Commentary
LRT route through Golden Valley threatens a precious natural resource
By Sara Payne
Sara Payne works in benefits for a Twin Cities corporation and is a source in MPR News' Public Insight Network.
In an MPR News story published last month, Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat described his perception of the proposed Bottineau light rail route. He said he had "actually ridden the corridor, and it's not as beautiful and pristine as some might make it out to be....The time I went through it, there was a mattress along the corridor. What people are failing to see is some of the improvements that could be made in terms of plantings, landscaping, buffering, and things that are not there now."
My family has lived on the corridor for 18 years and walked it and the surrounding parkland (Mary Hills and Wirth Park) most days. Here's a small sampling of what we've seen, much of it in our backyard:
Fox, mink, beaver, woodchuck, deer, wild turkeys (including a female with 10 chicks), raccoons, wood ducks, loons, kingfishers, eagles, barred owls (nesting next door at Deb's, but the chicks kept running around our yard before they had fledged), hawks, myriad songbirds, pileated woodpeckers, herons, egrets, snapping turtles, bats, toads, frogs, fish.
No amount of landscaping, planting and buffering will protect the habitat of these special neighbors. The noise pollution alone from the transit and increased human traffic will destroy a place of refuge for both wildlife and humans.
I relocated to Minnesota after a childhood in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Wales, followed by university studies in Vermont and Indiana. Thirty years ago, after extensive research, I moved to Minnesota with no job, no home and knowing one person because the Twin Cities offered what I was looking for: the cultural and economic advantages of a metropolis with easy, local access to nature and tranquility.
The environment has changed considerably in 30 years. I welcome the increased diversity in our population and the development of public transportation, but I am not willing to support an LRT project that threatens an ecosystem that once gone cannot be recovered.
I believe it is this perspective that truly takes into account the future of Minnesota and the bigger picture that Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris claims to be considering. We must be stewards for our environment.
Yes, LRT is a viable and important part of moving toward reduced carbon use and cleaner living, but it needs to be located where it will serve people needing it most and will do the least damage to our natural resources. My voting family of three adults will not be supporting any of the City Council members or the mayor who voted for this proposal last month.
There's a renewed rumbling in the neighborhood, and it's not the trains.
Comments (8)
Classic NIMBY, but I don't support anything that is subsidized by the taxpayer anyhow. So much for opinions!
The LTR would run along the edge of the park, the park will still be open for people to see all those beautiful things you described, but when those beautiful things move into human populations and their backyards, that is when they are at risk. Living in the city typically means you access wildlife in parks, not your backyard. For those low income people living near the new rail line, they will benefit from the new transit options and still have the park to go see wildlife. For those living right next to the park it may block their immediate view, but there is already a BNSF line there, so to say it will do immeasurable damage is slightly alarmist. This is a long term project that will do less damage than I imagine highway 55 does when it was built right through the middle of the park.
I am all about preserving nature but we live in a city and we need comprehensive mass transit. Obviously the author have never tried to take the bus from South Mpls to a Golden Valley, 3 transfers and 2 and a half hours later you're there!
I am a Nelson (see name), my family has lived here since 1830. We welcome the LRT/should have been done a long time ago.
Addressing the comments above: The proposed LRT route will travel DIRECTLY through 3 parks: Mary Hills Nature Area, Walter Solchoki Park and Theo. Wirth., not alongside an edge. Yes there is 1 set of tracks now, and the trains run a max. of 3 times a day. LRT would run every 7 to 15 minutes -- totally disrupting the paths of the wildlife. Because of the noise created, sound barrier walls may be put up, such as line Hwy 100, totally preventing wildlife from crossing the lines. So, no, the beauty and wildlife would no longer be available for anyone to enjoy. Yes, we live in a city, but a unique city of parks and lakes, for which we are famous. The proposed route will not benefit people traveling cross suburbs -- they will still have to take buses and transfer. In fact, the route does not go anywhere near people, shopping or developments -- it's park land! The only ones who benefit are those living beyond 2nd ring suburbs to go downtown. The proposed GV station will basically be a through-fare, as there is no parking available either. Like Sara, we've been here over 25 years and moved to this location for its tranquility, beauty and nature. It's a privilege to live here, and our responsibility to ensure our children will be able to enjoy nature within this city.
I have to agree with Ms. Schumacher and others who worry about the effect LRT will have on our wildlife and natural beauty.
My partner and I had been looking for a home for almost a year when we found one that backs onto Wirth Park (and the proposed LRT rail line) - we still weren't convinced until we visited one last time at sundown in late May 2003. When I saw the deer and fawns in the backyard eating and playing, I was sold. We signed our "good faith" papers within 20 minutes and moved in June.
We've loved the wildlife, all that Ms. Payne mentions and more.
We're very concerned about the impact of LRT on our home, our family and the wildlife that brought us to Golden Valley. Please consider other options.
Golden Valley has a populuation of 20,000 with companies who employ over 30,000 people. Wouldn't you think part of the planning process would have also included mass transit for at least one company or in a densely populated area ofther than a park system or in a location that allows for space for a park and ride. It offends me that millions of our dollars have been spent to locate a Light Rail Plan along a RR track. I take the bus to work downtown, and would live 200 feet from light rail, but would need to walk 1.5 miles to the stop. I will move if the plan goes through.
Light rail is enormously expensive to operate. And this planned route is trying to save money by developing a through 3 miles of parkland in the middle of Minneapolis. This is a senseless plan from every perspective. It will completely skip over residents in north Minneapolis, while compromising the largest park in the city. How can we afford to develop such a useless line? There is no prospect for economic development on the park land, and it doesn't serve many (if any) commuters in Minneapolis. I don't think caring about Minneapolis makes me a NIMBY. Highway 55 was once slated to go OVER Minnehaha Falls. You don't have to live across the street from Minnehaha Falls to be glad that shortsighted idea never made it.
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