​Downtown Minneapolis Installs First 'Woonerf'

Minneapolis welcomed its first “woonerf” Thursday.

What exactly is a woonerf? It's a a low-speed street that'll be shared by pedestrians, motorists, and bikers.

The New York Times reported that “woonerf,” roughly translated as “living streets,” is what Dutch people call a special kind of streets that function as shared public spaces.

FOX 9 reported that developers are working with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to build the European-style street to make downtown Minneapolis more pedestrian-friendly.

“One of my partners saw the concept in the Netherlands and thought it was a cool idea,” said lawyer Brian Flakne.

Image: La Citta Vita via Flickr /Creative Commons