[Mpls] Fantasy Group Needs New Members: Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee

[Dyna Sluyter]

On Tuesday, June 1, 2004, at 10:27 AM, Svattheriver at aol.com wrote:

> This is a thirty year plan

	That will only cost a couple billion dollars to implement.

>  with a board of thirty with two sets of
> alternates that can also participate. It represents neighborhoods, 
> businesses,  and
> environmental groups and operates by consensus.

	But not the thousands of ordinary working folks that will lose their 
jobs if the plan is ever implemented.

> Extend  West River Parkway to North Mississippi Regional Park.

	Sorry, but there is no right of way available. But we could fix up 2nd 
Street North and Washington Avenue North.

> Convert the BN Bridge  to a pedestrian and bicycle facility linking 
> both
> banks.

	Do you really want to take on the maintainence costs of that antique? 
And have you priced new river bridges lately? And keep in mind that the 
only other way across the river for BNSF to their west bank customers 
is via the CP Rail bridge. CP rail will charge a hefty price to use 
their bridge, have you budgeted for that?

> Reconstruct  Marshall Street as a boulevard, with new landscaping and 
> bicycle
> lanes.

	But you'll still have to build it to truck route standards per STAA.

> Land  Use and Implementation
> Establish an Upper River Development Corporation as a non-profit 
> entity  with
> the sole purpose of implementing the Upper River Master Plan.

	This plan is years old and that has yet to happen... says something of 
the interest in said plan.

> Rezone  property in accordance with the Upper River Land Use Plan.
> Close the Upper  Harbor Terminal.
> Phase out heavy-industrial uses in Upper River corridor.

	Resulting in a loss of thousands of jobs. BTW, this is a navigable 
waterway so we can't restrict interstate commerce and the Corp of 
Engineers by closing a port. Unless we replace it with another one- 
maybe just above the falls in front of all those million dollar condos?

> Transition land use in corridor to a mix of parks, residential,

	We already have a housing surplus, so the city has no business 
subsiding more overpriced new housing along the river.

>  light-industrial, and commercial uses.

	Which we already have in the corridor- so why chase them out?

> Develop new riverfront residential  and mixed-use communities on west 
> bank.

	And after you've torn down hundreds of businesses and eliminated 
thousands of jobs, who'll be able to afford all that new "river front 
residential". Oops, I forgot- that new housing is for the rich people 
and us working class folks are supposed to leave the city. Isn't that 
what they call gentrification?

> Thanks,
> Scott Vreeland  Seward near the River

	Isn't Seward below the falls?

		From Hawthorne Above The Falls,

			Dyna Sluyter