Hello List members, The Midtown Greenway crossing at Hiawatha and the question of whether or not the Hiawatha LRT line will be on piers or on walls (mechanically engineered earth) in the areas near Lake Street, the Green Institute and 28th Avenue are important issues for all of Minneapolis. Some of the reasons that these issues are significant are; the walls would, further isolate residents of the Phillips Community; · be visually abhorrent with a design that precludes pedestrian and bicycle connections; · attract crime and litter by creating and �canyon� between the LRT bridge and the T.H. 55 bridge; · inhibit redevelopment of the Hi-Lake Shopping Center; · prevent future transit connections between LRT and the Heritage Trolley; and · negatively impact the adjacent Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center by cutting off visibility and walling off the Green Institute�s property from the neighborhood. Please review the following message from the Midtown Greenway Coalition and neighborhoods in the immediately affected areas for more information. If you would like more information about this issue, please call Tim Springer at 612-278-7171 or the Longfellow Community Council at 612-722-4529. ****Next immediate step*****: Please attend the Minneapolis City Council Transportation and Public Works Committee meeting on Thursday March 8th at City Hall 9:00 am rm 132 please call Sheila Delaney 612-722-4529 or Tim Springer at 612-278-7171 for more information. Thanks! Re: Input to Elected Officials sought regarding LRT design and Greenway crossing of Hiawatha From: A team of staff and board members from Midtown Greenway Coalition, Longfellow Community Council, East Phillips Improvement Coalition, Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, Seward Neighborhood Group Dear Neighbor, We need your help to contact government officials. Let's make a more livable city with thoughtful design of our first LRT line. A 30-foot high concrete wall is planned on the West side of Hiawatha Avenue to accommodate the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line as it approaches the Lake Street Station from both the north and south. Not only would the wall be very intrusive to the neighborhood, but it may also preclude optimal use of the land for possible parking, commercial development, and effective bus/trolley connections in the area. This intrusive design was announced to the public just months before LRT construction is to begin. A Bridge Over Hiawatha for the Midtown Greenway In addition, if the LRT line were built on stilts at this location, rather than a walled earthen structure, planners could redesign the intersection. The LRT bridge could be raised about 10 feet to allow a bridge for the Midtown Greenway to cross over Hiawatha Avenue, and underneath the LRT bridge, which crosses from the East to the West side of Hiawatha Avenue at 28th Street. This Greenway bridge would provide a direct and seamless crossing over 7 traffic lanes on Hiawatha Avenue for cyclists and pedestrians in the neighborhood as well as all users of the Midtown Greenway. Please communicate these Community Priorities with your elected officials: 1. No earth-filled walls, the LRT should be on a structure held up by piers as the trains come from south to north for the entire length approaching the Lake Street Station, between the Lake Street Station and the LRT bridge over Hiawatha at E 28th Street, and north of E. 28th Street. 2. Raise the LRT structure up at E. 28th Street to allow the Midtown Greenway to pass underneath it. 3. Please help provide money to implement these changes to the LRT design because LRT planners are telling us some cost-sharing is critical to move these issues forward. NOTE: THE MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL�S TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW THIS ISSUE ON THURSDAY, MARCH 8. This Committee includes Council Members Mead, Johnson, Biernat, Colvin-Roy, and Lane. FULL MET COUNCIL MIGHT REVIEW THIS ISSUE ON MARCH 14. Decisions we make today will affect the livability of our city for a century to come. Please contact your elected officials about this important matter. Don't forget to include your mailing address in e-mails. Otherwise, officials will not know where your letter comes from. Please call the Midtown Greenway Coalition at 612/278-7171 or e-mail us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with questions. Below are some names and addresses to make it easy for you. Please pass this message on to your friends and associates. As background and supporting information for those interested, following the list of officials is a PROBLEM STATEMENT, a SUMMARY OF RECENT EVENTS, a list of NEXT STEPS, and an article on this topic from the March 6, 2001 Minneapolis Star Tribune. Met Council (suggest community priorities be favorably addressed by changing LRT design) Frank Hornstein District 6 651 632-2184 fax: 651-623-2188 [EMAIL PROTECTED] District 6 includes Phase I of the Greenway, Chowen Avenue to Bryant Avenue. Matthew Ramadan District 7 612-335-5924 fax: 612-522-357 [EMAIL