[Mpls] 5 lanes

[Rosa Pedersen]

Sometimes I get the impression that the people designing the new road 
construction (and the 35 ramps) think that there's nothing on Lake Street 
right now That's not at all true - Lake is beautiful and thriving in spots, 
and it's been getting better every year for the 5 years I've lived in S. 
Mpls.

Right now I live 4 blocks from Lake Street and, while I don't often drive a 
car, when I do I avoid Lake. It's not hard. Except for the stretch between 
Cedar & Hiawatha, and the stretch where Lake & Lagoon are separate one-way 
streets, there's really no reason to be driving on Lake for more than a 
block or two. 28th & 26th streets are fast 3-lane one-ways with fewer 
pedestrians and cars parking or turning (I actually ride my bike down 26th 
when I'm in a hurry, despite the bike-tire-sized potholes, because it is 
much, much faster - more space between lights and the lights seem to match 
traffic flow better, plus you don't have to dodge random noncar obstacles.)

The short stretch between Cedar and Hiawatha (how long is that, 10 blocks? I 
have to admit I ride on 34th street - which I don't recommend to car drivers 
at all, btw - from Bloomington to the Midtown Y at least once a week and 
have never counted the blocks) would be helped tremendously by arrow lights 
and possibly some offstreet parking on the cross streets - the businesses 
there are growing and the real hazard driving through there is traffic 
weaving between cars stopped waiting for a left turn opportunity and other 
cars parking or pulling out of parking spaces. The school, YWCA, and 
farmer's market could use protective traffic lights, too, for when the 
traffic at the 55/LRT/Lake intersection is backed up. But adding more lanes 
doesn't seem like it would help at all - the slowdowns are all at traffic 
lights, not from having too many cars in each lane. Well, traffic lights and 
the occasional delivery truck, though that seems to not happen during 
evening rush hour, at least.

The other big traffic slowdown is the 21 bus - is the idea of putting 
trolleys along the greenway going anywhere? I think overall it would be bad 
for business, by making the Lake Street businesses lose the eye-time they 
get as people wait for the bus or ride by on it, but it would be great for 
traffic.

Jennifer Pedersen
Powderhorn

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Toolbar provides one-click access to Hotmail from any Web page – FREE 
download! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200413ave/direct/01/