For more information about the opposition to the 35W
expansion, visit the newly updated STRIDE website:
www.stride-mn.org
The following were taken from the court reporters
record of the 35W Access Project public hearings in
November. All tallied, 46 were against, 33 in favor
and 23 neutral. Many people on both sides of the
issue spoke more than one time. Interestingly enough,
most of the support came from businesses on Lake
Street, wanting more access. Because the project has
grown to include such controversial pieces such as the
flyover ramp, 38th Street ramp, and potential HOV
lanes, these business owners may see the entire
project vanish. The city council will vote sometime
this spring. They need to know your viewpoint.
Many people spoke eloquently and passionately about
this project. Here are some examples.
�153 million dollars can be better invested in
building a transit system for this city and the
region�
-Dean Zimmerman, 6th Ward Councilmember
�One of the biggest mistakes was the accommodation of
HOV lanes. The PAC supported it because they want the
project to move forward at any cost, and that�s not
acceptable. We will ask that it be an LRT or BRT,
(Bus Rapid Transit) line. Transit improvement needs
to be more a part of this project.�
-Jeanne Massey, Kingfield
�I think if you really want to invite more economic
growth, you should consider kids my age who have a lot
of money free, money to spend, and some consideration
for a more rapid transit system or something that will
allow us to get there more easily and help your
community grow and enhance your community.�
-Josh Kane, 16 year old from St. Paul who took the
bus to the meeting.
�I think we are spending a lot of money. I just got
my property statement. 49.7 percent increase from
last year. Who do you think is going to shell out the
153 million dollars for this? It�s going to cost a
lot more than that, and I don�t want to pay for it. I
take the bus every day and I think we need to work on
more mass transit.�
-Megan Duffy, Kingfield
��to put Smith Parker, a private law firm, not an
engineering firm, not an urban planning firm, not an
economic development firm, but a law firm that does
extensive lobbying, that has tremendous political
connections, that is expert at public relations, to
put them in charge of this tells us that the cards
were stacked from the get-go.�
-Antonio Rosell, Whittier
�I think its really strange that we somehow feel we
have to give a driveway to Allina and to Wells Fargo.
We don�t ask that of other businesses. If you have to
drive eight blocks out of the way, I�m sorry. If you
have to go through a community with people of color,
I�m sorry. I�m sorry that it is such a hindrance in
your every day life.�
-Sean Whirley, Kingfield
�What we need to do is bring a coalition of
neighborhoods together and do some viable neighborhood
planning to see what the neighborhoods want and need
as communities, as residents, and as business owners
and then say whether an expanded freeway is part of
that future we see for ourselves.�
-Corrine Zala, West Phillips
�We are having the wrong discussion here tonight.
Imagine if all this expertise, energy and money was
going towards creating a viable transit system for our
neighborhoods, for the southern suburbs, to revitalize
and address transportation issues in a future focused
way, we could do anything.�
-Holle Brian, Bancroft
�What I want to see is what other cities are doing
right now. They�re getting more transit, they�re
tearing up the freeways, they�re closing ramps.
That�s what we should be doing. We shouldn�t be
asking for the advice of the people who only know how
to muck it up for us (the highway engineers).
-Ken Avidor, Kingfield
�Every day I walk out my front door and thank the
lords of industry for having put a sprawling
eight-lane highway right down the middle of my city.
Even though bicycling is my transportation of choice I
enjoy all the benefits of living three blocks from a
plentiful supply of automobile air freshener. I
breathe deeply and say to myself, now that�s
progress.�
-Mark Knapp, Kingfield
�As someone who suffers from asthma, I know for a fact
that the data on communities where there is high
volume traffic, quite frankly, disproportionately poor
and low income communities, are highly affected by the
air quality, the soil quality, and the water quality
of their neighborhoods, and I think increasing access,
as we�re calling it, increasing access, is going to do
little to further the health of our neighborhoods. It
may increase, however, the volume of patients for
Abbott Northwestern.�
-Liz Maclemore, Bancroft
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