Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association 4/15 meeting
T MOBILE TOWER: Council member Diane Hofstede reported that T Mobile hasn’t taken down the cell tower on top of the Andrews House on Fifth Street Southeast because of lingering winter weather. She has asked T Mobile for a timeline for completing the project.
WAVES OF GRAIN BUILDING: The board approved the proposed Waves of Grain rental housing development at 1599 SE 8th St. with the caveat that the developer participate in MHNA’s 15th Avenue planning. Specifically the board would like the developer to ask the City to improve the condition of 8th Street and 15th Avenue.
CENTRAL CORRIDOR RESOLUTION: The board passed a resolution calling on the governor and the Legislature to secure at least $70 million for the Central Corridor and to prevail upon the Metropolitan Council (Met Council) to “carefully consider the disastrous consequences of re-routing 25,000 vehicles and 1,500 buses into the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Minnesota.”
The board has always strongly supported using the #9 bridge (also called the northern alignment) over the Mississippi River rather than closing Washington Avenue to vehicular traffic.
MET COUNCIL ON THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR: Dan Soler, a traffic engineer on loan to the Met Council from Ramsey County, presented the Met Council’s work on the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) corridor. Since the Washington Avenue tunnel under the University of Minnesota (the University) was deemed too expensive, traffic engineers have focused on running LRT at-grade down University and Washington Avenues. The option that the Met Council has been giving the most attention involves closing Washington Ave. through the University to all traffic except LRT, pedestrians and possibly some buses.
Board member Bob Distad questioned how cars would get to parking ramps at the University, hospitals and the Radisson Hotel if they couldn’t use Washington Avenue. “If you have to make all these changes and improvements to the side streets, at some point doesn’t it get more expensive than the tunnel?” asked Distad.
Board member Steve Swanson asked whether or not an elevated train had been considered. According to Jessica Hill, Met Council’s Community Outreach Coordinator who also attended the board meeting, residents and businesses along University Avenue didn’t want an elevated train dividing their community. Soler said that, to his knowledge, using an elevated train on Washington Ave. just through the University was never discussed.
NEXT: Board meeting, May 20, 2008
MEETINGS: 3rd Tuesday monthly, 6 p.m. at University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Avenue SE
CONTACT: 623-7633, www.marcy-holmes.org
BORDERS: Central Ave. to 15th Ave. SE, 9th St. SE to Main St. SE
last revised: April 17, 2008