Phil Krinkie, that cantankerous penny-pincher from Shoreview who loves to scuttle train projects, would HATE the 35W Excess Project. He would scoff at the exorbitant pricetag and marginal benefit of the "ramp formerly known as the flyover" Even a roads-only radical like that knows a rat when he sees one.
Outside of Minnesota, the budget hawks are starting to take notice. � Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national�fiscal watchdog�group, has placed the Excess Project on its "Road to Ruin" report, among other�roadway expansions judged to be�"superfluous", "wasteful", and "harmful to local communities". � Catch a�sneak peak of a first draft here on the issue list (edited for length): � >From Taxpayers for Common Sense "Road to Ruin" report on the 35W Excess Project: � I-35W Minneapolis, Minnesota $121 million � Proposal and Savings Reject the addition of ramps on I-35W and the expansion of Lake Street as currently proposed, a project that would cost $152 million, 80 percent�approximately $121 million�federally funded.� Consider instead the �Transit/No Ramps� option that will improve transit access in the area and reduce overall traffic, making a wider Lake Street and wider I-35W unnecessary. The Project The Interstate 35W (I-35W) Access Project began five years ago as an proposal to add new ramps to the existing highway at 26th and 28th Streets in Minneapolis, Minnesota.� In the five years since the project was first presented, it has mushroomed and is now a $152 million project that will relocate the 35th/36th Street ramps to 38th Street, add new ramps at Lake Street, add a northbound exit to 28th Street, change freeway access ramps from 5th Avenue, and reconstruct, repave, and, in some places, widen Lake Street.� In addition, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has required that the new design accommodate future High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.� For this purpose, $40 million has been included in the project total to acquire land that can be used in a future I-35W expansion, even though that option roundly rejected by local residents less than ten years ago.�To date, the federal government has approved nearly $11 million project design and right-of-way acquisition, and $3.1 million�about $2.5 million of which came from federal taxpayers�has already been spent on design and consulting fees.� To this point only an Environmental Assessment has been prepared, despite potentially significant project impacts. Instead, a more thorough and comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be prepared.� Especially striking is this and various other projects proposed by MnDOT were previously part of one large project studied a decade ago by MnDOT and rejected by Minneapolis residents.� Under federal law, segmentation of a larger project into smaller projects for purposes of reducing opposition and limiting environmental review is illegal, but it appears that this is just what is happening in this case. � Taxpayer Concerns The project�s scope has ballooned since being proposed five years ago, and the project�s price has dramatically increased at the same time.� Federal taxpayers will be asked to provide 80 percent of the project�s costs, amounting to greater than $121 million.� This money will be used to fund an unnecessary project that has already been rejected by Minneapolis residents.� In addition, MnDOT�s requirement that land be acquired now for additional lanes on I-35W essentially guarantees that these lanes will be built, requiring even more federal dollars. Especially troubling is that only a few large corporations and non-profit organizations will enjoy the bulk� of the project�s benefits.� Smith Parker is a large Minneapolis law firm that is also project manager for the I-35W project.� This represents a conflict of interest, however, as Smith Parker is also legal counsel for some of the companies that will benefit the most from the I-35W project, including Allina Health System, Children�s Hospitals and Clinics and Wells Fargo.� The project manager�responsible for acting on behalf of the citizens and taxpayers�is Tom Johnson, who previously worked as a consultant with Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Allina Hospitals, and was responsible for securing new ramps at 26th and 28th Streets that would benefit the hospitals. Local Community Concerns The construction of additional ramps along I-35W will require demolition of a number of houses and small businesses.� This plan disproportionally affects minority and low-income homeowners.� Nearly all of the targeted properties are minority owned, and most would be considered affordable housing.� Owners will likely not receive enough compensation for their property to allow them to purchase units in the present housing market.� In addition, the I-35W Access Plan will expand a portion of Lake Street, causing an additional loss of businesses in the area, many of which cater to minority and low-income residents. As a mitigation measure for these losses, the plan provides for adding parkland in the project area, but many of those �parks� will be directly adjacent to the exit ramps�not an ideal location for recreation or relaxation.� (JC) More info on the sins of Excess at: http://www.stride-mn.org/home.htm Jeff Carlson, Whittier ===== Jeff Carlson 2430 Clinton Ave. S. D43 Mpls, MN 55404 (612) 813-0116 [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 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