Pam Blixt:
As a hydrogeologist who spent many hours lobbying yourself and politicians
including the Mayor, Council Member Colvin Roy and Commissioner McLaughlin,
I must agree with Mr. Bradley. These officials turned a deaf ear to the
environmental concerns which I raised as a professional geologist working in
the area of groundwater. I, and many other concerned citizens, made it
evident that an adequate assessment was never conducted to the Minnehaha
Creek Watershed District (MCWD). While the community certainly appreciates
the work the MCWD has done on this project (especially hiring Mr. Kelton
Barr, a truly independent hydrogeoloist), these actions occurred despite our
political "leadership." It is not enough to be protective of the
environment only in an election year (or in the Mayor's case, after loosing
your party's endorsement).
I must strongly question your statement on how the highway "improved the
environment". A highway doesn't have to be routed through a park and
parallel to the river to have its runoff treated. In fact, I believe this
is a requirement of the Federal Clean Water Act. This would have occurred
despite its alignment assuming the road required upgrading, which it did.
However, it's alignment has created the opportunity for road salt spray and
other roadway contaminants to enter the shallow aquifers closer to sensitive
environments such as the Coldwater Spring and the Minnehaha Creek and
Mississippi River Gorges.
The same is true of the critter crossing. It did not require moving a
highway through a grove of 100s of mature oak trees. This may also have
been a requirement if an adequate wildlife assessment had been conducted in
the Environmental Impact Statement. (You will recall that this came about
through the work of Green Cities Inc, which identified the possible presence
of a threatened species through a file search at the MN DNR.)
Perhaps the weakest statement is that of urban sprawl. The best way to keep
people in the city is to keep it a place where people want to live.
Degrading park land and urban wilderness areas does not accomplish goal!
The selling of the reroute of Highway 55 is full of misleading statements
such as these, which is unfortunate. It is these statements which makes
citizens critical of our governing bodies and diminishes the fine work done
by the board on which you serve. It is important that we give the credit
where it is due. The real political credit should go to Sen. Julie Sabo and
Rep. Mark Gleason, who have consistently supported the protection of this
area and authored the bills which were signed into law. It is their efforts
which represent the true environmental principals of the party they serve.
Craig Larson
Longfellow, Ward 12
Pam Blixt wrote:
"...Supporting a highway project does not preclude being concerned about the
environment. In fact, this project improved the environment in a number of
significant ways. It now cleans up all highway water before it enters either
Minnehaha Creek or the River. It has provided a critter/greenway corridor
under roadways where none previously existed. It has removed homes from the
flood plain. It has provided a transit corridor opportunity. It will
provide for increased infill and brown field clean up as redevelopment
occurs instead of sprawl. These are good things!
All public officials must make tough decisions that will not be unanimoulsy
popular. That is part of the job and those decisons should be viewed in
context of the whole, rather than a narrow lens, of what was the right
things to do for the area and the best decison for most of the people.
Pam Blixt
Nokomis East
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