A friend of the blog emails:
I was always afraid the activists had too much control, [the FOB’s spouse] was confident that the state wouldn’t do something this stupid. But, it is getting talked about in mainstream media now. It’s probably really going to happen, isn’t it?
The FOB is talking about the “Plan” being pushed by “advocates” to replace I94 between the downtowns with a “boulevard”.
Normally at this point, of course, I’d say it’s just another racket to transfer money from the taxpayers to the non-profit and consultant “advocate” class. They can write puff-piece reports and squalls of PR material on the indirect public dime, build entire careers out of yapping about vaporware projects.
But the people who love to play with the levers and buttons and knobs of government have gotten their hands on this, so I’d say the odds are pretty decent that a lot more money will be spent on this.
The obvious question is, what happens when an untstoppable money-squandering force (the drive to gut 94) meets the immovable money-squandering object (the drive to put a deck over the freeway to rebuild Rondo)?
They can’t both win…
Turning a main interstate highway through a major metro area, should be economic suicide for St. Paul and finish off Minneapolis. Can you imagine truck drivers refusing to come here with, oh, I don’t know, things like food or building supplies? The 35E debacle is bad enough, but I-94?! DemoCommies are narcissistic morons!
On the light side, we could joke that replacing the current parking lot with a boulevard just might greatly improve things….
Seriously, nostalgia is hardly a good substitute for clear thinking in urban planning. It’s not going to bring back long lost neighborhoods, and yes, it’s got some other consequences to boot.
As Henry Kissinger said about the Iran-Iraq War, “It’s a shame they both can’t lose.”
Since it’s an interstate federal highway/freeway, doesn’t the fed DOT have any say in the matter?
Oh wait, this is the BIDEN
administrationregime. Never mind, they’ll be behind this 110%.