[Winona Online Democracy] ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Sebo To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 18 novembre, 2004 19:18
.................... Hooray for The Maritime Heritage Society for choosing to locate the Thompson near the commercial harbor! A 'Museum of the Working River' sounds grand! (I sound like Barbara Carlson) ................... ----- Response ----- Did you mean Barbara Flanagan, who wrote a monthly column for the StarTribune about Minneapolis urban development projects and architecture? One of the column's features, as I recall, was her "Brickbats and Bouquets" awards. To hypothesize about some of what might be in a Flanagan column about Winona's downtown and riverfront: Bouquets for the Maritime Heritage Society (as you have already mentioned and for the preservation of the Courthouse and what still remains of other historic buildings. Bouquets for the renovation of the Old Wagon Bridge and to the Winona Island Cafe for putting the discontinued riverboat headquarters building to good use. Brickbats for the mindset that architecture is only about historic preservation and that anything more than five feet away from a historically registered and preserved storefront is of no consequence and not worthy of any aesthetic enhancement. And when Thomson Dredge museum is completed, will brickbats or bouquets be warranted for its bicycle and pedestrian accessibility from Levee Park? It was somewhat encouraging that our city manager said that the issue will be looked at. However, once looked at, will it be deemed too costly to improve upon the existing Riverview Drive bicycle lane? ( the posted bicycle route that is also used as a shoulder passing lane for motorists in a hurry ) That's turned out to be the case for the planned Pelzer overpass at Theurer where the bicycle lanes will disappear as they near the intersection. Accommodating bicycles there would have been much easier than a riverfront pedestrian and bicycle connection from downtown to the museum will be. Continuing the Flanagan Memo analogy: She periodically promoted her whimsical idea that what Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis (the underutilized 'block E') needed was a merry-go-round carousel. My Winona counterpart to this would be a pedestrian and bicycle ferry boat between Levee Park and Latch Island. In my opinion, the interstate bridge's narrow walkway, like the Riverview Drive bike lanes, doesn't serve that purpose very well, especially for younger children. Last year I attended a riverboat festival in Cincinnati where the towns of Newport and Covington, across the Ohio River, had a paddle wheel ferry boat for that purpose. By the way, they also had a dredge boat tourist attraction, the sister ship of Dubuque's William Black. John N. Finn _______________________________________________ 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
