Scott Persons wrote: 4 blocks of a widened Lake St at 35W does not a "freeway" make.
David Piehl writes: Indeed, 4 blocks isn't an entire freeway, but it sets the stage for the SCHEDULED rebuilding of additional stretches of Lake Street in the near future. Once the width of Lake near I35W is doubled as planned by the Access Project (which the state legislature hasn't supported yet), it opens the door to additional widening. Personally, I think widening Lake as planned is as ridiculous as building the K Mart across Nicollet; what is trumpeted as a way to bring business to the area can sometimes actually kill the area. It's interesting that the city council is currently looking at making Hennepin Ave a two-way street again (downtown), because many on the council believe it will slow traffic and support the businesses near Hennepin Ave. In contrast, Access Project PAC & TAC seem to believe that making Lake St as wide as the current version of I35W (which will also increase significantly in width under the plan) is somehow helpful. As far as the elliptical bridge deal, I don't believe they will build it anyway; like most Access Project promo pieces, it's just a carrot to diminish opposition by neighbors that can later be cut from the budget. I'm glad to hear that Ed Felien, the Green Party candidate for Hennepin County, is opening a dialog on the Access Project - I think it will do a lot of good to what residents think about spending $150 million on this top-down project. David Piehl Central __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com _______________________________________ 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
