Last Thursday evening over 80 residents of the Holland Neighborhood jammed into the Northeast Library to discuss the Lowry Corridor Plan. This was on the eve of the City Council vote on the plan yesterday. (As an aside, I believe this level of participation in one neighborhood was higher than that achieved at any of the multi-neighborhood meetings organized by the County during the Lowry planning process). Councilmembers Paul Ostrow and Joe Biernat, as well as county staff, were in attendence. Conspicuous in his absence was County Commissioner Mark Stenglein, the initial driving force behind the Plan.
Many of the concerns I listed previously (loss of affordable housing, increased high-speed traffic flow, retention of the BNSF viaduct, and safety issues for bikers and pedestrians were raised. Significantly, not one resident at the meeting spoke out in favor of the Lowry Plan for Holland as it is currently envisioned. Several residents spoke out in favor of the idea of actually reducing the number of lanes of through traffic from four to two (similar to what is proposed for Lowry in much of north Minneapolis), which together with some parking restrictions, would seem to allow for left turn lanes where needed as well as slightly wider sidewalks/boulevards. Many issues concerning projected traffic flows, rationale for widening, bike lanes, alternatives for trucks, and alternative configurations remain unanswered. Both councilmembers were very responsive to our concerns and they worked out supplemental language in the approval that (in the context of supporting the overall concept plan), acknowledges that there are significant issues of concern and that the street widening/property acquisition and other issues will need to be further examined, and again come before the council. A key point is that the language specifically indicates a role for neighborhood groups and local residents in this process (previously this would have only been the role of the Lowry CAC). This allows the Lowry Plan to move forward for its first stage--in north Minneapolis were the plan is much less controversial and has some good potential to bring important improvements to that area--while allowing for a rethinking of what has been approved for the northeast side. Implementation on the northeast side will not occur for several (at least) years according to the county's implementation schedule and is dependent on funding, something that seems scarce all over right now. I consider this to be a major step in the right direction. I do hope that some of these issues can be addressed sooner rather than later so that property owners do not have to live with uncertainty for years and years about whether their homes and businesses will be need to be taken. There is a high level of interest in this issue now so it would be a good time to continue with the planning process and exploration of alternatives even though the actual physical changes may not occur for some time. And for some of the improvements we do want to see on Lowry, it would be nice if they could be implemented sooner rather than later. I would like to thank councilmembers Biernat and Ostrow for their assistance and participation, as well as the involvement of the county and city planning staff who listened to our concerns. CM Dean Zimmermann, through his expression of interest in the issue, was also very helpful as I believe was CM Barb Johnson, who also was involved in getting the supplemental language to the resolution worked out. 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
