I attended a meeting of the Jordan Neighborhood Community Council last night, well moderated by Stephen Oates. It was well attended by neighborhood folks, and others. Thomas Leighton, Mpls. Planning Dept., was cautiously promoting neighborhood support for a Pedestrian Overlay District (a Commercial Zoning designation) for Penn and West Broadway. He informed us that the City Council may deliberate on this matter within a couple weeks. He wished to give the Jordan neighborhood community an opportunity to ponder, and voice opinion, on the matter.
I was surprised that he never once read the Mpls. ordinance (or whatever) with the exact wording of what a Pedestrian overlay is, what it does, and what it specifically prohibits and proscribes. He did seem to explain what such a designation is intended to promote. In general he described a more pedestrian friendly streetscape that neighborhood folks can stroll to, from their homes. A place where they can buy from small business's such things as coffee, an ice cream cone, a boutique item, etc. Prohibited items are gas station, fast food w/drive through, new auto parts, and big box retailing. That may perhaps sound dandy, as offered, but some others, including myself were less indulgent of the presentation. First of all, West Broadway (County HWY 81) was, is, and will be the main commercial corridor, and transport route, of the Northwest quadrant of both Mpls. and the Metro area. In fact, what this road is able to provide in service now, both for transport, and for commercial amenities, is but a small fraction of the growth, and vitality, assured in the not very distant future. The Penn/Broadway intersection may be the keystone, and confluence, of our (Mpls.) West Broadway redevelopment. Do we really want to limit retail, there, to ice cream cones, coffee, and a bibelot? What I call ... the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker! It appears to me, our City's Planning Department has a directive, or is self directed, to 'dummy down' zoning. It is wrong to castrate major corridors like West Broadway; to limit larger and more diverse commercial uses, either by not allowing adequate, larger, C-2 opportunities, or overlaying them with other restrictions (pedestrian overlay). It saps the ability to compete, and limits adjacent neighborhoods' access to retail buying opportunities, and retail choices. It also restricts locally owned business start up opportunities, and local jobs. We already have many neighborhood commercial corridors, smaller mixed use streets with room for many more small business's. Streets such as Lowry, Plymouth, Glenwood and Cedar Lake Road, are our 'neighborhood' commercial infrastructure. We also have Lyndale, Emerson, and Penn, for small business, and services, growth. West Broadway shall always allow "The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker", but our North Mpls. area should not be denied the full opportunity that only our West Broadway can provide us. The other streets mentioned will funnel activity, interest, and vitality to West Broadway. A fully functioning West Broadway will reflect back healthy commercial vigor to all adjacent neighborhoods. The restructuring of HWY 81 beyond the western City limits, all the way to Rogers is occurring. It is an astounding opportunity for new connection and reconnection of our neighborhoods with the broader Metro Area. In addition, the forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit will help assure further access to those additional jobs that are available in the broader metro area. Of course, the improvements, and streamlining, of a transit corridor present new challenges to our 'main street' along with the opportunities. Penn/Bro will be one of the BRT stops. It will become a collector point for commuters; a destination for suburban spenders. But, people will only visit; stick, stay, and spend, if there is some "THERE", there!! Nor will some coffee, a cookie, and a widget, be a draw that will keep Northside neighbors from driving West, 'over the hill' to Robbinsdale and beyond. And we always take our spending cash with us, now. Let us not 'dummy down' and hobble, our unique, and highly challenged West Broadway Av. as we enter the new era of reconnection and vitality with the Northwest Quadrant of the Metro Area. Big avenue; Big zoning/little avenue little zoning. The North side needs, and deserves, one West Broadway Avenue. Keith Reitman NearNorth 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
