The 40th Street Greenway is not the only new greenway proposal generating citizen concern. Last month consultants hired by Hennepin County organized public presentations of a plan that a consultant team has put together for the "Lowry Greenway," an initiative of county commissioner Mark Stenglein. The proposal calls for revitalizing Lowry Avenue across its entire length through the city of Minneapolis-from the western edge of the city in north Minneapolis through to the eastern city limits in northeast Minneapolis (see www.lowryavenue.com for details of the proposal). The proposed plan follows a series of public workshops held over the last year and input from city and county officials and planning staff.
There are positive goals reflected is aspects of the draft plan and if done right it could have much potential in helping to revitalize Lowry Avenue. Of particular note are the goals for improved pedestrian and bicycle access, a focus on certain commercial nodes and the addition of greenery and various design strategies to spruce up the Avenue. West of Lyndale in north Minneapolis, and east of Central in northeast, there appears to be relatively little that would be controversial. No properties would need to be acquired and most of the proposed design amenities appear to be ones that would have widespread citizen support. However, between Lyndale and Central Avenues, the proposed plan is more ambitious and raises many concerns. The emphasis on property acquisition and road widening raise questions about the underlying agenda for the plan. Some observers are speculating on whether the proposal is mainly a mechanism for gentrification (removing lower-cost housing along Lowry) and for facilitating more and faster traffic through the neighborhood under the guise of a greenway. I am going to focus on the area between Central Avenue and University Avenue. Through this section both sides of Lowry are in the Holland neighborhood (of which I am a resident and board member of the neighborhood association). Holland is the only neighborhood along all of Lowry that straddles both sides of the avenue and so has a particular interest in the plan. Through this part of Lowry, the proposal calls for acquiring properties on either the south side or the north side (which side is to be decided later) of Lowry. This is to gain a new wider corridor that would allow for four lanes of traffic, parking on both sides, bike lanes on both sides, plus a ten foot wide "multi-use trail" and boulevards with greenery. This framework was presented as based on what citizens identified as desirable along Lowry: wider sidewalks, greenery, and a bike trail. While these are all certainly desirable goals, I am not sure that citizens have had an opportunity to carefully analyze the trade-offs and alternatives involved in these choices. In addition, the proposed plan has some fundamental flaws that need to be addressed. PROPERTY LOSS: Removing all of the properties on either the north or south side of Lowry through Holland would have a tremendous impact on the neighborhood. While there are certainly houses and businesses in poor condition, there are also many structures of significant functional, aesthetic, and cultural value and they are spread out on both sides of Lowry. These include two churches on the south side (one very close to the Avenue, the other set back), multi-unit apartment buildings, dozens of individual single family homes and duplexes, offices, and viable small businesses. Many are neighborhood landmarks. I was told at the presentation that "no churches would be impacted" but also that "no decision has been taken on which side of the street would have property acquisition." These statements appear to contradict each other as, in order to not impact the churches, it is the north side of Lowry that would have to be acquired. IMPACT ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY: No figures were given at the presentation concerning how many units of low-cost housing would be lost through property acquisition on either the south or north side. County staff told me "affordable housing will be increased" but it is hard to see how that can be known when the figures on units lost aren't even acknowledged. There are at least four large multi-unit apartment building along Lowry in Holland, all in apparent good condition. Three are on the north side of Lowry near the area where the two churches are on the south side. There are also many smaller duplexes and single family homes, both rental and owner-occupied. Given the city-wide affordable housing crisis, the potential loss of this much housing is of great concern. At a time of diminished city and state budgets, it is questionable whether it would be a good use of public resources to tear down existing affordable housing in order to build new (supposedly) affordable housing. RETENTION OF BNSF VIADUCT: The proposed plan does not envision the replacement of the BNSF rail viaduct over Lowry between 6th and 7th Streets. Many residents would identify that viaduct as the