[Winona Online Democracy]
The pedestrian mall on Third Street was considered "state-of-the-art" when it was built, and many cities did similar things. In St. Paul, a similar piece was built on 7th Street, which also died a slow, painful death and was replaced a while ago. In Minneapolis we have the Nicollet Mall - the big difference being buses and taxis are allowed, bringing people past all the offices and store fronts. In the 30 to 40 years since these things were done, almost all of them around the country have been taken out, just like Winona's. It's one of those experiments that failed. Should we fault people for trying? Was there any way to know how it would work? Probably not.The lesson I tell my city clients who are contemplating changes to their streetscapes is to keep a mix of pedestrians and cars - it works. Streets that are all pedestrians are almost guaranteed to fail as good places to do business. And streets that are all cars (no sidewalks or trails) are almost guaranteed to fail as nice places to visit. In a downtown setting I recommend both.Phil Carlson, Minneapolis_______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
