Your Annual Meeting Questions, Answered
More than 300 questions and comments were submitted during the North Loop Neighborhood Association (NLNA) Annual Meeting, and our volunteers have been working on answers. We’ve sorted and organized all the feedback into these top categories:
Wanted: Another Grocery Store
The top category of questions and comments had to do with the types of businesses residents want to see in the North Loop, with a strong desire for “businesses for the people who live here, versus the people who play here,” as one commenter put it. The most-requested business was a grocery store. Other suggestions included an ice cream shop, sandwich shop and hardware store.
Building owners and developers are the ones making the decisions about which businesses move into their North Loop properties. The NLNA has a Planning + Zoning (P+Z) Committee whose volunteers have influence over how those businesses are incorporated into the neighborhood. For more on P+Z’s work, check out this story.
Love for Small + Locally-Owned Businesses
Many commenters want more small businesses, and “fewer corporate chains.” But the fact is, small locally-owned businesses far outnumber corporate-owned establishments. Out of 192 businesses listed in the 2026 North Loop Neighborhood Guide, the vast majority are locally owned. For example, every listing within the Pets, Cocktails, Breweries & Taprooms, and Galleries categories are local. Nearly all our restaurants and fast casual dining options, more than half our retailers, and four out of our seven coffee shops are locally-owned.
The 2026 Neighborhood Guide. Nearly all businesses listed here are locally owned by entrepreneurs.
Wanted: A Stop Sign at 4th St. N. and 6th Ave. N.
This intersection doesn’t have stop signs for cars traveling on 6th Ave. N., resulting in confusion and danger for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. “Absolutely no one knows how to handle that intersection” said one commenter. Some drivers assume there’s a stop sign, so they stop, risking a rear-end collision from the car behind them. Pedestrians walk through, thinking there’s a stop sign, and risk getting hit by the drivers who realize they don’t have a stop sign.
Use caution when making your way through the intersection of 4th St. N. and 6th Ave. N.
Council Member Michael Rainville’s Office said it has been asking Public Works for a stop sign at that intersection “every time we meet with them” but with “13 Council Members, there are currently 183 requests for intersection improvements all over Minneapolis.” Still, the request remains a priority for Council Member Rainville, “given the high pedestrian and vehicle volume.”
You can make your own request for stop signs with the City here. Click on “request a new traffic sign.”
Wanted: More Crosswalks on Washington Ave. N.
Many commenters want additional crosswalks on Washington Ave. N. with flashing lights that better align with how people cross that street, like at the tunnel or closer to The Freehouse and Nordic Plaza. Washington Ave. is a Hennepin County road; our County Commissioner is Irene Fernando. Also, the County has a feedback map for street safety and improvement issues where you can make requests and submit comments.
Love for the Dog Park
It’s often said there are more dogs than children in the North Loop, and dog parents made it known they want a dog park. Our current park at 3rd St. N. and 8th Ave. N. is still available to us, as City approvals for The Bathhouse are still pending.
The new dog park location will be under the freeway overpass (called a “viaduct”) along 4th St. N. and around 8th Ave. N. For more on the timeline and process for making that happen, please check out our story here.
The new location for the next North Loop dog park, under the freeway overpass along N. 4th St.
One person asked for a “bark representative” on the NLNA board to advocate for dog issues. Rest assured, there are four dog parents on the NLNA board, and many dog lovers!
Cleaner Streets, Less Trash
The scene on 6th Ave. N. recently.
We know! There’s a lot of ick out there this time of year as the snow melts, and many commenters noticed. This is one of those “livability issues” that we can tackle on our own. Service Saturday volunteers are out the second Saturday morning of each month, working for about an hour to pick up litter throughout the neighborhood. The next Service Saturday is March 14. Meet at Corner Coffee (514 N 3rd St.) at 9:30am to get garbage bags, gloves and garbage grabbers.
If that doesn’t work for your schedule, residents can pick up litter on their own any time! (Thank you to the litter-obsessed residents we see working solo from time to time.) The City supplies those big yellow garbage bags; you can order them here and organize your residential building or office to tackle litter on your own schedule! And thank you!
Volunteers pick up trash on a Service Saturday last summer.
Got more questions? Send them to info@northloop.org and our volunteers will try to find answers!
— Mary Binkley, NLNA President