs between Grace Baptist Church and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

The street in question is part of a larger, $1.6 million project that includes Second Avenue NW and 17th Street NW and is slated to be a reconstruction project.

However, questions have arisen as to what to do with the road given its effects on traffic, parking for the two churches in question and the amount of usage. 

Currently, there is angled parking on the one way that affords access to both churches.

Assistant City Engineer Mitch Wenum provided three options for the council, with the first option opting for reconstruction of the road and turning parking into parallel parking along that street as well as 17th Street NW while at the same time turning it into a two-way street.

The second option is to remove the road entirely and turn it into a grassy area that both churches would be responsible for when it came to upkeep and maintenance. However, this would cause complications for Grace Baptist as its northernmost parking lot currently exits on to 16th Street.

The third option, which Grace Baptist Senior Pastor Dan Mielke and Our Savior Senior Pastor Mark Van House both saw as the ideal option, would still largely get rid of the road in favor of green space, but would enlarge the southernmost parking lot of Grace Baptist, which already has access to Oakland Avenue and would ensure further parking access for the church as well as additional parking for Our Savior’s.

No start date has been announced yet for the project. For more information, visit: https://www.ci.austin.mn.us/public-works/city-construction-projects.