Why on earth, might you ask, are a growing number of Hiawatha neighborhood residents raising concerns about a seemingly innocuous proposal to convert a dilapidated gas station on 46th St and Hiawatha into a 24-hour Holiday (gas) Stationstore?
It goes without saying that it's a sobering fact we're now just over a year or so away from cutting the ribbon for Minnesota's first light rail, yet we find that 46th St & Hiawatha - a major artery for future LRT ridership - is one of Minneapolis' most unfriendly pedestrian and bicyclist intersections. In spite of the double wammy effect of decades of auto-oriented and 'burb-like development along Hiawatha and of new 50+ mph speeds brought on from the newly aligned State trunk highway 55, residents still think of it as an 'avenue.' The million-dollar question for weary walking residents is whether congestion and pedestrian safety issues will improve or continue to an uncontrolled downward spiral. There are reasons for both skepticism and optimism. Next week (see related message) area residents will extend an offer to Holiday Stationstores to work cooperatively toward a mutually satisfactory outcome. Community leaders will point to the City Council's recent approval of the "46th & Hiawatha Station Area Master Plan," a product of extensive community and business input. The consensus plan that resulted from over 15-months of intense community meetings, calls for the gas station to be relocated to a more appropriate site along heavily traveled Hiawatha Avenue. We appreciate Holiday Stationstore's desire to provide quality service to Minneapolitans in these southern parts. However, community members are concerned that the existing tiny parcel not only conflicts with desired use but simply does not provide for achieving their stated objective. While Holiday is asking for the community's good will in granting several setback, parking and signage variances, they would be better served in embracing the community offer of support to find a promising new location along Hwy 55. The community also remains concerned about legitimate environmental issues such as the expanse of impervious surfaces and dearth of landscaping and vegetative buffer zones that would protect the nearby 'crown jewel,' Minnehaha Falls Park, from added stress. Frankly, Holiday's current proposal, coupled with news of Cub Foods recent interest in slam dunking an undesired big box on an adjacent parcel, is precisely the polar opposite of what Minneapolis neighborhoods had hoped would result from the LRT system. What's happening in the sleepy little Hiawatha neighborhood raises serious questions as to whether transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly development are simply sexy buzz words or, in fact, powerful and practical tools that will guide future development. It'll take a strong spirit of cooperation among nearby neighborhoods and interested private developers to fully realize the hope that LRT will result in not only significant number of Minnesotans choosing mass transit over autos but the benefits we'll also receive from improved environmental quality and transit-oriented development. We truly hope Holiday Stationstores joins us in this effort. _______________________________________ 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
