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Auto zone or people zone?
By: Isaac Peterson, III
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
online at http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=35442&sID=4
Originally posted 11.26.03
Business interests struggle with ‘streetscape’
advocates over future of Lake Street
The similarities between Broadway in North Minneapolis and Lake
Street in South Minneapolis are striking.
Both are major commercial corridors, housing many businesses; large
concentrations of people of color reside in the areas surrounding
both thoroughfares; and both are the sites of large businesses that
have left (Target on Broadway and Sears on Lake Street).
Both streets are the objects of revitalization plans — the
million-dollar Northside Partnership on Broadway and the proposed
Lake Street “revitalization.”
The Lake Street project, however, has serious implications for not
only South Minneapolis, but for the future of the entire metro area.
Decisions and commitments need to be made now for the future, to
determine whether Minneapolis will be automobile-oriented or will
embrace multiple solutions for transit problems. Therefore, the
Lake Street decision will possibly lead the way to that future.
As we have noted previously, the debate has been a tense and bitter
one. (See “Linking Lake to I-35 — whose gain, whose pain?”
Spokesman-Recorder, November 7 and 14, 2002; and “Is I-35W
Expansion another Rondo?” March 20, 2003.)
There are two sides to the debate. One is pro-business, favoring
expanding and “revitalizing” Lake Street and I-35. The
other side, the “streetscape” advocates, propose an emphasis
on “the human realm of the street.”
Characterizing the choice as between an “auto zone” and
a “people zone,” “streetscape” advocates want
more on-street parking, wider sidewalks, bike lanes, larger and
more comfortable transit shelters, and three Lake Street lanes of
traffic. This puts them in opposition to the projects as they have
been proposed.
There is some latitude, however, in defining exactly who is on which
side. While many area residents oppose the plans for Lake Street,
others embrace them. And while many small business owners oppose
the plan, others support them.
These concerns are being played out in the area’s Project Advisory
Committee (PAC). According to Tom Johnson of Smith Parker, the law
firm that is managing the projects, the PAC “represents all
neighborhood organizations, business associations and city council
wards in the project area, plus several nonprofit organizations.”
He also explained that all the organizations individually chose
who would represent them.
Lake Street and I-35W now separate projects
In the last year, some of the details have changed, but the tension
and bitterness remain. One new detail is that the Lake Street and
I-35 projects have become separate endeavors.
Johnson told us, “The County’s plan has always been that
the reconstruction of Lake Street from Blaisdell to 5th Avenue will
occur under the separate design, budget and schedule of the I-35W
Access Project, planning for which began in 1997. This portion of
the Lake Street design was approved by the I-35W Access Project
PAC in November 2002.”
The focus is now on the Lake Street component of the project, with
the debate ostensibly over the best means to increase the street’s
traffic capacity, or as Johnson says, “ease Lake Street traffic
congestion.” The word “revitalize,” once a key selling
point of the plans, seems to be gradually disappearing from the
rhetoric.
Pro-business vs. residents and small business owners
As we noted earlier, much of Lake Street, largely through the efforts
of area residents and small business owners of color, has rebounded
from a run-down, crime infested section of town into a more vibrant
and vital economic center with its own local economy.
The South Minneapolis group STRIDE (Southside Traffic Reduction
Initiative for Determining our Environment) opposes the Lake Street
project for this and other reasons. STRIDE member Liz McLemore told
us, “In the last 10 years, Lake Street has become a living,
vital, diverse destination — a place where I feel comfortable
and welcome. The small Latino, African American, and Somali-owned
businesses that have built Lake Street — that have made it
what it is today — are going to struggle to stay alive once
construction starts.”
Much of the opposition in the neighborhoods that will be affected
comes from those who contend that the plans overly favor automobile
access from the suburbs at the expense, health-wise and otherwise,
of area residents. In our earlier articles, we noted concerns that
corporations such as Wells Fargo and Abbott Northwestern Hospital
were backing the project to give more direct access to their employees,
who have qualms about driving through those neighborhoods to their
jobs.
