Mayor Rybak, I was disappointed that you chose not to publicly oppose the 35W Access Project on Tuesday. I have enclosed a transcript of your response to a direct question during a radio interview with Gary Eichten.
On Wednesday, you wrote, "We were not elected to run the country's foreign policy. We were elected to run the city of Minneapolis, where we have huge issues on our plate. We need to keep focused on them." I suggest that the proposed construction on 35W is one of the largest issues on your plate. But your answer on Tuesday was not very focused. You seemed to admit that you have not been very involved in the issue. Considering the huge impact that the proposed project would have on Minneapolis, I'm amazed by how quiet City Hall has been on this issue. You and many of the council members who serve with you were elected because of your positions on the environment, corporate subsidies, affordable homes, safe and livable neighborhoods, and your support of transit, bicycling and walking -- all of which this project would adversely affect. Did you just say that stuff to get elected? Why is it so difficult for you to say "no" to a highway expansion project that destroys affordable homes and small businesses to create a "viable destination" for suburbanites? Why is it so difficult for you to say "no" to more infrastructure for air pollution, noise, and danger to pedestrians and bicyclists? Do you really accept the premise that more automobile traffic is necessary to maintain the economic vitality of Lake Street? Say it ain't so, R.T! This issue cries out for some leadership. I respect your skills at bringing people together, but we need elected officials who do more than mediate community meetings. We need elected officials who are willing to stand up to Allina and Wells Fargo on behalf of a local economy that does not need to be squeezed into a corporate, suburban model. I urge you to openly support the "no build" option. Sincerely, Mark Knapp Kingfield -------------------- Minnesota Public Radio -- Midday http://news.mpr.org/play/audio.php?media=/midday/2002/12/03_midday1 46:04 Gary Eichten: Ken, your question please ... Ken: Good morning, Mayor Rybak. My question is ... Do you support the 35W Access Project? R.T. Rybak: The 35W Access Project is one that has to do with how the area around Lake Street, the former Honeywell ... now Wells Fargo Mortgage area will come into play. For people who are listening to this, there are a number of different issues about how we get all of this traffic into Lake Street and then into the new Wells Fargo area. I think there are a couple of issues. Number one is ... the most important issue is to be able to keep the economic vitality of Lake Street continuing. Number two is we're going to be bringing a lot of traffic into a residential area. How do we get it into that without damaging the neighborhood? There's been a group that's come together, a citizen group, that we have charged with trying to come up with something that will get them and the businesses together. At this point, that group has not come to closure on that. I support the work of that group. And I think right now, as that group's had a little bit of trouble coming together on it, one of the issues we, as elected officials, probably have to do is to figure out a way to get more support to get a better answer on that. I've wanted the solution on that to be one that the neighbors and the businesses in this committee can come together with a solution on. But at this point, it hasn't happened, and I think I'm going to have to get more directly involved. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
