Rice Street Visioning & Reconstruction
Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul are working to define a community-driven vision for Rice Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Wheelock Parkway. The purpose of the Rice Street Visioning project is to:
- Promote economic growth and community investment while maintaining and providing business opportunities.
- Create an inviting environment.
- Enhance pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
- Maintain and augment transit service.
- Continue to increase vehicle safety.
Rice Street is a hub of activity in Saint Paul and serves a diverse mix of residents, travelers, visitors, businesses and modes of travel. The existing aging roadway has safety and traffic concern, and there are also needs to strengthen community development, business vitality, bike and pedestrian connections, public safety, livability and compatible land uses in the corridor.
Over the past several years, the Rice Street project has been defined by a focus on coordination and collaboration. We believe the outcomes are better for everyone when we work together.
Ramsey County will perform utility relocation this spring and summer. No road closures are anticipated, and short-term lane closures will be the main impacts. This will enable better coordination with the Dale Street project. Having these parallel routes under road work at the same time would limit viable detour routes and could pose a hardship for the communities they both serve.
Learn more about the Dale Street project
Long term road closures on Rice Street will not start until the spring of 2025. The road will be closed during the construction season 2025-2027. The roadway will be open to traffic during the winter.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this project to date. We continue to look forward to a renewed Rice Street in the near future.
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Learn more about the recommended design:
- Design overview: English (PDF)
- Design overview: Spanish (PDF)
- Design overview: Hmong (PDF)
- Design overview: Karen (PDF)
- Design overview: Somali (PDF)
Design resources
- Open house recording with design overview
- Presentation slides (PDF, 3 MB)
- Rice Street Previous Studies and Efforts Memo (PDF)
- Concept Screening Report (PDF)
Rice Street Study Community Liaisons
The Rice Street Visioning Study community liaisons are local artists who will help lead engagement projects throughout the study. Learn more.
Rice Street Business and Property Owner Resource Toolkit
The Rice Street project team has created this toolkit as a resource for businesses and property owners seeking additional information and/or assistance during this time. This guide will be refreshed periodically throughout the project as new information becomes available. Learn more.