Minneapolis, MN

The City of Minneapolis has a site adjacent to the Mississippi that contains a salt/sand mixture box that is accessible to the public. The city encourages individuals and small businesses to take and use the mixture to make public spaces safer. However, the current storage bin is a metal dumpster with no lid so there is lots of spillage, causing salt runoff directly into the Mississippi. The ideal redesign would be a storage bin that is still accessible, is informative, lessens spillage, and creates a multi-use space. 

Along with the redesign of the salt bin, the street itself was to be re-imagined. Currently, it is a large road with no sidewalk, bike lanes, or trees. There is some grass and small trees on the site across the street, but nothing on the other side. An issue with this site is the large amount of impermeable surface area and runoff. This proposed design included turning the street into a boulevard with bio-retention basin dividers in the middle, adding a parking cutout for easier access to the bin, and a sidewalk.

The idea for the new salt bin is based on an auger. A spiral chute that pulls the mixture towards a slot and pushes it out a slot where an individual would place their bucket. It would also have a pavilion above it to provide protection from snow, rain, and wind. The  pavilion would also provide a space for education for the public on the impacts of using salt and water quality issues.

The final consideration on this site was the plant selection. Because most of the ‘green’ spaces are bioretention basins, and all are in a very urban condition, the plants chosen must be very tolerant. The plants chosen were selected based on salt tolerance, drought tolerance, flood tolerance, and soil condition limits.