Gentle Reader:
Ms. Lickness, gleaning from your comments below, this must be why you
have lobbied so ardently for the Cornerstone over-development proposed
by Wayne Olson et al. on the Greenway in the Whittier neighborhood.
I believe the model that Minneapolis has striven for is that of Santa
Monica, California, where code limits the heights of buildings, and
which, thankfully, they have faithfully followed.
My opinion is that when building heights do not comply to what the code
prescribes for by thoughtful people, you end up with the ugly
architecture of the Ralph Rapson-type on the West Bank or the
lone-pine-style, high-rises one sees and adverts ones eyes from when
being driven on 35W.
Ms. Lickness, for point of illustration, let's apply your leniency to
destinations like Amsterdam's canal district or Paris' Marais
arrondissement and you might see the loose standard of architectural
aesthetics you are so glibly propose (below) are not pleasing for
people who want to embrace urban environments, not just plod on in them.
I think Councilmember Schiff's philosophy and actions on the City
Council should be adhered to--after all, he's one member on the Council
who actually has credentials in the field of urban planning and
articulates its teachings well.
Gary Dombouy
Whittier
-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Lickness <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: ken bradley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Mpls Forum <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, 7 Jul 2005 18:48:05 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Building Height (exception idea) for taller
buildings
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
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the
world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
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