Lake street repaving in 2005 already controversial

by Ed Felien

Hennepin County planning staff and the local Project Area Committee want to speed up the flow of traffic on Lake Street at Chicago Avenue. Their proposal is to eliminate the onstreet parking and create five lanes of traffic: two going east, two going west, and one turning lane.

Predictably, local business owners are very upset. They believe, understandably, if there is no parking in front of their stores, then customers won't stop, and they'll go out of business.

A compromise seems to be brewing from the mayor's office with support from local councilmembers where the City would restrict parking during rush hour and allow parking the rest of the day. Critics of this plan say rush hour lasts all day with small rushes through to bar closings at 2 am.

Traffic Engineers predict there will be 25,000 cars daily passing through the Lake and Chicago intersection on Lake Street when construction is competed. This seems high, but Lake Street managed over 27,000 cars through that intersection in previous years with the present two lanes of traffic.

County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin assured members of the audience that the County would support any streetscaping projects, including cul-de-sacs, that became part of the City's paving project plan. Councilmember Robert Lilligren assured the audience that the City would respect neighborhood input into the planning of the cul de sacs at Lake and Elliot and Lake and 10th Avenue. There is a problem continuing the cul-de-sac at Lake and Elliot because the owner of the Chicago Lake Liquor store has successfully sued the City to stop traffic from using his driveway to turn around to get back onto Lake Street when cars make a wrong turn from Lake Street onto Elliot Avenue. His action will force the City to take down the cul de sac in September. In order to reinstate the cul de sac the City will have to purchase some property to build an alley connector to allow traffic to get to the alley between Elliot and Chicago Avenues and return to Lake Street.