Chicago Lake Liquor forces the city to remove cul de sac

Chicago Lake Liquor has successfully sued the City and forced them to remove the barriers on Elliot Avenue near Lake Street that had created a temporary cul de sac. The cul de sac, although very popular with the neighborhood, was forcing traffic that had turned onto Elliot Avenue from Lake Street to use the driveway of Chicago Lake Liquors to turn around to get back to Lake Street. There are signs warning drivers that Elliot does not go through, but some drivers still turned onto Elliot and had to find some way to get out. They would turn into the Chicago Lake Liquor store driveway, then back out into the street and turn around. The courts had ruled in a similar situation against a liquor store in North Minneapolis that when the City forces traffic onto private property, that constitutes an illegal taking of that property.

The City has agreed in an out of court settlement to remove the barriers September 1, opening traffic on Elliot Avenue to traffic from Lake Street for the first time in years. At a meeting of the Parkside West Neighborhood on Tuesday, June 29, neighbors expressed their sadness at the change: "For the first time we've become a neighborhood. We were always isolated and alone before." "How are they going to keep the drug dealers from the Chicago Lake Liquor store parking lot from moving into the neighborhood?" "What about the kids? Kids have been playing in the streets. Now they'll be run over by speeding cars."

Traffic engineers from the City proposed several options available to the City. The most popular option was making the cul de sacs permanent and taking some land to create an alley entrance off Elliot to allow cars the option to turn around by turning right onto the side alley, turning right again at the alley between Elliot and Chicago, and then driving to Lake Street.

Council Member Robert Lilligren said after the meeting, "They're complaining we're taking their land illegally, well, maybe we should take it legally." One of the most popular options would be for the City to take back the land that the liquor store bought when it opened almost 30 years ago. The store purchased and tore down a house at 3016 Elliot to expand their parking lot. The City could use its power of eminent domain to legally purchase that strip of land from the liquor store and turn it into a side alley. Another option would be to take the adjoining lot and house at 3020 Elliot, tear it down and make a side alley there.

Lilligren says he favors any plan that the neighborhood wants. The neighborhood clearly wants to save the cul de sac. Lilligren says he will work for that option. He says he prefers a plan which doesn't take housing. But it is unlikely anything can be done before September 1.

Lilligren will work to create traffic calming on Elliot between Lake and 31st Street, such as considering the possibility of making it a one-way or using speed bumps to slow traffic.

At this point there are no plans to remove the barriers at Lake and 10th Avenue.
Chicago Lake Liquor enjoys the privilege of being able to sell liquor in South Minneapolis because it has been granted a license from the City. This privilege is granted because, supposedly, it enjoys the good will of the community it serves. The recent lawsuit and consequent actions of John Wolf, the owner of Chicago Lake Liquor, are now testing the limits of that good will.