Hennepin Avenue reopening after construction

The big picture: The project is the latest example of how the city is remaking streets with less emphasis on cars and more on transit, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Zoom in: Hennepin was previously four lanes of vehicle traffic and on-street parking.

• Its new design has two lanes of vehicle traffic, with left turn lanes at certain intersections.
• There's a dedicated bus lane during rush-hour that can be used for parking the rest of the time.
• A new two-way protected bikeway runs on the east side.

How it works: Starting Dec. 6, Metro Transit will replace the busy 6 route with the E Line, its latest bus rapid transit service.

• The E Line will come every 10 minutes (compared to 12-15 for the 6 route) and will improve speeds by about 20%, according to Metro Transit.

Yes, but: The redesign has some businesses worried about a loss of parking and more congestion.

• "I don't know if I should be happy or what," Osman Cleaners owner Mumtaz Osman told the Star Tribune. "With what they have done, they will make lots of people unhappy. With parking gone and one lane both ways, I fear it's not so good. Time will tell."

What's ahead: About 17 months of peace before Hennepin County is scheduled to begin the reconstruction of Lyndale Avenue a few blocks east.