Tuesday the New Ulm City Council voted 4-1 to move forward with a road redesign that includes median between 2nd N. Street and 5th North Street.

The City of New Ulm is planning to reconstruct Garden Street from Center to 5th North Street during the summer of 2027. This will be the first full reconstruct of this roadway section since 1952. The project will include water and storm sewer rehabilitation, upgraded lighting, a mini roundabout at the 5th North intersection and pedestrian safety improvements.

The city is scheduled to receive $3.5 million in federal grant through MnDOT’s to cover the majority of roadway reconstruction.

Two concept plans for the road redesign were created. Both designs reduced the roadway to 44 feet and add additional boulevard space. The greatest difference between the two design concept is the second design featured an 8 foot median between the driving lanes. The first design concepts has no median but had wider boulevards.

Two design concepts were displayed during New Ulm’s open house for the 2027 Garden Street project. In 2027, the city will reconstruction Garden Street from Center to 5th North. The project will include water and storm sewer rehabilitation, upgraded lighting, a mini roundabout at the 5th North intersection and pedestrian safety improvements. The greatest difference between the design concept is a median between the driving lanes. The city council recently voted to go with the median strip design.

City Engineer Joe Stadheim said there was a split recommendation for which design to choose. New Ulm Safety Commission recommended no median, but city engineer staff recommended a median.

New Ulm Safety Commission recommended the first option without the median because there was concern a median could make it hard for some residents on Garden Street to access their front driveway. Backing up trailers could also create bottleneck problems. Another concern was a median would impact snowplowing. If a vehicle were parked along the street, the snowplow could have difficulty getting around it.

Public Works Superintendent Jeff Hoffmann confirmed the plows would not be able to navigate the street if parking were still allowed in this section with a median. He said if parking was prohibited during winter, that would resolve the problem.

“You sign it no parking through the winter, then I am fine with it,” Hoffmann said.

Stadheim said city engineer staff wanted the median to create narrower lanes and slow traffic on Garden Street. The median would also provide a refuge for pedestrians crossing the street.

North Garden Street is scheduled for a reconstruct in 2027 from Center Street to 5th North. The reconstruct will reduce the roadway to 44 feet and will include additional pedestrian safety features. Following a 4-1 vote, the council chose to include a median strip from 2nd North to 5th North.

Community Development Director David Schnobrich spoke to council, not as city staff but as a 42 year resident of N. Garden Street. He personally favored the median strip option for safety and livability.

Schnobrich said he see vehicle speeds as significant problem on N. Garden. He believes the median would narrow the corridor, slowing cars down but also provides a midway point for crossing. He said crossing Garden has been a challenge for children and senior citizens.

Schnobrich also believed the median could add residential value to the neighborhood and could be a community showcase. He said there were many visitors travel on N. Garden to see the nearby parks, schools and the Recreation Center. He though the median would leave a strong impression with visitors.

Schnobrich said he did not think resident access to driveways would be a big problem. These properties did have alleyway access and he said this is where most people parked trailers. As for snowplowing conflicts with parking, Schnobrich said he does not see a lot of vehicles parking overnight on the street. He agreed that placing signs prohibiting parking during the winter would be appropriate if needed.

“I think people have other places to park when snow is coming,” he said.

Council President Andrea Boettger said the median was ascetically pleasing, but was not certain it was worth the extra cost and maintenance.

The two design options both came in under budget, but the median option cost $250,000 more because the amount of curb and gutter was doubled. She said the median option would also carry extra cross through maintenance.

“My natural inclination is have us save money,” she said.

Councilor Tom Schmitz said he fully supported the safety first philosophy. He believed bicycling and pedestrian movement was critical important in the community. For this reason he preferred the median strip.

Councilor Eric Warmka said he preferred the median because of the high volume of kids that cross this street. He wanted the midway point for safer crossings. He added that if the median went in, they would have to make it a no parking zone during the winter.

Councilor Larry Mack said the median strip stood out to him. He believed it was consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan to make things safer.

Mayor Kathleen Backer did not endorse either options. She saw the pros and cons of both options. Backer said the extra green space with the median would be nice, but plantings needed to be maintained. She said there have been issues keeping up with plantings on Broadway median.

“We have to make sure we are committed to taking care of them,” Backer said.

She also acknowledged the safety concerns, but said even without the median, N. Garden Street was being reduced in width down to 44 feet, meaning it would be easier to cross already. In addition the non-median option included wider boulevards, and extra green space too.

City Manager Chris Dalton did suggest a hybrid option that would not include a median strip, but would feature extra bump outs at the different intersections to added extra safety crossings.

Boettger and Backer favored the hybrid option, but there was not enough support from the rest of the council.

Warmka said he liked the idea of having the pedestrian island between the lanes.

Schmitz made the motion to move forward with the median strip design with as second from Warmka. The motion passed with Boettger voting against.