An intriguing Strib piece on Sunday includes speculation that sprawl would
crawl if only ramp meters went away. The theory is that the highways would
then be more congested for folks in the hinterlands, so people wouldn't live
so far out and Minneapolis would become even more attractive.
I've often wondered if congestion is the city's friend. When we first moved
to our block six years ago, we were surprised to find several suburban
refugees who worked in the city and were tired of driving in. I've wondered
since, if the drive gets tougher, would Minneapolis housing demand rise even
faster?
I don't know - the alternative hypothesis is if we were in gridlock, more
commercial development would go to outlying areas, since so much of the
population lives out there now. I've never quite decided which I think will
happen. Others?
The Strib piece is at:
http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=82775438
David Brauer
King Field - Ward 10
Guy with a 20-second commute from bedroom to home office
