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More cars on Lake St. too costly
Guest commentary by Liz McLemore
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 12.03.03
online at http://www.spokesman-recorder.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=35717&sID=13
When you stroll or bike down Lake Street, what do you see? Do you
see a vibrant community, or do you see what some characterize as
“[the] slow decline of Lake Street”?
The future of Lake Street may depend on your answer. As the Eighth
Ward’s Representative on the Lake Street Project Advisory Committee
(PAC), I can tell you that big changes are planned for Lake Street.
Not all those changes will be good for the people who live and work
on Lake.
PAC members sift through reams of technical data with an eye to
designing better “access” to Lake Street. Few members
would argue over the merits of “accessing” Lake. The real
debate has to do with who we’re providing access for, and at
what costs to the very people who have created the Lake Street we
know today and who continue Lake Street’s tradition of entrepreneurial
spirit.
At the turn of the 20th century it was Germans, Scandinavians,
and Greeks who set up small family-owned businesses on Lake, swept
the sidewalks side by side, and bought houses in the surrounding
neighborhoods.
Over the years the street changed. Sidewalks were narrowed to
accommodate automobiles rather than streetcars, and many businesses
and residents relocated to the suburbs. Lake Street languished as
mom-and-pop stores gave way to K-Marts and fast-food restaurants
- a common enough tale in America.
But Lake Street made a comeback, rebuilt and revitalized by African
Americans and by a new wave of Latino, Somali, and Ethiopian immigrants.
These new businesses survive by meeting the needs of the local residents,
many of them from communities of color.
The four-mile stretch of Lake is host to barber shops, restaurants,
specialty food stores, car repair shops, clothing and music stores.
Far from a commercial corridor in “decline,” Lake Street
is experiencing a real upswing, revitalized by folks who chose to
invest their money in the city.
And it’s precisely the multicultural, multiracial vitality
of Lake that must be preserved. To me, the real issue is not how
to “revitalize” Lake Street - Lake has already been given
new life - but how to best protect and encourage the growth that
is already there.
And it’s precisely there - where the rubber meets the road,
in that space shared by bicyclists, transit riders, pedestrians,
and cars - that I parted ways with my fellow PAC members who voted
to pursue four-lane solutions for the west side of Lake (extending
west from Hiawatha, excluding the area affected by the new I-35W
ramps). To me, the costs of increasing traffic afforded by the four-lane
options may be too great.
The costs to the neighborhoods and businesses have never been
spelled out completely. The case for expanding Lake to accommodate
increased car traffic is based on the projections of traffic levels
in 2015 rather than on current levels. Engineers assume that traffic
will increase steadily and that we’ll continue to have access
to affordable sources of oil - a condition that some social critics
argue is unrealistic.
Furthermore, the Sierra Club argues that “Trying to build
our way out of traffic congestion is like dealing with a weight
problem by buying bigger pants.” Studies clearly show that
adding road capacity actually encourages people to drive, thereby
perpetuating the problem. The result is that you end up with more
traffic than before, a condition called “induced travel.”
Paradoxically enough, the proposed solution to traffic congestion
not only perpetuates but eventually increases the problem.
And an increase in traffic on Lake, indeed anywhere in our city,
is precisely what we don’t need.
Perhaps the biggest reason is the cost to our health. It’s
well known that communities of color are affected by disproportionate
rates of childhood asthma, but mounting evidence points to other
problems caused by automobiles. Scientific studies conducted in
England, Germany, Holland, New York, and Denver, Colorado found
that residents near high-traffic areas suffer higher-than-normal
rates of cancer, asthma, heart disease, and low birth-weight babies.
In fact, a study conducted in Denver a few years ago showed that
children living within 250 yards of roadways carrying 20,000 or
more vehicles per day are six times more likely to develop cancer
and eight times more likely to die of leukemia. Lake Street is already
at those levels.
But those people most affected by vehicle exhaust - residents
and business owners of color - have few seats on the PAC where the
decisions are made. In fact, the PAC membership roster reads like
a “who’s who” of neighborhood activists and members
of business associations. So why aren’t people of color represented?
There are many reasons for that. Some of them have to do with
language barriers, but another reason is fear of reprisals by the
City. As one business owner told me, “If you’re a little
fish, you gotta be careful.”
But health effects are not always an overriding concern for cities
dealing with road issues; we must also consider the benefits to
existing businesses. And doesn’t increased traffic benefit
businesses?
It can - if there’s sufficient parking. The design options
chosen by the PAC will actually reduce the number of on-street parking
spaces from 300 to as few as 80. As a result, businesses will be
hit several times: first during construction, then by assessments
for repaving and streetscaping, and finally by a potential reduction
in business due to a lack of parking. Since few businesses on Lake
have off-street parking, this situation may spell disaster for some.
For many people on Lake, however, parking is a non-issue. They
don’t own cars but ride the bus, walk, or bike to their destinations.
Unfortunately, the options chosen by the PAC do little to support
these (poorer) residents and business patrons.
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that recommended these options
admits they are inadequate for transit riders and bicyclists. Bicyclists
are forced to share a lane with cars, with no room (or plan) for
a dedicated bike lane. The length and width required for buses loading
and unloading is also described as “inadequate.”
Finally, for the small businesses of Lake Street, the actual construction
phase and the resulting restriction of access to the area could
be a death blow. During the recent repaving project on 38th Street,
business owners reported a severe loss in sales. One business without
off-street parking, Ted Cook’s 19th Hole Barbecue, experienced
a 50 percent drop in business during construction, according to
the owner, Moses Quartey.
In short, small business owners and residents - those who revitalized
Lake Street in the first place - are the ones who stand to suffer
the most under the present plan.
Even if we are willing to send our children to fight in future
oil wars, projections are that we will face severe oil shortages
within 50 years. Does it make sense to invest public money in auto-based
solutions for creating a viable city? I believe the best way to
preserve the vitality of Lake Street is to build for the future
by creating opportunities for people to interact on the street and
by encouraging transportation alternatives like transit, bicycles,
and good old-fashioned walking.
Unfortunately, the Lake Street PAC, encouraged by technical advisors
and project managers, just took a step in the wrong direction.
But it may not be too late. On December 16, PAC members will vote
to narrow the options for the east side of Lake (from Hiawatha to
the river). Show up and express your opinion. All PAC meetings are
at 8 am at the police department’s Fifth Precinct headquarters,
31st and Nicollet.
For more information on STRIDE, visit their website at www.stride-mn.org.
Liz McElmore is the Eighth Ward’s representative on the Lake
Street Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and a member of STRIDE.
She welcomes reader responses to mcelmore27@earthlink.net.
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