Obstruction Permit lane use fee update
Lane use fees and who issues them
The public right of way (ROW) is the roadway area between property lines. It includes sidewalks, boulevards, and parking, bike, and moving traffic lanes. This equals about 22% of land area the City has held in trust for the public within our streets. The City of Minneapolis regulates use of the ROW through several permits, one of which is an Obstruction Permit issued by Public Works Traffic and Parking Services. The permit allows the city to protect public assets and to preserve the public space needed for the movement of people, goods, and services within the city. Nearly 15,000 Obstruction Permits are issued each year to allow for the use, closure, or partial closure of sidewalks, vehicular travel lanes, parking lanes, bike lanes, and alleys. Fees associated with use of this space within the ROW are called lane use fees. The Obstruction Permit and its lane use fees were established over 20 years ago and the lane use fees have not been increased since.
Lane use fees are changing
The way the City permits the use of the ROW should reflect updated City goals and priorities. The fee updates aim to:
- Minimize impacts to the ROW and the traveling public by encouraging less use of ROW, for shorter periods of time.
- Limit impacts to specific types of travel, like walking, to better align with City goals and priorities that focus on improving and encouraging people to make trips by walking, biking, or using transit. See our Complete Streets report and Transportation Action Plan for details.
This lane use fee update seeks to accomplish these goals in part by increasing the fee amounts to account for inflation and the current value of public space, and then to align the fees relative to one another to better reflect the City's goals.
Where lane use fees apply
The fees currently apply for use of public ROW in downtown and on arterial streets. Beginning January 1, 2022, the city will also charge Lane Use fees to all other streets, such as local or neighborhood streets. Downtown, Arterial, and "All Other" are defined below and can be viewed on Lane Use Fee Classifications - Draft .
- Downtown fees apply within the area bounded by I-94, I-35W, the Mississippi River, and Plymouth Ave. N.
- Arterial fees apply to all Municipal and County State Aid, and Trunk Highway routes outside the Downtown Zone.
- "All Other" fees will apply to all other city streets for which the City is the permitting jurisdiction.
Lane use fees effective May 1, 2023
The City Council approved the new fee table shown below. The application of these new fees will begin on May 1, 2023, to new and existing obstruction permits.
|
Lane |
Downtown |
Arterial |
All Other* |
|
(LF/Day) |
(LF/Day) |
(LF/Day) |
|
|
sidewalk |
$1.20 |
$0.60 |
$0.40* |
|
parking lane |
$0.20 |
$0.10 |
$0.10* |
|
bike/bus lane |
$0.80 |
$0.40 |
$0.30* |
|
moving/turn lane |
$0.60 |
$0.30 |
$0.20* |
|
alley |
$0.20 |
$0.10 |
$0.10 |
*New fee for city streets that are not categorized as Arterial or Downtown
More information about upcoming changes
July and August 2021 City Council actions
2021-00852 - Obstruction permit fees (minneapolismn.gov)
Three virtual online meetings were held on June 22 and 23, 2021.
View the slides from those presentations and a video recording of the third meeting (approximately 14 minutes).
Lane Use Fee Update Presentation
Lane Use Fee Update presentation video