I just got back from a very disturbing meeting about Ayd Mill Road. It appears that Mayor Kelly wants to try and push through a direct connection of Ayd Mill Road to I-94 before he leaves office next year or at least lay the ground work for such a project.
John Mazcko, the Chief Public Works Engineer of the City was at a meeting this evening of the Snelling-Hamline Community Council and said that the final E.I.S. (Environmental Impact Statement) would recommend that Ayd Mill be expended north under the Selby Avenue bridge, across Marshall Avenue and then connect with Concordia Avenue and Saint Anthony Avenue, via a new bridge across I-94. Mazcko, repeatedly said that this project, that is projected to cost $44 million dollars, was "not a direct connection" to I-94. This proposal totally runs counter to what all of the Community groups recommended, which was a 2 lane parkway. The new Pascal Avenue bridge would be torn down, isolating residents who want to travel south on Pascal or even get on I-94 to the East. They would now have to go to University Avenue and then Hamline Avenue or over to Snelling Avenue. Instead of closing the Selby Avenue ramps to and from Ayd Mill Road, which has caused so much traffic and havoc for the neighborhood between Snelling and Ayd Mill, these ramps would be expanded and enhanced! While the supposed purpose of the expansion is take traffic away from the neighborhoods, it probably will actually increase traffic through them. Finally, even though every proposal recommended a bike path along side Ayd Mill Road, this $44 million dollar behemoth fails to include bike paths, walking paths, and while I can't be sure, it probably fails to include any sound walls or barricades. It appears designed simply to whisk Eagan and Mendota Heights residents faster through our city and this neighborhood and the residents be damned. There is no provision to add a mass transit component later. It is a design straight out of 1955 that Robert Moses would have loved. The Ayd Mill direct connection was originally supposed to only be an 18 month "test". It appears that this was Mayor Kelly's way of getting the camel's nose into the tent. The final E.I.S. will be released in "mid to late December" according to Mazcko. When it becomes available, I hope to provide a link at that time. Dan Dobson Summit Hill - Saint Paul 651-227-4376 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
