Ms. Nordstrom's comments on pedestrian safety and the degradation of our parkways by the unlawful actions of certain motorists struck a chord with me. Her experience with a "thug on wheels" and speeding commuters is nothing new to anyone who's driven a parkway or visited a park in recent years. For whatever reasons, be it ignorance, obstinacy, or impatience with congestion on main traffic arteries, more and more drivers seem to believe that the parkway system is nothing more than a mini-freeway system, where speed limits don't apply, pedestrians and bicyclists are considered a nuisance, and police officers are rarely encountered. For them, pedestrian safety is something you find on a late-night Public Service Announcement. From my experience, the problem is worsening.
Minneapolis is blessed with a nationally recognized park system that offers myriad scenic wonders and outstanding recreational opportunities, the legacy of such visionaries as Charles Loring, Theodore Wirth, and Eloise Butler, whose early civic efforts not only preserved the natural beauty of the city's lakes and rivers, but also led to the construction of an impressive system of roads and trails that allows easy access to these many treasures. According to the National Scenic Byways Program, the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway encircling the city of Minneapolis is one of the largest (53 miles) and most impressive systems of its type in the nation, calling it "...the creme de la creme of urban scenic byways for more than a century." Why in the world do we as citizens tolerate the degradation of the parkway system by careless or reckless drivers, speeding commuters, and illegal commercial traffic? The Park Police, to their credit, have been extremely responsive to specific complaints of traffic violations on the parkways, but are overtaxed by the system's large size and the fact that only a handful of officers are on duty at a given time. Nevertheless, I think it's incumbent on the Park and Recreation Board and other elected city officials to take a closer look at preserving the parkway road system for what it was originally intended, namely, to provide citizens with a contemplative experience, while affording common access to the Minneapolis park system. Dennis Jon Fuller - Park District 6 _______________________________________ 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
