The Southwest Journal Online had an article talking about a rivlary between Lyndale Ave.-area residents and Kenwood residents concerning the route of a possible (with Pawlenty?) Southwest Corridor light rail line. The contention is that neither neighborhood actually wants the line. This really confuses me.
As the article says, the line would stop in Uptown at Hennepin. Presumably, the line would stop at Lyndale near Lake (at the Greenway) and somewhere else along Lyndale (Franklin, perhaps?). This seems like an absolutely IDEAL corridor for light rail. I lived along Lyndale during the length of my college years and observed a high bus ridership in the area. I would have loved to have had an express route both to Downtown and Uptown. Densities are high in this area to support the line and stores and restaurants along the line could benefit from increased pedestrian presence and from the increased access of suburbanites to their businesses the line would provide. Businesses would not need to provide as much parking, relying instead on transit ridership (avoiding another astounding planning slip-up from the SWJ concerning the redevelopment of the Embers site on Hennepin). It seems like there are often complaints about insufficient transit options in Minneapolis, but whenever a proposal is made it seems opposition pops out of the woodwork. Do these opponents have suburban envy? This line seems like a remarkable benefit for the Wedge and Whittier neighborhoods that could increase transit use and provide an excellant urban amenity. Matt Mason (enjoying the amenity of proximity to the C,E,F,1, and 2 trains) New York City __________________________________________________ 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
