[Mpls] Concrete River

[Jason C Stone]

It was slightly distressing to see the simulation of the 35W/Crosstown expansion last night.  The
new highway will be an enormous expanse of pavement.  Nary a word about how this expansion will
position us 20 years from now.  Every inch of free space will be used to reduce the number of
properties that will be acquired by eminent domain.  However, this is an illusion of low impact on
property owners.  The impact on many lives will be overwhelmingly negative.  MNDOT should
compensate impacted property owners in the amount of the difference between pre and post
construction market value.  Are we so cold that we would literally take money from unfortunately
sited homeowners?  I'd like the city to ensure that the expansion plan protects the financial
interest of the hundreds of homeowners that will realize painful losses in net worth due to
pressures applied largely from outside the city.  This situation is a complete parallel to the
issue of airport noise in terms of its impact on city residents and city living.

I am puzzled why there has been no attempt to smooth traffic & eliminate congestion by staggering
'standard' work hours.  As part of a metro-wide effort, shift work schedules slightly and create a
more even flow of traffic over a slightly longer duration than the dreaded Rush Hour.  This notion
alone could alleviate the need for further highway expansion for years.  Not rocket science...

Jason Stone
Diamond Lake