Here are some upcoming light rail meetings for Saint Paul & Woodbury, Minnesota:
Central Corridor - Capitol Area Public Construction Information Meeting
Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 3 pm
Stassen Building, Room 2000, 600 N Robert Street, St. Paul 55101
Information
Turning Saint Paul's West Charles Avenue into a Bikeway
proposed bicycle boulevard for 31/2 miles along Charles Avenue from North Aldine Street to Park Street
•• a bikeway is currently several blocks to the north on West Minnehaha Avenue (redundant)
•• snow plows won't plow small residential roundabouts (7 roundabouts planned)
•• traffic will increase on Sherburne & West Edmund Avenues (parallel residential roads)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 5:30 pm
Saint Paul City Council Public Hearing, Council Chambers, City Hall, 15 W Kellogg, Saint Paul, MN 55102
News, Information, Plans part 1, Plans part 2, & Reactions
Saint Paul Budget: Mayor Coleman's 2013 budget raises property taxes & water fees (Documents)
Gateway Corridor Commission Update
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Woodbury City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road, Woodbury, MN 55125
Meeting topics and dates frequently change. Participants are strongly encouraged to contact Kim Blaeser,
city clerk, at 651-714-3500 or kblaeser@ci.woodbury.mn.us to verify
meeting schedules and times.
Woodbury Workshop
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Saint Paul & Woodbury August 14 Primary Election Candidates
Update August 15, 2012: Congratulations to Foung Hawj on winning the State Senator District 67 - Democrat Primary
Vote for Tom Dimond - State Senator District 67
Here's what Tom Dimond says when asked about the Gateway Corridor plan to run a train on residential streets:
"I served on a transportation task force for District 1. We strongly recommended against LRT running down White Bear Ave and through single family residential neighborhoods. We recommended that if LRT is built it should be located in the I-94 corridor. The plan was approved by District 1. I have attended meetings in Dayton's Bluff District 4 and District 5 and many people had similar concerns. I support the District 1 Transportation Plan."
Or vote for Foung Hawj - State Senator District 67
Here's what the campaign manager for Foung Hawj says when asked about the Gateway Corridor plan to run a train on residential streets:
"We have not really had a chance to develop a policy on the proposed Gateway Corridor, but as we have seen with the Central Corridor light rail, this is very disruptive to neighborhood residents and businesses. Foung believes that any project in our neighborhoods should only be pursued after those most affected by it have a chance to have their concerns not only heard, but also addressed to their satisfaction. He showed that when he brought community concerns to the District 2 meetings about the new Cub Food at Phalen Blvd. and at many other occasions. Foung has been a community activist for the past 21 years. When he gets elected, it will be on the strengths of his community support. He will not be beholden to any special interest groups, but only his community on the Eastside."
Vote for Nancy Remakel - Washington County Commissioner from Woodbury
The Washington County Commissioner representing Woodbury is Lisa Weik, who is the chair of the Gateway Corridor Commission. The Gateway Corridor is a set of transportation concepts in search of a goal that often shows light rail running on the residential streets of St. Paul. According to the April 2012 commission meeting minutes Weik stated, "This is something very real and the timing is right if the east metro comes on line now with a transit system that they haven't seen since the 1950's and the streetcars."
The streetcars of the 1950s and earlier are not the 49,000 lb. (when empty) Bombardier Flexify light rail trains used on the Hiawatha Line. Light rail trains cannot stop quickly; that's not their purpose. Accidents happen.
Nancy Remakel is running against Weik for Washington County Commissioner. She states that she knows the difference between a streetcar and a light rail train.
Vote for someone other than Jim McDonough - Ramsey County Commissioner - District 5
Long time Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough continues to push for the light rail transit line (LRT) to zig-zag through Eastside residential streets, as a means to attract a buyer to the mostly leveled 3M plant (dubbed Beacon Bluff) at Minnehaha and Arcade.
Vote for someone other than Tim Mahoney - State Representative District 67A
Minnesota State Representative Tim Mahoney talked about what great things the Hiawatha Line did for the Lake and Hiawatha intersection and was quickly corrected by the crowd (at the Gateway Corridor meeting in March 2012).
For the best candidate information, go to Vote411.org (League of Women Voters).
Other information is available through the Secretary of State's Office.
Vote for Tom Dimond - State Senator District 67
Here's what Tom Dimond says when asked about the Gateway Corridor plan to run a train on residential streets:
"I served on a transportation task force for District 1. We strongly recommended against LRT running down White Bear Ave and through single family residential neighborhoods. We recommended that if LRT is built it should be located in the I-94 corridor. The plan was approved by District 1. I have attended meetings in Dayton's Bluff District 4 and District 5 and many people had similar concerns. I support the District 1 Transportation Plan."
