First, on the subject of West Broadway...
We don't have a whole lot of businesses left between Emerson Avenue and the city limits to lose- there's a lot of empty storefronts.'Quick travel through and around the city'. This seems to be the mantra of alot of people in the city, but especially in the suburbs. Not only are there proposals to speed up traffic on Hiawatha, but on Broadway and Lowry, too. Unfortunately, this does not bode well for any businesses that are either there now or future business development.
There's not a whole lot of assessed value there, and I suspect some of it is going tax forfeit.Less business, higher residential property taxes.
Agreed- in fact we have lost billions in accessed value to the freeways- just think of what the loop around downtown, I94 to the east, and 35W by the creek would be worth...Wider streets and freeways, fewer houses, higher residential property taxes. Speed costs money. Is it worth getting to work 10 minutes sooner. None of this costs the suburbs any loss of tax base.
They do owe us more than a few million a year for the loss of taxes on the freeway right of way they use. BTW, while the republicans are on this privatization kick, how about turning the interstates into toll roads! Or at least make the big trucks pay there fair share.Maybe the 'burbs can just buy out all the home owners in Mpls and then they can pave the whole city and drive where ever they want.
The business and residential community along Broadway could be revived by rebuilding this corridor. To do this might require taking some of the vacant lots and buildings to widen Broad Way into 4 lanes plus free off street parking. Transit should be included in the new Broad Way too- perhaps even the commuter rail line to Monticello should follow this route?
On to Hiawatha speed limits...
The real problem here is that folks fail to see the different design speeds and traffic that crosses the route. From I94 to 26th this is a near freeway, the only restrictions being some of the ramps to and from the interstates and downtown. 45 m.p.h. is about right for this section. From 26th through Minnehaha Park this is more of an arterial street through a residential, park, and industrial area- 35 m.p.h. is about right here, maybe 40, and 55 would be a disaster. From Minnehaha Park to the Crosstown is a near limited access expressway- 45 m.p.h. is about right here, any faster and they'll be going to fast for the ramps at the Crosstown anyway.
These are essentially the speeds most folks are driving- close to 55 m.p.h. near the freeway connections and around 40 m.p.h. in between. Most of the flagrant speeding I've seen is at these ends of the Avenue with the absurdly low 35 m.p.h. speeds on a road that is safe for a bit faster.
BTW, don't expect the traffic to get any lighter on Hiawatha- more and more drivers are discovering this more relaxing alternative to the insanity of I35W and the Crosstown.
motorin' in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
Anne McCandless
Jordan
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