> Message: 2 > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > I remind the editorial board that I took an oath to > protect the interests of my constituents to the best of my ability. I > am not convinced that fast-tracking a capacity project (HOV lanes) > on I-35W is in the best interest of the 8th Ward. > > I have been involved in the access project since the spring of 1998. > CM Dore Mead is educating me about the earlier work on this project > and the Neighborhood Transportation Network (NTN). I will be meeting > with freeway activists (past and present; pro and con) to determine > a strategy. My > guess is this will mean a community-wide meeting(s) early in 2002. > Hopefully, this will move us toward the clarity the Strib board seeks. > > I am disturbed by the oblique threat in the quote from Commissioner > Tinklenberg. > > <State Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg is right when he > says: > "The more inflexible Minneapolis becomes, the more it alienates > itself from the support it needs.">
[TB] While I�m no where near convinced that building more freeway lanes is the answer to anyone�s problem, I don�t think anything related to 35W has been fast-tracked. These discussions have been going on for years. We certainly know that if we build more lanes, the cars will come and there is a large number of people out there who make extensive use of automobiles. I think, however, that there is some truth to what Commissioner Tinklenberg said. Minneapolis can�t go it alone and needs support. Same for the �burbs. If they didn�t need Minneapolis we�d have significantly fewer concrete ribbons leading to downtown Minneapolis. We need the support but we need creative solutions that meet everyone�s needs. Meets needs, not everyone�s pipedreams. > Message: 17 > From: "W. Brandon Lacy Campos" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Unfortunately, at this juncture in Minneapolis Housing, I don't see > rents free-falling nor landlords getting the proverbial shaft anytime soon. > As a matter of fact, rent in Minneapolis is ridiculous. Does anyone on the > list have compartitive statistics for rents in other "Minneapolis" sized > cities? [TB] It�s fortunate that rents are not free-falling. A landlord needs to make the money to be able to maintain the property to the standards that will attract tenants. 2 websites that provide some comparable information with other areas are: http://www.holland-chamber.org/hcccstlv.htm http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/special/wealth/cht_marketbasket.html The survey cited by the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce is referred to in numberous sites and shows our housing costs to be similar to cities such as Denver, Seattle, Washington DC, Phili and Cleveland, much lower than New York City and higher than Pheonix. Equally important is vacancy rates or availablility. > -Brandon Lacy Campos again: > On a salary of roughly 26,000 dollars a year, I can no longer afford > to live in Uptown, Lynn/Lake, or adjacent neighborhoods. And I have fairly > low financial burdens. I currently live in Powderhorn Park, a wonderful > neighborhood, where rent pricess are steadily climbing. [TB] There is a distinction to be made between what we want and what we need. Clearly people need housing where they have access to jobs, schools, etc. Many of us have places that we would like to live that we cannot afford or even have had times in our lives when we could not afford to live where we do now. I�m now in the 6th year of renting the same apartment in the Loring Park neighborhood. While I make no claim that the apartment is cheap, I think it is competitively priced with similar property around the city and I certainly don�t feel that I�ve been gouged with price increases. Both the transportation and housing issues are issues that cannot be solved by just one municipality, we need metro area solutions. All of our municipalities need to quit acting like little protectorates that are looking out only for their individual interests. The number of governmental units we have within the area served by Metropolitan Council is absurd. For the good of the entire metro area, we need an elected Metropolitan Council that would take over most of the duties of our existing municipalities including planning, transportation and zoning. Terrell Brown Loring Park [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===== Terrell Brown CPA CFI-MEI/ATP Financial Management/Aviation Safety 110 West Grant Street #30H Minneapolis, MN 55403 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (612)371-9681 h/(612)998-9681 c __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com _______________________________________ 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