Or vote for Foung Hawj - State Senator District 67
Here's what the campaign manager for Foung Hawj says when asked about the Gateway Corridor plan to run a train on residential streets:
"We have not really had a chance to develop a policy on the proposed Gateway Corridor, but as we have seen with the Central Corridor light rail, this is very disruptive to neighborhood residents and businesses. Foung believes that any project in our neighborhoods should only be pursued after those most affected by it have a chance to have their concerns not only heard, but also addressed to their satisfaction. He showed that when he brought community concerns to the District 2 meetings about the new Cub Food at Phalen Blvd. and at many other occasions. Foung has been a community activist for the past 21 years. When he gets elected, it will be on the strengths of his community support. He will not be beholden to any special interest groups, but only his community on the Eastside."
Vote for Nancy Remakel - Washington County Commissioner from Woodbury
The Washington County Commissioner representing Woodbury is Lisa Weik, who is the chair of the Gateway Corridor Commission. The Gateway Corridor is a set of transportation concepts in search of a goal that often shows light rail running on the residential streets of St. Paul. According to the April 2012 commission meeting minutes Weik stated, "This is something very real and the timing is right if the east metro comes on line now with a transit system that they haven't seen since the 1950's and the streetcars."
The streetcars of the 1950s and earlier are not the 49,000 lb. (when empty) Bombardier Flexify light rail trains used on the Hiawatha Line. Light rail trains cannot stop quickly; that's not their purpose. Accidents happen.
Nancy Remakel is running against Weik for Washington County Commissioner. She states that she knows the difference between a streetcar and a light rail train.
Vote for someone other than Jim McDonough - Ramsey County Commissioner - District 5
Long time Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough continues to push for the light rail transit line (LRT) to zig-zag through Eastside residential streets, as a means to attract a buyer to the mostly leveled 3M plant (dubbed Beacon Bluff) at Minnehaha and Arcade.
Vote for someone other than Tim Mahoney - State Representative District 67A
Minnesota State Representative Tim Mahoney talked about what great things the Hiawatha Line did for the Lake and Hiawatha intersection and was quickly corrected by the crowd (at the Gateway Corridor meeting in March 2012).
For the best candidate information, go to Vote411.org (League of Women Voters).
Other information is available through the Secretary of State's Office.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Urban Renewal - The Leveling of Minneapolis
Minneapolis and Saint Paul will never look like Detroit. The Twin Cities will also never look like Rome, Athens, Paris, London, Boston, or New York.
Urban renewal on top of urban renewal is a constant in the Twin Cities, as if the past is a snow that seasonally melts away.
The renewal refrain is that action is needed to spur development, whether the action is to put something in or tear something down. Minneapolis has spur scars from more than one hundred years of failed plans and leveled buildings.
Over one hundred years ago, there was another Gateway plan that was something of a disaster.
Minneapolis decided to fix Bridge Square by tearing down the bars and putting up Gateway Park.
Opposed to the Gateway plan were William Folwell, former president of the University of Minnesota; Thomas Walker, creator of the Walker Art Center; and Charles Loring, the first president of the park board. Loring argued that the park would simply become a hangout for vagrants, and was philosophically opposed to the park board taking land from businesses.
The land was purchased in 1908. The city leveled 27 saloons in 1½ acres. The Gateway was dedicated in 1915. The building that housed the toilets was inscribed with the words: “More than her gates, the city opens her heart to you.” Problems emerged immediately. Park superintendent Theodore Wirth estimated 8,000-9,000 people used the Gateway toilets daily. The Gateway was insufficient to the task.
Contrary to the desires of the Gateway’s promoters, it did not lead to renewal of that part of the city. But it did become a place to hang out. Instead of flophouses and saloons, the transients had the Gateway.
In 1960, the Gateway was the focus of another urban renewal effort. The park was sold at a fraction of its purchase price, the Gateway building was leveled, as were 40% of downtown district buildings. [source1, source2]
The Metropolitan was still in use when Minneapolis decided to tear it down.
Minneapolis has too many parking lots, said the Minneapolis City Council in a July 2012 Star Tribune article. The parking lots are a blight on the city. The Minneapolis City Council will study the problem.
Who leveled the buildings that created the parking lots? Minneapolis did. It always has. That's why the city of Minneapolis owns a majority of its parking lots.
♠ Skyways (1962) [1, 2, 3]
♠ City Center (1983, $50 million public subsidy)[1, 2]
♠ Riverplace (1985)*
♠ Conservatory (1987-1998, $85 million)[1, 2, 3]
♠ Gaviidae Common (1989, $28 million) [1, 2]
Plus two other loans Brookfield Properties defaulted on, causing Minneapolis to own the Saks portion of Gaviidae.
♠ Block E (2002, $39 million public subsidy)[1, 2, 3]
♠ Hiawatha Line (2004, $715+ million)[1, 2]
♠ Central Corridor (2014, $968+ million)[1, 2]
The Conservatory only lasted a decade. Why are Minneapolis buildings built to last, if they have shorter expiration dates than food?
What's wrong with skyways?
Inherently nothing, but it creates a second-story city of block-sized, unmarked boxes.
What's that box? City Center. What's in it? Nothing. What's in that box? Block E. What's in it? Nothing. So E stands for Empty?!?
