Per Steve Brandt's article in the Star Tribune, available at http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3927707.html
>From the article: Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who said he's seeking "a positive urban hubbub and vitality," nevertheless sees Lake retaining four lanes of traffic *** And, of course, the eight lanes for several blocks in each direction from the freeway....will this be impacted by the Lake Street design? >From the article: Some voices on the project's advisory committee are pushing for alternative solutions. Some of those people were outsiders in the controversial planning for changes adding ramps at Interstate Hwy. 35W and Lake and have become vocal critics of that plan. Now they're insiders in the Lake redesign. They've already pushed for design alternatives that would limit Lake to one uninterrupted driving lane in each direction, supplemented by sidewalks as wide as 28 feet, bump outs that create parking bays and a continuous shared left-turn lane. Consultants have drafted such an alternative. ***** Perhaps Peter McLaughlin can share with this list his view about how four-lane Lake Street will better benefit the neighborhood than some of the alternative proposals. >From the article: "The county has a particular view, which is really suburban," said one of the critics, Ken Avidor, an advisory committee member. "These are our streets. These are not streets for scared suburbanites to drive as quickly as they can." ***** I just got back from spending several days in Chicago - I have to say I was quite impressed with their take on streets and traffic. Many of the thriving business areas have utterly insufficient parking, yet the businesses thrive. Business areas and residential areas alike are decorated with planted medians, bump-outs, etc. which drastically improves the livability and pedestrian appeal of the areas. The whole experience really made me chuckle, because as I observed the beautiful, well-functioning amenities, I could imagine all the excuses provided by road-oriented planners and commissioners why these things would never work because of the impact on automobile traffic - yet they do, and the areas are very successful. In yet another instance, Minneapolis is sadly below the curve(no pun intended), and making it clear that traffic planning in this metro is still 20 years behind the rest of the country. David Piehl Central __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ 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
