This is clearly a the MAJOR reason that the supporters of ACCESS have not been able to produce any evidence to substantiate their claims of access being a panacea and economic engine. ACCESS isn't always a SMART thing.
Tom Welling CARAG --- On Wed 07/16, < [EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: From: [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 13:11:19 -0500 Subject: [Mpls] Time away. . . . Access and local economies. I just returned from a week's trip down south to Oklahoma. It was good to <br>get away from the daily give and take of Minneapolis politics and this list; <br>it gives one some time mull over some of the questions before us. <br><br>It also gives one some perspective to see other cities. In this case, I was <br>able to look at the area that I mentioned once before--Northeast Tulsa, <br>where I grew up. To be brief, that lower-middle class/working class area <br>has excellent ACCESS. There are ramps off I-244 every ten to twelve blocks. <br>I could zip by car downtown (roughly 4 to 5 miles) in minutes. Indeed, <br>downtown has excellent ACCESS, bounded as it is on three sides by <br>expressways with multiple exits to downtown. I would say that Tulsa is a <br>extremely auto friendly city--the ramps and interstates dominate the city <br>and its character now. <br><br>As I mentioned before, the ramps haven't kept the northeast area from <br>stagnating economically. Streets that used to have viable retail lives are <br>largely abandoned as local residents hop on the expressways to go out to <br>newer retail developments (lots of Wal-marts). There are businesses that <br>replace the retail shops, but they are largely repair or light industrial <br>businesses, often using large stretches of former store fronts as storage. <br>The most successful business within in the shadow of I-244 at Sheridan (near <br>my childhood home) is a HUGE convenience store/gas station. Admiral, which <br>in its hey day was a major east/west artery is now a shadow of its former <br>self when the locals used it as its major shopping destination. The area <br>has bounced back a bit apparently, based on my observation. I was told that <br>there has been an influx of Hispanic immigrants who, attracted to depressed <br>property values, are restoring the place to its tract housing charm (this is <br>not a slight--I grew up there). It would appear that all new clothing is <br>purchased outside of the immediate vicinity. <br><br>Downtown is dead after 6pm, as the workers jump on those excellent ramps and <br>get the hell out of Dodge. It's a shame really, Tulsa has fascinating <br>architecture and some character in its downtown. Many of the buildings have <br>a real art deco flair. . . . <br><br>It only reinforces my view that putting big bucks into better auto ACCESS to <br>an area like south Minneapolis will ultimately NOT benefit the local economy <br>and residents. <br><br>In Tulsa, my son's skate boarding interest led us in search of a public <br>skateboard park in west Tulsa. To get there I went down 21st Street-- a <br>main thoroughfare and found a thriving little section of town along the part <br>of downtown (east)that has the worst ACCESS to the expressway system and <br>because no major expressway construction has taken place, the most trees. <br>Came back to my parents' house using 15th--another road without a lick of <br>AC CESS--and stumbled into a little section of arts, antiques, and <br>restaurants. The largest and most successful Target that I saw in the inner <br>city was between 15th and 21st, by the way, and it is used almost <br>exclusively by local residents. <br><br>It was a graphic illustration of what we STRIDERs have been saying, that <br>ACCESS doesn't guarantee local economic development and often kills local <br>initiative. Indeed, I saw the pattern repeated in Tulsa. The streets <br>furthest from the expressways had strongest business development for urban <br>dwellers. The ACCESS nodes had lots of new gas stations and fast food <br>joints--but little else that was otherwise new or unique. <br><br>With all due respect to the SMART folks and ACCESS obsessed, I wish I could <br>take you on a tour of those excellent ramps throughout the north Tulsa area. <br>I doubt that you would be impressed with numbers of folks coming into the <br>city to hangout at those weed choked parki ng lots of closed retail shops <br>near the ramps. <br><br>You would be impressed with the ease with which you could gas up and get out <br>to a Wal-Mart or a SUPER Target and save a few cents on some paper towels, <br>however. <br><br>Russell Raczkowski<br>Bancroft <br><br>TEMPORARY REMINDER:<br>1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.<br>2. 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