> I'm glad to hear the new Mayor encourage people to walk around the > city. I like to walk around the city because it is a different reality > than what I experience in a car ..sort of like the scene in the movie > "The Matrix". where the main character gets unplugged...it 's not always > nice.... > Yesterday, I walked with my daughter to Uptown . On 31st Street , > we saw an old woman walking in the street with a walker. She was > risking her life in traffic because the street was plowed , but the > sidewalk wasn't. Why can't the city plow the sidewalks for the people > who can't drive? What sort of city contemplates building stadiums while > children , the blind and the elderly are forced to walk in the street? > The coughing began long before we reached Lake and Hennepin. Both > of us were hacking and wheezing from the exhaust fumes from thousands of > cars, trucks and busses. The air pollution in Uptown is more horrendous > than ever. It's probably because of the increase in SUV's and > trucks...and the city wants to encourage more traffic on Lake Street by > building an off-ramp from 35W and a parking ramp for Allina at the Sears > site....do the city officials who want to create more infrastructure for > cars care about the health effects of air pollution? Perhaps if they > got out of their cars and walked down Lake Street , air quality would be > more than a number on a piece of paper. > Walking back from Uptown we saw some workmen from the Parks > Department setting up a hockey rink . While they worked , their > enormous pick-up truck idled , the entire street was filled with exhaust > fumes...we began hacking and wheezing again. The engine was running > because they wanted a nice, warm truck to get into after their little > chore.... > Yesterday, I walked down 36th Street to the Hosmer > Library...walking anywhere near a highway like 35W is the ultimate > reality trip...a brutal , mechanized hell...there are always car crashes > near the freeway...motorists have trouble adjusting to the slower pace > of city traffic , they get impatient and blow through red lights. > Yesterday , I saw the aftermath of a five car pile-up at 35th > Street...You've probably caught a fleeting glimpse of car crashes from > your car...but the cop waved you on. Pedestrians have time to notice > the details of the crash , it's like a war-zone. Everywhere I walk , I > encounter piles of "road confetti" , the shattered windshields and > tail-lights of cars. It occurs to me that there must be lots of car > crashes in this city ...sometimes I see little shrines with crosses and > flowers and pictures. You don't hear about it much in the local news > media (they have a lot of car advertising). > When I walk , I see a lot of reckless driving , a lot of speeding. > I don't see the police ticketing speeders. A bunch of automated speed > traps and cameras on traffic lights would make a lot of money for the > city... On 50th Street , west of > Nicollet , the posted speed limit is 15 mph , but nearly every car is > speeding at 30 mph or higher even though there are two schools on that > street...it's only a matter of time before a kid gets run over...maybe > Ramsey and Wasburn could have a student operated speed trap for a school > fundraiser instead of a car wash.... > I agree with the Mayor , people should get out and walk (and not > just around a lake) , but I also want to know from the Mayor and other > city officials on this list...what exactly are you proposing to create a > city where people would rather walk instead of drive? > > Ken Avidor > Kingfield _______________________________________ 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