Concerning McLemore’s statements, Johnson told us, “One
of the important concerns growing out of these meetings has been
the desire to minimize disruption to small businesses during the
construction, and we are seeking to develop a loan fund for this
purpose. We are always seeking to improve the outreach process,
and would welcome suggestions.”
But McLemore said, “My opinion is that loans aren’t the
answer, since struggling businesses will have to repay them —
if they even qualify for them — and possibly at higher-than-market
interest rates.” She also said, “My suspicion is that
there’s little or no money available for grants. Businesses
and residents will be assessed for the street ‘improvements,’
just like they will for any amenities, such as ‘streetscaping,’
that the PAC approves.”
A stacked deck?
Some opponents, and even some on the PAC, feel that Smith Parker
is stacking the deck by “willfully and knowingly” restricting
access to important information about the project to opponents on
the PAC.
One such example critics point to occurred last week, at the November
18 PAC meeting.
The Lake Street project had apparently been split into two parts,
one for East Lake, the other for West Lake. The debate concerned
whether Lake Street should be three lanes or four. After a protracted
and contentious vote, the PAC voted to further consider two options
(called “W-2” and “W-3” — options two and
three), both of which include four lanes of traffic. These options
would affect Lake Street west of Hiawatha to Dupont Avenue; options
for East Lake will be voted on at next month’s PAC meeting.
But critics charge that the proposals are inadequate for what Lake
Street needs because they do not also provide adequate accommodations
for buses loading and unloading or for bicycles or parking lanes.
We have been told that the number of parking spaces would be reduced
by at least half the current number.
After voting, PAC member Jenny Heiser objected to the lack of information
access for project opponents. It had been revealed that government
funding was contingent on Lake Street conforming to one of the two
proposals voted on — the four-lane options. A previous non-binding
vote had apparently indicated that strong support exists on the
East Lake side for at least one three-lane option.
Heiser questioned whether the PAC should disband, as it seemed the
decisions had already been made. We were unable to reach Heiser
for comment for this article.
McLemore said that much of the support for the four-lane options
comes from Lake Street business owners, who believe that more traffic
passing through will benefit their businesses, but who themselves
live in the suburbs.
When we asked Johnson whether government funding depended on widening
Lake Street, he said, “The project’s funding is not contingent
on widening Lake Street, but on accommodating traffic loads of a
major commercial street to provide an acceptable level of service
for pedestrians, transit and automobiles.”
Critics, however, see “widening” and “accommodating
traffic loads” as a distinction without a difference.
And contrary to Johnson’s assurances of the inclusiveness of
the decision-making process, others see it differently.
Project opponent David Piehl charges that the working of the PAC
is inherently flawed because, he says, “All of their meetings
are scheduled during the workday when residents are at work,”
although the PAC is supposed to be open to public input.
Piehl pointed out that this is advantageous to City and County staffs,
who are attending during their work day and being paid to attend,
“whereas residents and business owners have to endure those
long, boring meetings on their own time,” and are therefore
less able or likely to attend.
The meetings are held at 8 am at the Fifth Police Precinct in Minneapolis,
which is also a concern. As McLemore put it, attendance by people
of color “has generally been sparse at best, but what do you
expect when you hold meetings at the police stations?”
Johnson said, “The Fifth Precinct Station is a central location
and has a community meeting room that has been available for monthly
PAC meetings.” Contrary to McLemore’s and Piehl’s
assertions, Johnson maintained that “PAC meeting attendance
has been good, and we have never heard that the location kept people
away.” He went on to explain that the firm attends meetings
convened by community organizations in order to reach out to residents
and business owners.
For more information on STRIDE and their concept of a “streetscape,”
go to http://www. stride-mn.org.
For Hennepin County’s website detailing the Lake Street project
and community schedule go to http://www.lakestreet.info.
Tom Johnson and the Smith Parker law firm can be reached at 612-344-1500.
Isaac Peterson III welcomes reader responses to ipeterson@spokesman-recorder.com.
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