Written by: Josh Blanc
Any great Shakespeare play has many scenes and acts. When you work with government entities, the parallels to your favorite Shakespeare play are uncanny.
The second meeting of the MNDOT Visual Quality Advisory Committee (VQAC) met on September 1, 2026, for the Central Ave planned reconstruction project (2028-2030). This meeting came days after August 27, when the Minneapolis City Council strongly supported, with a unanimous vote, having MnDOT adopt the Art Walk Concept as part of the Central Avenue Municipal Consent Vote. The following excerpt from Municipal Consent document outlines the Council endorsement
Whereas, the City of Minneapolis strongly supports the Art Walk Concept and requests MNDoT to acknowledge that this part of Central Avenue is not a highway but a dense urban arts district, and that they will include Northeast Minneapolis residents and artist communities in the Corridor-Wide Visual Quality Advisory Committee to ensure direct input from the Northeast Arts District community in the development of the visual quality manual;
After two years of community push for an Art Walk on Central Avenue, over 1,000 letters were sent to MNDoT in support of the Art Walk. A committee formed by the Arts District spent a year walking down Central Avenue attended by hundreds of community members to discuss and identify what Art Walk logistics could look like. The question remains: will MNDoT actually work with and follow through to create the infrastructure for the Art Walk? So far, their correspondence and process have produced double-speak, noncommittal, and coercive process.
To be clear, the Arts District is not asking for money. They are not asking to sacrifice parking or to remove the bike lanes or the bus lane or any of the elements introduced on MNDoT’s plan from two years ago; the Arts District is asking for the lines to be adjusted to accommodate public art, something this community has been discussing since the 2008 Small Area Plan for Central Ave. Over 500 artists/small businesses work in art buildings on Central Avenue; to date, MNDot has not reached out to the Arts District to discuss or collaborate.
After reaching out to (VQAC) members Seth Stattmiller from Recovery Bike Shop, as well as Jake Bertram and Erin Kayser who represented the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIC) on the VQAC, According to MNDot’s attendance, there were only nine community members at the VQAC meetings, with more than 15 MNDoT staff, consultants, or other government employees. The full HNIA board invited me to interview them about the process and challenges ahead. Stattmiller was interviewed separately.
When asked about the VQAC goals, Jake said, “VQAC is not a comprehensive review of the project. For example, it’s not a review of where MNDoT is going to have stops, though it might discuss what the stops might look like. It is a useful process focused on beautification, painted benches, trash cans, sidewalk design, etc., but that process has not involved review of any concepts that include what we would consider an art walk. We are not sure if MNDot has even asked their design consultants to develop those concepts in the first place. Erin said “they (MnDOT) are being too careful about what impact VQAC could have.” MNDot offered seven categories: boulevard treatment, lighting, landscape, pavement treatment, wayfinding & signage, median enhancements, and art opportunities. MNDot asked for the group to pick out a couple of 4 x 8’ spots on Central Ave where we might put a piece of art. MNDot talked about a prioritization survey: lighting, boulevard, striping, stamped pavement. MNDot discussed whether or not stamped pavement would be considered art.
The options
When hearing the options presented and how MNDot achieves community consent, you can get the impression that they are not keen on accommodating the neighborhoods along the corridor. MNDot is offering very limited options that will enable them to say the community wanted this, when in actuality the options the community wants have never been on the table. Stattmiller said, “MNDot will point to all of these engagement sessions and presentations and email notices and then claim these as evidence of listening. In reality, the plan they presented two years ago has remained almost entirely unchanged”. The committee clearly feels used.
At the VQAC meeting, a MNDot representative said (the committee was told not to use names of MNDot representatives), “You can have an art walk in this one spot.” Stattmiller stated, “That is not an art walk. That is an art spot. Municipal Consent approved an art walk, and MNDoT is essentially saying no.” MNDot says “We will look into it.” MNDoT said there will not be a meeting with the VQAC until after the next round of drawings. Stattmiller said, “They are stonewalling. MNDoT will not commit to action steps. MNDoT is offering to find common ground as long as it is MNDoT’s ground.”
Boiling down the interview comments, it appears many of the VQAC believes MNDoT is not currently serious about making the Art Walk a reality. The questions that need to be asked are: if taxpayers pay for the Central Avenue reconstruction, what triggers need to be in place to ensure the community gets the tools it needs to make its commercial nodes successful?
If this experience was a Shakespearean play what play would it best describe? A Midsummer Nights Dream, Much to do about nothing, The taming of the Shrew? It seems the Minnesota government should be going out of their way to work with a group that is excited to create an asset like this for our city and our state. An Art Walk would foster economic growth as a destination, mitigate crime, inspire our neighborhoods, and calm traffic on a busy corridor. The Arts District would expect MNDot would welcome the opportunity to come to the table to collaborate and create a positive impact with their work. Take action and help get MNDoT to the table by writing a letter. We have one with the link below.
Click Here to write a letter to MNDoT’s Mathew and Christina Perfetti, State Senator Doron Clark, Representative Sydney Jordan, and Mayor Jacob Frey. Have you voice heard!
