It was slightly distressing to see the simulation of the 35W/Crosstown expansion last night. The new highway will be an enormous expanse of pavement. Nary a word about how this expansion will position us 20 years from now. Every inch of free space will be used to reduce the number of properties that will be acquired by eminent domain. However, this is an illusion of low impact on property owners. The impact on many lives will be overwhelmingly negative. MNDOT should compensate impacted property owners in the amount of the difference between pre and post construction market value. Are we so cold that we would literally take money from unfortunately sited homeowners? I'd like the city to ensure that the expansion plan protects the financial interest of the hundreds of homeowners that will realize painful losses in net worth due to pressures applied largely from outside the city. This situation is a complete parallel to the issue of airport noise in terms of its impact on city residents and city living.
I am puzzled why there has been no attempt to smooth traffic & eliminate congestion by staggering 'standard' work hours. As part of a metro-wide effort, shift work schedules slightly and create a more even flow of traffic over a slightly longer duration than the dreaded Rush Hour. This notion alone could alleviate the need for further highway expansion for years. Not rocket science... Jason Stone Diamond Lake 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
