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So did he or didn't he?
from Minneapolis Issues Forum at http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2002-October/017003.html
Dear Peter,
As I'm sure you know, Hennepin County sponsored a public meeting
last Tuesday of the Project Advisory Committee that will be making
recommendations to the Hennepin County Board and the Minneapolis
City Council regarding changes to Interstate 35 at the Lake Street
interchange.
Some of those changes are past due, moving the 35th Street/36th
Street entrance and exit to 38th Street, to eliminate the dangerous
cross weaving of vehicles entering the system at 31st Street that
makes that intersection so dangerous. But most of the rest are troublesome.
The entrance proposed at Lake Street to go North would create the
same kind of cross weaving we've just eliminated, as would the exit
from Southbound 35W onto Lake Street.
Also, most traffic going North would probably be using the freeway
for a short trip to downtown. Do we want the freeway system used
for trips of just one mile or so? Repaving Lake Street will be a
welcome change, but widening the street to 8 lanes doesn't seem
to make sense, given that traffic levels have actually declined
on Lake Street in the last ten years.
The most controversial proposal for the modification would be the
addition of a flyover lane that would allow traffic coming from
the South and exiting at Lake Street to fly over Lake Street and
dump onto 28th Street. My understanding is that this is your proposal
so that employees and visitors to Wells Fargo and Allina would not
have to see the neighborhood at 31st Street and 2nd Avenue. My further
understanding is that this is a $40+ million avoidance plan. It
seems a rather silly boondoggle.
I have written a piece on this for tomorrow's Pulse. I would appreciate
it if you would look it over and comment on it. We plan on reprinting
it in the Phillips/Powderhorn edition of Southside Pride.
Best wishes,
Ed Felien
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