(12/15/02) The following letter was originally posted on 11/14. Due to a technical error, part of the letter was ommitted and credit given to the wrong author.

The Standish and Ericsson Neighborhood residents have had no part in the LRT CAC decision to oppose an increased speed limit on Hiawatha Avenue and their request for other traffic calming measures.

It should be noted that our neighborhoods (over 10,000 residents) have no current representation on the CAC due to ongoing frustration with the committee. Therefore the CAC position should not be considered as representative of SENA residents (both 38th & 46th Street Station areas) until new representatives from the Standish and Ericsson Neighborhoods are appointed to the CAC or a neighborhood survey is taken.

While it is my personal perception that most SENA residents would support a modest increase in speed limit with better enforcement and improved pedestrian crossing measures at intersections, I am working on gathering resident feedback and finding a neighborhood representative for the CAC.

- Chris Heineman, SENA Neighborhood Coordinator

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(12/13/02)
The following letter was sent to both Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy and NENA.

I live on 51st Street and 46th Avenue and have a great concern about the speed limit on Highway 55.

I would first like to mention that during all of the neighborhood meetings and discussions speed was always a factor. The community did not want a high speed roadway going through the neighborhood. Thus the 35 mph, four lane road. Now the suburbanites feel that isn't fast enough so they drive faster and now some are proposing a higher speed because "everyone drives faster anyway." I'm having a very hard time figuring out the mentality of those who want to raise the speed because "everyone is doing it." Perhaps if everyone drove 50 mph down 50th Street the speed limit would be raised there too.

I feel very strongly that those of us who live near Highway 55 have given up a lot for the convenience of the commuters. We used to look out over a park, now all we see in front of us is an ugly concrete wall. We used to have beautiful trees, now all we have is concrete and rails. I think the city has lost a lot with the new highway, all for the convenience of the commuters and a lot of it at the expense of those of us who choose to live in this beautiful city. I hope you will oppose raising the speed limit and encourage the police department to enforce the current law. Thank you.

- Kay Norheim, Minnehaha Neighborhood

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(12/03/02)

I would like to see the limit raised to 45 mph.

- Gerald Grant (unspecified neighborhood)

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(11/25/02)

I do not want the speed limit raised and would like the speed limit to be enforced. I believe if the lights were better timed all would be better.

I would also like to volunteer to have my neighbors sign a petition showing support against higher speeds. I have spoken with Carol Kummer, Met Council member and neighbor and she thinks such a petition would be a great idea.

- Gerry D'Amour, Ericsson neighborhood

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(11/21/02)

I see you are having an electronic town meeting, cool!

There is an issue of trust in our bureaucracies involved here. In order to lesson the opposition to this project, it was pledged that the speed limit would be 35 miles per hour. I believe people trusted that promise to mean: the speed limit would be 35 miles per hour, ALWAYS. Now it seems that the powers that be will make promises with the intent to keep them only as long as it serves their purposes.

The message is clear: Show me someone who believes governmental transportation agencies, and I'll show you a naive fool. This realization hurts, and angers inherently trusting people.

On the safety aspects of increased speed, after having witnessed two spectacular pile ups at Hiawatha and about 52nd, I wonder if the design of the road in that area is even safe for increased speeds. If the people who were plowed in to were asked, I wonder if they would endorse higher speeds. Maybe getting hit 10 or 15 miles per hour harder wouldn't bother them. It's hard for me to know, but I don't think I would like it.

I believe the rerouted section of Hiawatha is significantly more dangerous than the old route because, I think drivers were a little more careful before the autobahn-like redesign lulled them in to the belief that higher speeds are o.k.
- Dean Lindberg, Minnehaha Neighborhood

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(11/20/02)

Citizens of Minneapolis made a significant sacrifice of green space when highway 55 was routed through Minnehaha Park. It has been estimated that 1/3 of the parks undeveloped areas were lost to the highway.

MnDOT repeatedly assured residents that the speed on highway 55 would be restricted to 35 mph to minimize the effect on the remaining portions of Minnehaha Park and associated areas along the Mississippi River. In MnDOT's public relations piece mass mailed to city residents (Hiawatha Avenue Reconstruction Update, Vol 1, Issue 2 dated April 1997), MnDOT stated that "the speed limit [on highway 55] will be 35 miles per hour (MPH) as it is from I-94 to 46th Street."

The state, and our political leaders, have an obligation to follow through on this promise. For government to run effectively, it is vital that a trust exists between the government and our communities. If the speed limit is increased, citizen's trust in our government will be severely eroded.
- Craig Larson, Longfellow Neighborhood

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(11/20/02)

We are opposed to raising the speed limit on Hwy 55. This project was not presented as a freeway through our neighborhood, which is what it would be with increased speed limits.

Our family has already significantly reduced our biking across HWY 55 ventures due to the increased traffic. It is almost impossible for the four of us to safely get across the road. We're already concerned about the impact of light rail on our biking safety.

An increased speed limit would keep us from ever biking across Hwy 55, which would mean that we would be cut off from the creek trails (unless we go across the bridge by the Longfellow House which we cannot always do) and we would be cut off from restaurants/friends/YMCA on the other side of Hwy 55. Please do not further divide our neighborhood with this change.
- Debra L. Petersen and Tracy J. Fredin, Hiawatha Neighborhood

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(11/16/02)

50 MPH on HYW 55 does seem modest for what I observe on that stretch.

The only thing holding traffic under 70 or 75 are the several stoplights and the fact that the roadway currently has a posted limit of 35 MPH on much of its length, leading some to feel the State Police may occasionally have concern for folks approaching that speed.

If the City of Minneapolis is to consider such goals as Pedestrian safety and neighborhood livability someone needs to look at issues other than that advanced by the State Dept. of Transportation. Remember, their job has always been roads and cars, and they have done it well. I would hope the issue can be revisited soon and by sympathetic policy makers.

If we need a hookup between the Crosstown and I-94 then lets do it right and not doom the neighborhoods and local transportation needs for the next 50 years by another boondoggle.
- John Groos

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