I am an architecture student at the University of Minnesota. My class and I are doing an extensive study of the development and the future of the Midtown Greenway.

I feel that the neighboorhood''s reaction to the project can determine its success or failure and its development beyond its scheduled completion date. I am very interested in how the residents and businesses in the area feel in regards to this project.

Please email me with any pros or cons that you see concering the development of the Midtown Greenway.

Thank you for any comments that you may have.


By Erin Johnson

LRT

I think the idea of a greenway would be very benefical to the neighborhood. Ideally, used for biking, walking and recreation and for its aesthetic value if designed well. I believe I read that the greenway was in Horace Cleveland's plans for establishment of our parkways. A plan which served the city well and remained more or less in tact. (Unfortunately portions of Lake Calhoun were lost to commercial development and Minnehaha Park was degraded for a highway).

The greenway would be a great east-west commuter route and recreational route because it would connect with the River on the east and isles on the west.

I would perfer no development of LRT in the Greenway. LRT is too expensive and has very limited benefits. However, I understand that the area was developed, at least in part, for this use. I am always humored by the drawings presented to community which place the LRT train in a partially obscured position to minimize its presence.

I do think we can develop a greenway for it's own benefit and that of the community, but an urban park for a park's sake doesn't appear to have a funding source. Our low-income neighborhoods already shoulder too much of the degradation associated with transportation, which includes LRT.

The recent proposal of running buses is an insult to the community. The greenway was sold to the community as mixed use without gasoline (i.e., air polluting) vehicles. Members of the community worked very hard on the development of the greenway. Tragically the met council and our county commissioners are presenting a far different package than what the community visioned. Urban residents under our current leadership have very little control over protecting their neighborhoods from large scale transportation projects. One need only look at Highway 55, LRT, Ayd Mill Road, and now buses on the greenway to see how little impact communities actually have on neighborhood issues.

By craig larson