I am forwarding a response I provided to Denise Mazone (with her permission) about the 35W Access Project. I also received David P's confirmation that I have "accurately quoted [his] sentiment - which is [his] own and not necessarily that of ENUFF..."
Dave Jensen Central N'hood rep to 35W Access Project --- DMazone@... wrote on Tue, 9 Jul: > > Dave, > > Please clairfy if you are in agreement with David > Piehl? Are you a part of the ENUFF group? > > Denise Mazone > --- Dave Jensen <dj_3740@...> wrote on Wed, 10 Jul: > > Denise, > > Good question(s). > > I am generally in disagreement with David Piehl, but > on several specifics we are in agreement. Let me > explain: > > - 35W Access Project - I am in favor of this > project. I believe that David Piehl is against > it. I think it fixes a few major problems with > the existing 35W (and David and I probably agree > on these items), namely, 1) no freeway Access > (on or off) to the north of Lake, 2) getting > traffic off purely residential streets like 35th/ > 36th and onto commercial/community streets like > Lake/38th, and 3) getting traffic bound for 28th St > off of 2nd Ave/31st St which are residential. > > - Re-Opening Nicollet - I am in favor of it, as I > believe David is. I think this will make Nicollet a > minor arterial (like Lyndale, Hennepin, or Cedar), > which may hurt the "small-town feel" of Nicollet > between Franklin and 28th. However, I think that > traffic currently on 1st and Blaisdell can be > diverted to Nicollet once it is re-opened. This > is the trade-off, and I think it is worth it, > because 1st and Blaisdell are narrow, residential > streets. > > - Widening Lake St - I think this is necessary, > while I believe David is against it. > -- Right now, I believe that Lake St has been at > capacity since 1976 (the oldest data I have), while > the traffic on 26th, 28th, and 31st has increased, > and these residential streets are bearing the > burden. > -- With Nicollet re-opening, there are going to be > more cars destined for the new grocery, retail, > housing, or whatever ends up there which requires > more and longer turn lanes and more > through lanes. > -- With the 35W Access Project a lot of cars that > are currently exiting at Lyndale or 35th will > now exit at Lake. This will require additional > capacity for a few blocks either side of 35W to > get them to their North-South street. > -- I believe that the Access Project does not > create more traffic, it only helps drivers > get there faster, shorter (i.e. not doubling > back from 35th). I believe the development at > Nicollet-Lake will create more traffic because > it is creating both a source (housing) and > a destination (jobs, shopping). > -- With the widening, we (the Mitigation > subcommittee) are recommending a wide (18 feet), > landscaped median at the intersections because > Lake St will become too wide to cross in a single > cycle for slow crossers (elderly or disabled). > We took a field trip and hated the narrow median > (3 feet) at University & Snelling. We liked the > median (32 feet) on Lexington Pkwy & I-94. > -- I think David is blaming the widening on the > Access Project. > > - ENUFF - I am not a part of the organizing force > behind this, while I think David is the key player. > I am on the mailing list. I hope to work with > these concerned, involved folks, understand their > concerns, and help ensure they are informed. After > seeing what has been generated so far (posts > by David blasting the Project and the process), > I can't say I am hopeful for agreement. > -- I am in total agreement with the sentiment of > the title, but totally opposed to the acronym. > -- Every Neighbor United for Friendly Freeways. I > think the terms Every, United, and Friendly are > wildly idealistic. I don't think Every neighbor > cares. I know we won't all be United. I think > that we can reduce the impact of the freeway and > make it better, but I don't think it will ever > be Friendly. > -- To me, the term "enough" implies that I've had > it, I'm fed up, and I'm not gonna take it anymore > (e.g. the new J.Lo movie appears to convey that.) > It implies divisiveness and combativeness. Perhaps > I'm still too young, or haven't been burned by > Mn/DOT (I missed the 35W mega-project of the > mid-90s while serving Uncle Sam in Europe). But, > I think I can attract more flies with honey than > vinegar. I think we have a golden opportunity > with the convergence of business, residents, and > government to make a bad situation better. But > we have to stay at the table. > > Yes, engineers can be arrogant and unwilling to > change (I am one, so I can say it is true for > at least one of us -- me), but we also are > willing to learn what the consequence of our > decisions can be -- something that is not taught > in the textbook. Through communication we can > reach consensus -- if we battle we only communicate > amongst our "camps" and not with each other. I > think no process is perfect, and I am happy to have > a voice in this process as a resident. Oh, by > the way, the 2001 Legislature changed the law > regarding freeways -- Mn/DOT no longer needs county, > city, or resident buy-in to make freeway changes, > they can just do it. So, what happens if we > piss 'em off, or walk away? > > That was probably a lot more than you either > expected or wanted. But I am a strong believer > in communication, and I know that communication > takes a lot of time! > > Respectfully, > DJ > Dave Jensen > Central > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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