Travis writes: I'd like to introduce myself to the list as Travis Arthur Gislason, the new and proud intern of STRIDE. I'm an Urban Studies student at the U of M and a southern downtown vagabond traveling from the ends of Whittier to Stevens Square to Elliot Park (twice) and back to the ends of Whittier, now I-35W marks the spot.
Scott Persons: Great! An Urban Studies student who knows more than we do to tell us about how infrastructure improvements and outside capital being invested in our communities is a "bad" thing. Can I take a guess here, Travis is early to mid-20's, white, male, very, very left of center politically speaking, has yet to hold a day job or have a family where he might have to compromise some of his lofty ideals...nothing personal but I'm wagering I'm at least 90% right on most of these, welcome to the conversation! Travis continues: First, other than the residents living next to the 35th-36th Street exit who would like to see traffic moved as far away as possible, I would like to know the appeal of the I-35W Access Project? From City Hall's perspective, I understand Lake Street is the avenue to compete regionally with big box development and malls, but do you, as residents, want another Office Max? There is no room on a map meant for regional competition for "mom and pop" businesses. This project is meant to attract a larger tax base in the form of businesses you as a South resident loathe. And believe me, more will come with the centripetal forces of regional access in conjunction with the future attraction to available lots once small businesses fail to survive construction. It is City Hall's job to leverage capital to maintain and improve amenities in our neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Infrastructure improvements like the Access Project bring money in from outside sources and invest it in our neighborhoods. Will this capital investment beget more capital investment from the private sector? You bet it will, the job of government is to be responsive to the needs of its tax base so we can retain the businesses we have and attract new businesses to the City. It is not government's job to pick winners and losers. The small businesses on Lake will have more customers as the job base grows, I fear there will be net job losses if we do nothing on Lake. And please don't tell residents what we loathe and don't loathe, yes the leftists at STRIDE think our market economy will just go away but it won't. As Molly Ivins would say, "you have to dance with who brung ya'", and I would rather dance with the date that has a checkbook than one with a clever website. Travis continues: Second and most important to MnDOT's access cause, have we considered the bottlenecks on I-94, the dumping ground for I-35W traffic going anywhere other than downtown? The LOWRY TUNNEL is not on the 2025 bottleneck improvements list and will not be expanded. Drivers will literally sit idle once they enter I-94. Adding more lanes or improving weaves and exits will only attract more drivers onto the highways. Once these options become more congested, drivers will move back onto your city streets in larger numbers; A slap on the ass by the revolving door if you will. Scott Persons: There will be bottlenecks on I-35W whether we do something or nothing, traffic and congestion will grow whether we do something or nothing. The extra lane in 35W is a tough trade off Travis, I think there's a real opportunity to turn the lane into a dedicated busway. Unless you have funding partners at the federal, state, and county level to fund these amenities and infrastructure upgrades I'll take the deal that's on the table and fight MNDOT to make that extra lane transportation friendly. This is the real world and real compromises need to be made, as a resident and activist I know the deal I am making and it is a good one. Have a great day Minneapolis! Scott Persons Lyndale Neighborhood Ward 8/10 (redistricting vagabond) TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ 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
