City updates its climate action plan

Creating Downtown Streets and Sidewalks plan to help reach climate goals

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | May 2025

The City of St. Paul is methodically taking steps to reduce single occupancy vehicle commuters by 40% by 2040 and reach carbon neutrality in city operations by 2030 and citywide by 2050. Currently underway is the creation of a Downtown Streets and Sidewalks plan, which will establish a 20-year vision for a transportation network downtown that promotes walkability and reduces automobile dependency. An online survey garnering community feedback about the current network and how people travel downtown was recently wrapped up, and additional opportunities for community feedback will be given before the plan’s expected completion next year. The primary study area is between I-94/I-35E, Highway 52, Shepard Road and Kellogg Boulevard. Improving safety for drivers, transit users and pedestrians is also a primary goal.

Additionally, the City is updating its Climate Action and Resilience Plan, which was adopted in 2019. A draft is expected to be completed by the end of May, including the first in a series of action plans that can be implemented in 5-year increments. According to the 2019 plan, the biggest culprits of carbon emissions in the city are from building energy use (61%) and transportation (30%). If no action is taken, emissions are anticipated to increase 50% by 2050, contributing to the significant warming being documented across the planet.

Notably, Xcel Energy is working to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050, which will get St. Paul buildings about 40% of the way toward carbon neutrality. This allows the city to focus more on reducing emissions from travel and natural gas. Ultimately, both will need to be decreased by 3% annually to meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

A major piece of the two complementary plans is determining how to make low-emission travel a legitimate choice for the general public, especially for trips of less than three miles. Creating more sidewalk and trail connections with pleasant landscaping and other amenities is expected to promote walking and biking, which in turn have mental health benefits for individuals. Providing additional light rail and bus transit options, as well as electric car-share and electric bikes and scooters, could also curb single occupancy commuters. The city’s bike plan, adopted last year, has paved the way for up to 163 miles of new off-street bike lanes to be created in the city by 2040, bringing the network to a total of 335 bike lane miles. Notably, the next segment of the Capital City Bikeway will be constructed this summer along the north side of Kellogg Boulevard, from St. Peter Street to West 7th Street.

Getting more people out on the streets will also help boost economic development, another top priority for the City. A year ago, the City adopted a Downtown Investment Strategy, outlining population growth goals, which include adding 20,000 residents, 20,000 workers for a total of 75,000, and increasing the number of annual visitors by 20% to 10 million. The report identified three ways that the public and private sectors can work together to reach the goals: convert office space into housing, invest in pedestrian-oriented streetscape improvements and advance downtown St. Paul’s most strategic redevelopment opportunities.

Last fall, 10 office buildings were identified as candidates for conversion into residential units: 375 Jackson Street’s first building, Alliance Bank Building, Empire Building, First National Bank building, Gallery Professional building, Great Northern building, InterContinental building, Park Square Court, Town Square UBS Tower and U.S. Bank Center. Construction is underway on the former Ecolab University and Landmark Tower buildings.

Regarding strategic development opportunities, a developer has been selected for the redevelopment of the light rail Central Station block. They are proposing to build a 20-story apartment tower and a 6-story building connected by a skyway over the Metro Green Line. The $130-million project features 300 apartment units and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space on the vacant site adjacent to the Green Line’s Central Station. A purchase agreement is tentatively slated for the end of 2026, with construction starting shortly after. Likewise, Ramsey County is working on schematic plans for the Park at RiversEdge, a 9-acre park on the Mississippi bluff between Union Depot and the Science Museum that is expected to feature gathering space for public events, expanded public access to the river and more. It’s the first section of the proposed River Balcony, which calls for a slew of ambitious development opportunities.

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