Mark makes some excellent and valid points in his post supporting the Riverview site as a public park.
If anyone has an interest in the Upper River Master Plan, a meaningful stakeholder process (not in place currently but being forced upon our elected representatives who should champion and value such a process), you should visit the Riverview site. What is 5.3 acres? One of the business reps, the Camden News editor and I had fun sharpening our pencils along with our minds in remembering just how big (or small) an area this size would be to provide a visual for the communities of the adjacent area in an article. This particular site is slightly larger than an average city block. The development of town houses and condos at this site DOES greatly reduce the public space to merely an extension of the parkway and trails. Also, I'd like to add that the comparison to Wirth Park just doesn't work. The Riverview site is fairly barren not counting the supper club building. There are no trees to speak of and just a very few shrubs at the incline leading down to the river. Safety is an important aspect to any public park and will certainly be brought up and discussed if we have a park to plan for, but right now the immediate issue is preserving the space as park. Mark makes another valid comment with respect to such a diverse group of residents, business/industry owners, environmental groups, recreational interests, Trust for Public Land, DNR and others in having the vision and seeing the value of retaining this small piece of the riverfront as public space for now and future generations. If the city, in deciding the zoning, turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to a truly meaningful and inclusive stakeholder participation process and the vision for open space and public access on this first project out of the blocks for the Upper River Master Plan, then what hope do we have for future developments? If this opportunity is lost, there is little hope it can be recaptured. Participating in fighting to preserve this site as park has been incredible and overwhelming. Spread the word and offer your help. "It was worth remembering Huck Finn's lesson: The river is the sanctuary. It's the shore where we get into trouble." ===== Candy Sartell Lind Bohanon, Ward 4 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month. http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
