SAFE TRANSPORTATION FOR EVERY PEDESTRIAN CASE STUDY

Successful High-Volume Road Diet in 

St. Paul 

Ramsey County, Minnesota

KEY ELEMENTS:

 High-Volume Road Diet 

 Pedestrian Safety & Mobility

Ramsey County, Minnesota, which contains the State 

capital, St. Paul, implemented a permanent road diet 

on a relatively high-volume corridor, converting the 

four-lane facility to two lanes with a center turn lane to 

improve pedestrian safety and address concerns about 

traffic speeds. Following the successful implementation 

of the road diet, the County has initiated planning and 

design efforts for road diets on other higher-volume 

corridors.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In 2016, following the death of a pedestrian 

crossing Maryland Avenue at Greenbrier 

Street, the public called for pedestrian 

safety improvements along the corridor. 

Ramsey County targeted the 1.3-mile 

section of Maryland Avenue from Payne 

Avenue to Johnson Parkway. The cross 

section of Maryland Avenue is 40 feet, and 

at the time was divided into four 10-foot 

lanes. 

The road diet converted this existing 

cross section to one 11-foot lane in each 

direction, with a 13-foot center turn lane 

and 2.5-foot shoulders. The Annual Average 

Daily Traffic (AADT) on the corridor was as 

high as 23,000 vehicles per day. 

TEMPORARY TRIAL 

County engineers analyzed the proposed 

road diet using VISSIM and Synchro. As 

expected, the results indicated the potential 

for increased congestion along the corridor. 

This prompted the County to conduct a 

temporary trial of the proposed four-to-three 

lane conversion. 

In May 2017, Ramsey County implemented 

the temporary trial, which consisted of 

restriping the corridor and adding signage 

and flexible delineators to alert drivers to the 

new roadway conditions. The County kept 

the temporary installation in place through 

the winter, allowing road users to acclimate 

to the new corridor configuration during 

snow plowing operations. 

Throughout the temporary trial, Ramsey 

County staff evaluated the performance 

of the road diet and the public reaction. In 

2018, the full conversion was constructed 

on the corridor with permanent raised 

concrete median refuges and striping.

For more information, please contact:

Brad Estochen, Traffic Engineer, Ramsey County

Bradley.Estochen@co.ramsey.mn.us

Figure 1. Photo. Road diet performed in Ramsey County.

©2019 Ramsey County
Case Study: Successful High-Volume Road Diet in St. Paul 

STEP: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/step/

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT & RESPONSE

Public engagement was critical to the 

success of the conversion project. Ramsey 

County held several events to engage 

local stakeholders. Additionally, the County 

conducted a digital media campaign, 

surveys, and public education regarding 

the temporary trial phase. Citizens shared 

concerns about travel delay, frequent 

stops due to buses blocking the only 

through lane, and diversion of traffic to the 

surrounding neighborhood streets. Public 

acceptance in the concept continued 

to grow throughout the trial and after 

construction despite these initial concerns. 

DATA & EVALUATION 

County engineers performed a beforeand-after evaluation following the 

implementation of the conversion. The 

results showed that: 

• Speeds were reduced by up to 6 mph

along the corridor. Speed variability

decreased since vehicles were not

weaving between two lanes.

• Side street delay and queuing did not

increase significantly. Some diversion of

traffic to parallel routes was identified,

which the County anticipated and

determined could be accommodated

by the adjacent parallel roads.

• The frequency of higher-severity crashes

decreased, while property-damage

only crashes increased slightly. The

County intends to conduct a follow-up

study after more time has passed and

more data is available.

LOOKING AHEAD

Currently, another section of Maryland 

Avenue (adjacent to the previous 

project section) and a section of nearby 

Larpenteur Avenue are under temporary 

trial installations for four-to-three lane 

conversions, similar to the trial that was 

conducted on the original section of 

Maryland Avenue. Ramsey County plans 

to examine other candidate four-lane 

undivided roads for possible future road 

diets, considering a combination of various 

factors: annual average daily traffic (AADT), 

traffic speed, pedestrian and bicycle 

volume, road geometry, transit and freight 

operations, parking, and right-of-way.

“We talked to the community about what 

was more important to them: moving traffic 

or pedestrian safety. There is a trade-off. We 

realized there was the potential for an increase 

in congestion, but we wanted to do whatever best 

matched the values of the community.” 

–Erin Laberee, Ramsey County Project Engineer

Figure 2. Photo. On-site public engagement at Maryland Avenue. 

Local elected officilas have described the Maryland Avenue Road 

Diet as a response to public concern about pedestrian safety.1

©2019 Ramsey County

References

1Lindeke, B. (2019). "Risky Hennepin and Ramsey County streets are increasingly being put on 'road diets'". Minn 

Post. https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2019/10/risky-hennepin-and-ramsey-county-streets-are-increasing

ly-being-put-on-road-diets/.

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 Last accessed April 30, 2020.