[Fwd: Re: [Mpls] Lake Street Public Meeting]

[WizardMarks]

Chris Johnson wrote:

> This editorial (http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/4889781.html) 
> in today's paper, excerpted below, addresses the fallacies and risks 
> of providing more traffic lanes on Lake Street. 

WM: But it doesn't. It's a Chicken Little response. South Mpls. will 
die, pollution will be worse, the neighborhoods will turn Republican, 
and everyone will break out in spots. Pulleeze.

For the last 19 or 20 months Niziolek, Zimmerman, and Lilligren have sat 
on the Lake St. PAC and voted. Their arguments against various solutions 
have not been persuasive to other members of the PAC. This is a way for 
those three councilman--and the mayor--to suborn the process; they can 
vote twice. The county too has had two representatives at the PAC but 
they do not vote, retaining their right to vote when the whole package 
comes before the County Commissioners.

At the last PAC meeting, Niziolek came in and in a most condescending 
manner told us that we didn't know enough to vote for any package. I was 
insulted. (According to this week's City Pages Niziolek has insulted 
city council in the same way.) Earlier in the process Niziolek's person 
on the PAC wanted us to read books by an engineer who had a different 
notion, insulting the engineering firm who had been hired for this 
particular project. It's been clear all along that these three council 
persons were going to push a stick in the wheel at every turn. It was so 
clear that many quit listening to anything the three had to say. In 
effect, they ruined their chances at suasion much earlier in the process 
by their own behavior.

Lucky guys, they get to vote twice--or so they apparently believe. 
Essentially, they want to turn a big shoulders, working street, haven 
for start up businesses for umpteen years, into a yuppie paradise with 
strings of coffee shops with outdoor tables. (Of course, this scenario  
leaves coffee drinkers sucking up fumes and dirt with their coffee. Ah, 
the feel of grit in your teeth! Ambrosia--not!)

> WizardMarks, Central
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