single biggest problem on Lowry. It is already a bottleneck and a perceived hazard for pedestrians and bicyclists. Many people do not feel comfortable using it, especially at night. I understand that replacing this viaduct may be cost-prohibitive and a logistical challenge but it does call into question whether this is then a good candidate for a through bicycle route, particularly when a good alternative is available (see below). CENTRAL/LOWRY INTERSECTION: The proposed plan calls for the removal of commercial structures at Central/Lowry in order to accommodate left turn lanes and other traffic flow improvements. Central/Lowry is considered by many to be the "heart of northeast Minneapolis" and to have a significant aesthetic and historic "Main Street" feel to it that has been lost in much of the metropolitan area. Even if Lowry is widened at other points, it is questionable whether it should be done right through this intersection. It would result in the loss of older building of significant value (Arcana and Tom's or else the Subway/Office Connection/Abol's and Moler Barber buildings). This street widening may easily detract from the historic urban feel of the intersection. BICYCLE ROUTE AND ALTERNATIVES: As a year-around bicyclist, I have a particular interest in the development of bike routes in the city and worked on the Holland Bike Plan which has now been incorporated into larger plans for bike routes throughout northeast. One of the highest priorities identified is for east-west bike routes between the river and Central Avenue. Lowry is one of the only through streets but the BNSF viaduct and narrowness of Lowry present a major impediment to biking at present. Our neighborhood identified as a prime alternative the 27th Avenue corridor. One major capital improvement would be needed: a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the BNSF/CP rail corridor (I believe the city is now working on securing funding for this bridge). If that were done, this route would be far superior to the proposed Lowry Avenue bikeway two blocks to the south. From the Lowry bridge bicyclists could go north on Marshall (this is also planned as a future bike route) to 27th and then go east on a low traffic route, connecting to the University Ave. bridge/bike route and then over a new bridge into Holland and along 27th, by the new community garden and playground, to Central and beyond. Most bicyclists would probably much prefer this route to Lowry, particularly as Lowry is to remain as a heavily trafficked truck route and in that they would still have to pass under the existing BNSF viaduct. An off-road trail doesn't really make sense along a street with dozens of cross street intersections at every (short end) block anyway. In contrast, there are no street intersections along the north side of 27th between Central and University. A short distance south of Lowry there are other potential east-west bike routes (18th and 22nd Avenues) in the planning stages further reducing the need for a Lowry bike path. Related to all of this, there does not seem to be any strategy for traffic calming along Lowry through Holland. At present, many vehicles travel far faster than the post 30-mph, contributing to the perception of Lowry as unfriendly to pedestrians and bicyclists and dangerous to children. Unless specific methods are used to slow down traffic, it is likely that speeding will increase even further when the roadway is widened. RELATIONSHIP OF PROPERTY ACQUISITION TO BIKE ROUTES: The essential point here regards the trade-off between the bike lanes/multi-use trail and property acquisition. I was told by Henn. County staff that "gentle curves are possible" along Lowry in the Holland section (although that is not reflected in the draft plan). If the bike route is developed on 27th and some other compromises in the plan are made, and the Lowry greenway incorporates strategic "gentle curves," perhaps much less property acquisition would be required and many of the neighborhood institutions and housing can be preserved while removing the most blighted properties. These are very important trade-offs to carefully consider. CONCLUSION: Just because people in some small focus groups have said they would like wider sidewalks and greenery, planners should not have rushed to the conclusion that the trade-offs involved in the potential loss of housing and other neighborhood institutions and landmarks have been adequately considered. At most, a tiny handful of Holland residents have participated in the citizen input process regarding the greenway up to this point. A much more in-depth process of citizen and neighborhood input is required before plans for the Lowry Greenway are approved. Citizens will want to make sure that plans for the greenway concept reflect the interests of a wide cross section of neighborhood residents and that the trade-offs involved are clearly acknowledged and understood. Bruce Shoemaker Holland Neighborhood _______________________________________ 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