There is no character, no class, no interest. No reason to stop and look. No indication of what's in it.
Most of these projects have underpinnings of the Minneapolis jealousy of the suburban malls. Or it is something more. Minneapolis wants to be something it isn't. And Saint Paul wants to be like Minneapolis. That's why it wants its own Gateway fiasco, the Gateway Corridor.
* Representative Phyllis Kahn based her opposition on the use of city-funded tax increment financing [TIF] to support [Riverplace]. "I also consider it appalling to use the public subsidy of tax increment financing for development in an area that is a prime site for private development," she declared. "If this proposal goes through, I hope that every public official who supports it will feel the righteous wrath of a taxpayers' revolt." - Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century by Iric Nathanson, page 151.
The renewal refrain is that action is needed to spur development, whether the action is to put something in or tear something down. Minneapolis has spur scars from more than one hundred years of failed plans and leveled buildings.Over one hundred years ago, there was another Gateway plan that was something of a disaster.
The Gateway
Minneapolis had been losing lumber and flour milling in the late 1800s. Bridge Square, the triangular area near the Hennepin Bridge, had become a haven of bars and flop houses.Minneapolis decided to fix Bridge Square by tearing down the bars and putting up Gateway Park.
Opposed to the Gateway plan were William Folwell, former president of the University of Minnesota; Thomas Walker, creator of the Walker Art Center; and Charles Loring, the first president of the park board. Loring argued that the park would simply become a hangout for vagrants, and was philosophically opposed to the park board taking land from businesses.
The land was purchased in 1908. The city leveled 27 saloons in 1½ acres. The Gateway was dedicated in 1915. The building that housed the toilets was inscribed with the words: “More than her gates, the city opens her heart to you.” Problems emerged immediately. Park superintendent Theodore Wirth estimated 8,000-9,000 people used the Gateway toilets daily. The Gateway was insufficient to the task.
Contrary to the desires of the Gateway’s promoters, it did not lead to renewal of that part of the city. But it did become a place to hang out. Instead of flophouses and saloons, the transients had the Gateway.
In 1960, the Gateway was the focus of another urban renewal effort. The park was sold at a fraction of its purchase price, the Gateway building was leveled, as were 40% of downtown district buildings. [source1, source2]
You Did What?!?
The Metropolitan Building (aka Northwestern Guaranty Loan Building) was one of the buildings leveled at the same time as the Gateway. The first Minneapolis skyscraper, the Metropolitan featured a 12-story tall glass covered atrium with glass floors, similar to those still found at the James J. Hill Library in St. Paul. The rooftop had a garden. It had solar lighting and a green roof. It was green before its time.The Metropolitan was still in use when Minneapolis decided to tear it down.
Minneapolis has too many parking lots, said the Minneapolis City Council in a July 2012 Star Tribune article. The parking lots are a blight on the city. The Minneapolis City Council will study the problem.
Who leveled the buildings that created the parking lots? Minneapolis did. It always has. That's why the city of Minneapolis owns a majority of its parking lots.
The Battle for Newness
Go to Fort Snelling and read its history. For a fort that never saw battle, it has always been destroyed. And rebuilt. Destroyed and rebuilt. The 1957 highway plan called for its complete destruction. Planners know best.
Retail Plans for Downtown Minneapolis
How many plans have there been to attract retail customers to downtown Minneapolis? ♠ Skyways (1962) [1, 2, 3]
♠ City Center (1983, $50 million public subsidy)[1, 2]
♠ Riverplace (1985)*
♠ Conservatory (1987-1998, $85 million)[1, 2, 3]
♠ Gaviidae Common (1989, $28 million) [1, 2]
Plus two other loans Brookfield Properties defaulted on, causing Minneapolis to own the Saks portion of Gaviidae.
♠ Block E (2002, $39 million public subsidy)[1, 2, 3]
♠ Hiawatha Line (2004, $715+ million)[1, 2]
♠ Central Corridor (2014, $968+ million)[1, 2]
The Conservatory only lasted a decade. Why are Minneapolis buildings built to last, if they have shorter expiration dates than food?
What's wrong with skyways?
Inherently nothing, but it creates a second-story city of block-sized, unmarked boxes.
What's that box? City Center. What's in it? Nothing. What's in that box? Block E. What's in it? Nothing. So E stands for Empty?!?
There is no character, no class, no interest. No reason to stop and look. No indication of what's in it.
Most of these projects have underpinnings of the Minneapolis jealousy of the suburban malls. Or it is something more. Minneapolis wants to be something it isn't. And Saint Paul wants to be like Minneapolis. That's why it wants its own Gateway fiasco, the Gateway Corridor.
* Representative Phyllis Kahn based her opposition on the use of city-funded tax increment financing [TIF] to support [Riverplace]. "I also consider it appalling to use the public subsidy of tax increment financing for development in an area that is a prime site for private development," she declared. "If this proposal goes through, I hope that every public official who supports it will feel the righteous wrath of a taxpayers' revolt." - Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century by Iric Nathanson, page 151.
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