Another voice of opposition to "Avenue of the Arts" in
the ways and means committee was Councilmember Barbara
Johnson of the 4th ward who seemed less concerned with
the cost than with the priority, seeming to prefer we
build a bikeway from the northern part of town into
downtown. I shudder to think what that might entail!
Though I am a bicyclist myself though less so now that
my lightweight Gary Fisher was replaced by a heavier
than god knows what Huffy by an opportunist cruising
my wife's alley in the tenth ward, I find it difficult
to justify the expense related to bikeways given the
nasty Minnesota climate. Call me a wuss but I stop
riding when winds start whipping and the snow falls
and I am willing to make a small wager that many of us
do the same. There are hearty souls. More power to
them.
In a perfect world we would all ride bicycles, use
only solar energy, eat only organic food, love one
another, and never utter a cross word. Someday!
Perhaps if I were a parent I might feel differently
but as I am not I need to say that dedicated bicycle
paths for commuters or occasional users, though a
desirable want are not a necessity.
And if we are going to set priorities in the city we
need to focus first on necessities and then next on
wants and what their relative merits are vis a vis
return on investment and the common good. My problem
with Barb Johnson's objection to "Avenue of the Arts"
is her narrow parochialism.
I am still angry at the hue and cry raised by
opponents of The Guthrie Theatre expansion, led by
some members of the city and Park Board who turned it
into a North/South, bluecollar/whitecollar, battle
that made more sense in the 30's than it does in the
late 90's. Barb Johnson was among the most vocal
critics of the Guthrie expansion. So now we have
chewed up a big piece of land over near the river that
someone at sometime saw as a perfect site for a
ballpark or new stadium. The Guthrie Theatre expansion
at their present site should have happened, could have
happened if we had decent leadership on the issue.
Ballparks with a view of downtown could have been
built in another location and land that the city owned
of equal value could have been transferred to the Park
Board to administer. Given the amount of noise and
traffic at the Parade Grounds site, I would hardly
typify it as the best location. Even a litlle farther
north toward Olson Highway in the Sumner Olson area
would have worked well.
My wife and i had some time to kill on the 4th of July
and being up Northeast I drove her around a few spots
she had never seen or had seen and forgot. She kept
saying, "Wow, is this nnice" or "what a view" speaking
of the view of downtown from Ridgeway Road and all the
time we heard no airplanes roaring overhead. My only
comment to her at the time was remember all this when
you hear Barb Johnson, Walt Dziedzic, etc talk about
all the amenities in south Minneapolis.
As we drove through portions of the 1st and 4th, even
past Walt's house, I pointed out the nice concrete
streets. No wonder the citizens of those wards named
streets after Walt Dziedzic and Alice Rainville. Mean-
while there are already decent sized divots in Eat
Street which was repaved only a couple years ago. I
don't want to go too far with this line because I
kinda like Walt and Alice, how little I know them, and
Barb seems nice enough as well.
Just thought to add this afterthought. Hope I haven't
pissed off too many people. Is my new regimen working?
Tim Connolly
Ward 7
D.T. resident
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