PROTECTED] District 7 includes Phases I and II of the Greenway, Bryant Avenue to Hiawatha Avenue. Carol Kummer District 8 612-722-0370 fax: 612-728-3913 [EMAIL PROTECTED] District 8 includes Phase III of the Greenway, Hiawatha Avenue to the Mississippi River. Ted Mondale Chair 651-602-1453 fax: 651-602-1358 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mayor of Minneapolis (suggest the City help w/ cost sharing for LRT changes needed) Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton 612-673-2200 [EMAIL PROTECTED] City Council Members (suggest the City help w/ cost sharing for LRT changes needed) Joan Campbell Ward 2 612-673-2202 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Joe Biernat Ward 3 612-673-2203 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Barb Johnson Ward 4 612-673-2204 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jim Niland Ward 6 612-673-2206 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lisa Goodman Ward 7 612-673-2207 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brian Herron Ward 8 612-673-2208 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kathy Thurber Ward 9 612-673-2209 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lisa McDonald Ward 10 612-673-2210 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dore Mead Ward 11 612-673-2211 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sandra Colvin Roy Ward 12 612-673-2212 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Barret Lane Ward 13 612-673-2213 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hennepin County Commissioners (solicit help for both the redesign of LRT and creative cost sharing ASAP using available funds) Gail Dorfman Dist. 3 612-348-7883 fax: 612-348-8701 [EMAIL PROTECTED] District 3 includes the Greenway west of 2nd Avenue Peter McLaughlin Dist. 4 612-348-7884 fax: 612-348-8701 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Distrct 4 includes the Greenway east of 2nd Avenue. PROBLEM STATEMENT A safe and pleasant way must be found for the Midtown Greenway to cross Hiawatha Avenue and the Hiawatha LRT line. One of the biggest challenges is the plan for the Light Rail Transit to cross over Hiawatha Avenue from the southwest to the northeast in the vicinity of East 28th Street. This is the railroad corridor where the Midtown Greenway is being constructed also crosses Hiawatha Avenue. If a bike/ped bridge were constructed for the Greenway to cross Hiawatha Avenue at 28th Street it would come up into the air and run smack into the side of the LRT bridge. SUMMARY OF RECENT EVENTS Fall, 2000 The four neighborhoods surrounding the Midtown Greenway crossing of Hiawatha Avenue, and the Midtown Greenway Coalition, engaged in discussions about how the Midtown Greenway should cross Hiawatha Avenue. They supported the idea of creating public park space at this location and the idea of a land bridge was supported in all venues where it was discussed. November 29, 2000 The Hiawatha LRT Community Advisory Committee (CAC) recommended to the Hiawatha LRT Corridor Management Committee (CMC), at the request of the Midtown Greenway Coalition, to call for the conceptual layout of a land bridge and keep the idea moving forward. December 4, 20 The Hiawatha LRT Corridor Management Committee requested staff to look into the land bridge issue and come back to them at their January meeting with more information on estimated land bridge costs and how construction of the land bridge might fit into the schedule of the larger Hiawatha LRT project construction. January 1, 2001 The Corridor Management Committee was canceled due to the New Years Day holiday. January 29, 2001 A community meeting was hosted by Seward Neighborhood Group at location of DC Sales. After discussing the alternatives, the community was still in favor of pursuing a land bridge as a way for the Midtown Greenway and the LRT to cross Hiawatha Avenue. Later that week there were meetings and discussions among representatives from the Midtown Greenway Coalition, Longfellow Community Council, Seward Neighborhood Group, Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, and the East Phillips Improvement Coalition. Monday, February 5, 2001 The Corridor Management Committee voted to table the community�s request for a land bridge crossing. They directed LRT staff from the Met Council and MN DOT to explore with community representatives additional ideas for how the Midtown Greenway could cross Hiawatha Avenue and the LRT tracks in the vicinity of E 28th St. Specifically, the scenario to be studied was the community�s second choice scenario after the land bridge. This scenario entailed raising the LRT bridge over Hiawatha Avenue about 12 feet so that the Midtown Greenway could pass over the traffic on Hiawatha Avenue and underneath the LRT bridge. The community refers to this scenario as the SOUTHERN CROSSING because the Greenway would cross Hiawatha Avenue and the LRT line in the vicinity of E. 28th Street as compared to another scenario in which the Greenway crosses Hiawatha Avenue farther north, roughly at the latitude of E. 27th