[Winona Online Democracy]
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Kranz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Winona Online Democracy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Friday, October 06, 2000 5:47 PM
Subject: [Winona] List Activity
>[Winona Online Democracy]
>
>Greetings,
>
>I've received several messages asking if the email list is still
>functioning.......
>
.............feel free to post a message regarding something you'd like to
>discuss. (It would be a great time to do that!)
I would like to generate some interest in improving the view of Winona as
seen when entering town along Riverview Drive. This stretch of road
provides an exceptional view of the river, bridge, and bluffs. But the sight
of Winona itself is nothing to brag about.
About the only buildings visible that exhibit any substantial amount of
architectural effort are the courthouse, a couple of church steeples, and
perhaps the AmericInn Motel. The rest are mainly industrial versions of
pole barns. Signs and billboards lack any creative artistic content, unless
corporate logographic design is considered such. The most recent addition,
the Ace Hardware / Sears building, when viewed from the river, is just a
drab wall punctuated with dumpsters, piles of junk kitchen appliances,
shipping boxes, and pallets. Nearby is the dirt parking lot for truck
trailers with its scattered piles of demolition debris.
I don�t expect a business to burden itself with the expense of creating an
architectural masterpiece. And I greatly appreciate having a variety of
enterprises, Daniels Hardware in particular, in my neighborhood. Also, I
realize that much of the area is a work in progress, and with the completion
of the Riverview Business Center (apparently stalled for now) maybe my
concerns will be addressed. But I just don�t see much evidence around town
that Winona considers commercial / industrial districts to be places that
can contribute to the visual appeal of the city.
One improvement I would like to see happen is the addition of some
landscaping in the Riverview Drive and Second Street area. A few businesses
are already doing this: Steak and Cake Restaurant and Nystrom Toyota do a
good job of maintaining their boulevard grass, trees, and shrubs. ADM keeps
its elevator grounds neat and mostly weed free. The AmericInn has put in a
lawn with trees and bushes. (which the gas station next door partially
obscures with banner ads for cigs and beer- wasn�t the city going to ban
these types of tacky signs?)
If we can�t be bothered with adding any more landscaping, how about
preserving the trees that are already there? The Union Pacific railroad
yard and RTL / Lawrence Trucking have been gradually removing these trees,
which don�t seem to me to be in the way of their operations. Recently, the
railroad used a giant bulldozer mounted weed eater to shred a number of
trees, leaving them behind in the ditch. Could the Port Authority get them
to cooperate in tree trimming and weed removal (other than just spraying
with herbicide)?
This entrance to Winona is seen not only by many of us every day, but by the
visitors staying at Prairie Island campgrounds. And improving it would be a
good precedent for the industrial / commercial development planned for the
far east end.
John N. Finn
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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