Ken said: I understand the public apprehension about having more people crammed into their neighborhood. I believe the biggest concern is related to increase congestion caused by automobiles. Me: Whittier has 13,500 people "crammed" into a 1 square mile radius. That is the most populated neighborhood in Minneapolis now that Phillips has been divided into four neighborhoods. Ventura Village is probably a close second. I personally have 6 2/12 story walk-ups on my block that places about 145 living units on one block. (I think the city average is 26 units per block in single family neighborhoods) My block in not unique. There are others that have more living units than that. Add to that intense car useage of Lake Str, Franklin, Nicollet Avenue, Blaisdell, 1st Av. and Lyndale and what you have is a thriving urban neighborhood. Most of Minneapolis has a very long way to go before they would catch up with the number of folks we have trying to navigate around Whittier. Of all the things I hear people complain about in this neighborhood, traffic problems are not even in the top ten. There are 40 public housing hi-rises placed around the city. Some of them are clustered like the ones on 31st St between Blaisdell and Pillsbury. There are not crazed traffic issues around these structures. I hear no one complaining that they are stuck in traffic jams on Blaisdell because of all the cars coming in and out of the parking lots there. I have personally witnessed no evidence of any traffic issues because of them and I have lived by them for 14 years. The hi-rise clusters in Ventura Village and Cedar Riverside seem to manage traffic issues just fine. Yes, not all of them drive. My sense is that no matter where you built the hi-rise and no matter what income group the building was catering to, not all the tenants would drive. This would be evidenced by the fact that there wouldn't be enough parking spaces for all those people to have 1 or 2 cars like people who live in single family houses do. I lived in Toronto Ontario for awhile. The city is full of hi-rises and they are placed all over the city. Toronto is a beautiful city. The big difference is the public transit options available there that are just now becoming available here. I lived in a hi-rise while I lived there. I walked to work and took public transportation when I wanted to go downtown. I loved the view and the breeze and the fact that I never had mosquitos. Minneapolis could handle the influx of people that come with hi-rises fairly easily and not just downtown. I think hi-density development along transit corridors is a great idea. That includes hi-rises. I am not suggesting we build a hi-rise on every block or slap them up without thoughtful plans. I think it is all a matter of perspective and my perspective is that this city can and hopefully will absorb a great deal more density and some of it can be in the form of hi-rises. Barb Lickness Whittier
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