Street. Tuesday, February 6, 2001 A meeting was held at the Hiawatha Planning Office (HPO) of MN DOT to discuss the feasibility of raising the LRT bridge up. In attendance were about 12 individuals representing the Hiawatha LRT team, mostly from the HPO, and Tim Springer of the Midtown Greenway Coalition. The various crossing scenarios were presented by Tim and then the HPO responded. They shared an estimated cost of $26 million to raise 12 feet higher the LRT bridge over Hiawatha Avenue, and serious concerns about the impact on the design process that was now already 2 months underway with construction scheduled to begin in April 2001, just a few weeks away. Thursday, February 8, 2001 A meeting of neighborhood representatives was held at the Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center to assess recent information and plan next steps. In attendance were Sheila Delaney and Rachel Sheild (Longfellow Community Council staff), Debbie Wolking (LCC Board), Eric Guida (Seward Neighborhood Group Director), Glory Gloudemans (East Phillips Board Chair), Eric Hart and Jamie McDonald (Midtown Greenway Coalition Board), Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, and Tim Springer (Midtown Greenway Coalition Director). At the neighborhood meeting we discussed whether or not there might still be a slim chance of the new 1st choice scenario of raising the LRT bridge 12 feet. It was decided that any remaining chances of raising the LRT 12 feet to achieve the SOUTHERN CROSSING should be pursued simultaneously with identifying community needs regarding the NORTHERN CROSSING, should it be implemented. Wednesday, February 21, 2001 The Community Advisory Committee held an emergency meeting to address a new, but related, issue. The concern to be discussed was the HPOs plans to place the LRT trains on a wall composed of earth held in by walls in the vicinity of the Lake Street station and the LRT crossing of Hiawatha Avenue. This was a change from original plans previously shown to the community and the Community Advisory Committee which called for a bridge structure held up by piers. The Community Advisory Committee and the public attending the meeting responding very negatively to the proposed walled structure. The Community Advisory Committee unanimously passed the following a resolution: The Hiawatha LRT Community Advisory Committee strongly opposes the mechanically engineered earth wall and the process that allowed it to happen without community awareness. The Community Advisory Committee demands return to the open, pylon-supported bridge design, including elevation of the LRT bridge at 28th Street so that the Midtown Greenway can go beneath it and allow space for a trolley turnaround. The Community Advisory Committee resolution stemmed from concerns that the wall would: · further isolate residents of the Phillips Community · be visually abhorrent with a design that precludes pedestrian and bicycle connections; · attract crime and litter by creating and �canyon� between the LRT bridge and the T.H. 55 bridge; · inhibit redevelopment of the Hi-Lake Shopping Center; · prevent future transit connections between LRT and the Heritage Trolley; and · negatively impact the adjacent Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center by cutting off visibility and walling off the Green Institute�s property from the neighborhood. Thursday, February 22, 2001 The Midtown Greenway Coalition hired a bridge engineer to look at MN DOT�s LRT design in this area and propose a bridge design to meet the objectives in the Community Advisory Committee�s resolution. Monday, March 5, 2001 The Corridor Management Committee met and discussed the two issues forwarded by the Community Advisory Committee resolution. Due to the lack of a quorum, they were not able to act, but directed staff to examine the Midtown Greenway Coalition�s proposed bridge design solution, and to work with the Midtown Greenway Coalition�s contract bridge engineer to fill in informational gaps to further research this option. NEXT STEPS ASAP--Constituent input to elected officials to request their support and their help finding funding to make it happen. March 8, 2001, 9:00 a.m., Room 132 City Hall--Meeting of the Transportation and Public Works Committee of the Minneapolis City Council. Meeting Significance: This committee will discuss the possibility of the City of Minneapolis helping to pay for the changes to the LRT design that are needed to make it work for the local community, for transit oriented development, and for the Greenway. ?March 14, 2001, 3:00 p.m. at Met Council chambers, Met Council meets Meeting Significance: The Met Council might review a request to implement the changes sought by the community regarding LRT design. (Please verify meeting date, time, location, and agenda before going by calling Met Council at 651 602-1000.) March 19, 2001, Ways and Means/Budget Committee of the Mpls City Council. Meeting Significance: This committee will act yeah or nay on whatever was forwarded to them from the TDW Committee on March 8. _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
