Myke, respectfully, I have to disagree. While I think it's entirely fair to think about past St. Paul experiences with roads going through neighborhoods and how those lessons can be applied to current issues (eg Ayd Mill Road, which is why I think this discussion of Rondo was brought up in the first place), I don't think it's fair to fault critics of roads built thirty years ago when they use those roads today. How would folks who would not have supported the I-94 project---a decision made literally decades ago---deciding to drive residential streets today instead of using the freeway help anything (besides perhaps assuaging some guilt)? Perhaps you could explain it a bit more; it doesn't make much sense to me as it is. Myke wrote: "There had to be a freeway built and it had to go through the heart of the city like every freeway does in this country." As I see it, there's the argument of whether there had to be a freeway system, and there's the argument of how the freeway was sited and who got the say on the final plan. Many folks on this list have mentioned where the freeway was going to originally go, and was rerouted because white homeowners had conniptions. Indeed, written accounts find that folks in Rondo didn't even hear about a freeway being slated for their neighborhood until a neighborhood school or church decided to build or improve upon a building and couldn't get a permit for it--because the freeway was coming through! When Rondo was split by 94, the only concession the neighborhood got was that the interstate would be built in a depressed (grade, not emotional state ;) ) ditch, instead of on an elevated platform. Pretty bleak history, if you ask me. If anything, the Rondo/94 debacle should be an example of what NOT to do when planning roads through St. Paul. As for the way that this applies to Ayd Mill---I think it's instructive to look at the interests behind Ayd Mill, and the political momentum of the road. The neighborhood, respecting that some compromise had to be made, went through an intensive process with other stakeholders in the project to decide the best option for Ayd Mill, the result of which--a compromise--is, as I understand it, being effectively ignored by the Mayor's office. Though I'm no expert on Ayd Mill, it seems that when neighborhoods give an inch, the Mayor's office (with the Chamber's blessing) takes a mile (in this case, literally). This, of course, only underscores what seems to be a pattern of St. Paul neighborhoods being sacrificed in the name of getting commuters who don't even necessarily live here from point A to point B ten minutes faster. (Living in Dayton's Bluff, near the Mayor's beloved Holman Field, I'm a bit sensitive to this dynamic.) In Myke's defense, though, I doubt the best way to engage others in productive conversation is to call them "ignorant." Caty, you've posted before (and rightfully so) that you've been offended by the insinuation that your posts were speculative---I would offer that assuming that folks are ignorant out of hand is equally offensive and disrespectful. I really appreciate the issues you've raised in your posts, but as you continue to raise them, I hope that you'll be sympathetic to the idea that we are ALL vulnerable to the charge of ignorance on one subject or another, and that everyone deserves respect. For better neighborhoods, Erin Stojan Dayton's Bluff
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 3/13/05 9:15:21 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Finally, if 94 disappeared into some > huge cosmic-justice sinkhole tomorrow I would still be able to figure > out someway to survive. > caty royce, living in south minneapolis, working in st. paul. > Are you saying to us that you could care less if the freeway system existed or not? My guess is that you commute every workday from Minneapolis to St. Paul and back again using Freeway 94...a convenience you yourself probably don't give much credence to. There are people (like my 91 year old father) who avoid driving the freeway system altogether and use alternative city streets. Can you imagine the traffic mess if everyone did what he does? It's already a mess with the freeway system...much less without one. There are casualties to progress...not to say that progress is always in man's best interest. There had to be a freeway built and it had to go through the heart of the city like every freeway does in this country. I'm sorry Caty Royce. Unlike you I am not nostalgic on the loss of Rondo. Fortunately or sad, most of us need a freeway to get us here to there. And, if you yourself use it, then you are hardly one to say it's cosmic justice to lose it. Myke P. Golben Battle Creek ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: [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/ ------------------------------------------ Erin Stojan Dayton's Bluff, Ward 7 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: [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/
