Readers describe downtown remedies

Published Sunday, January 5, 1997

Readers describe downtown remedies

Linda Mack / Star Tribune

Deirdre Hultgren loves downtown Minneapolis but finds it frustrating. She moved back to Minneapolis after living around the world and now, with a 20-month-old daughter in tow, finds it difficult to get around.

"With children it's a whole different thing," she said.

"Before Christmas I was running a quick errand with my husband and baby, pulled into a parking place on the street to save money, went to pick up some eyeglasses and buy a gift and returned to find our car had been parked in a no-parking zone and had been towed," she said.

"I live in south Minneapolis, but I end up for convenience going to the Mall of America. You can park right there on the third floor by Nordstrom's; there's a restroom, and it feels safe. I'd come downtown more if it were easier."

Hultgren is one of 45 people who wrote or called the Star Tribune response line to add their ideas to a wish list for downtown Minneapolis.

Callers complained about the high cost of parking, the lack of seating and the poor snow removal. And they were angry that no one seemed to be committed to making downtown more people-friendly.

Their ideas for improving downtown were (mostly) practical. One person said heated bus shelters were a necessity of winter life, while another suggested bringing in a giant snow shovel to eliminate the mounds of snow and ice. Several called for a downtown branch of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts so office workers could enjoy it over the lunch hour, and another handful pleaded for a central park. Here is a selection of the responses:

"I would . . . suggest that we by all means include a supermarket. With all the people who live downtown and work downtown, it would be a marvelous convenience. . . . A supermarket on the lower level of City Center would be just wonderful. And if we could put parking ramps below ground instead of always having to put them on top of the ground we could preserve more of an above-ground landscape, and we could have more trees and flowers and more room for people."

-- Ruth Weiler, Minneapolis

"I recommend an outside lavatory. It wouldn't have to be an eyesore. . . . It could look like a little house and be called 'Nature Calling'. . . I think a lot of seniors and people with children would appreciate it."

-- Rose Underhill, Minneapolis

"We need light rail. Except for Houston, Texas, we're the only major metropolitan area in the country that's being told that buses are all we need. A spartan light-rail system on Hiawatha connecting the Mall of America, airport and downtown could be one of the most successful new lines in the country and would cost about $300 million to build. The $200 million in parking ramps needed downtown and at the U of M would pay our share of the line's cost. And if we reduce the need for parking, we'll reduce the need for bigger freeways to get the cars there."

-- John DeWitt, Minneapolis

"Notice the picture in the paper of the IDS [Crystal Court] in the 1980s. Isn't that beautiful? Come on, City Council and mayor's office, let's get to work. . . . Think of the people of Minneapolis . . . or else downtown won't be downtown anymore 'cause we're going elsewhere. And by the way, turn the armory into a city park. Let's put that old building to work. Put skylights in the roof and let light in and have Bachman's come in and put a garden in there and a coffee shop and seating."

-- Ralf Johnson, Minneapolis

"When I think of all the major cities that are used by people and tourists, whether it be Boston with the Boston Commons or New York or San Francisco with Fisherman's Wharf, there's generally one really big recreational or green space area. Maybe if some of the buildings are being demolished, they could build a large green. It could be ringed on the first floor with all types of cafes and stores. I think it would be a great draw."

-- Seth Welles, Falcon Heights

"With expanding theater development downtown, we should try to save both the Shubert and the Mann theaters. . . . To further support theater development in the city we should have a half-price ticket booth downtown like other major cities like Boston or New York where unsold tickets for day of performance would go on sale for half price."

-- Michael Schott, Minneapolis

"[Downtown needs] heated bus stops. As a person who works downtown, you freeze. It's a crime. If they do try anything special, they turn out like the arrogant, snobby bus shelters on Nicollet Mall. I get angry every time I take a bus downtown."

-- Gary Kent, Minneapolis

"I'd like to see St. Anthony Falls restored as a proper flowing waterway instead of what exists at the moment. I would also like to see something done with the Milwaukee Road Depot, maybe a large Venetian-style plaza there -- something to attract people to the river."

-- Andrew Dipper, Minneapolis

"What downtown Minneapolis needs is a great museum that would attract adults and children to the core city without having to spend lots of money. Families will come downtown if there is a good attraction. The Holidazzle parade is a perfect example. Perhaps a museum dealing with technology or natural history might fill a void. . . . If we can be considering athletic stadiums, we should be able to finance a first-class museum."

-- Harriet Duerre, Minneapolis

"Downtown should have a skyscraper that's taller than the IDS. I'd also like to have that building have an observation deck where people can go in and look around."

-- Daniel Jackson, Minneapolis

"What we really need downtown and what the Senior Council of Minneapolis has been working on is a senior drop-in center. The city of Minneapolis doesn't have a reasonable place for seniors to eat downtown, everything is so pricey; there's not a shop downtown that people on Social Security and fixed incomes can shop, and it's not a very safe downtown for seniors."

-- Helen Holseth, Minneapolis

"The perfect solution for Block E would be a beautiful park similar to Rice Park. Every major great city has a beautiful urban park and, across from Target Center and the heart of downtown, it would be a great place for people to hear music, to have lunch and just see the city and enjoy it from an outdoor space. . . .

"Nicollet Mall would be a great place for the ethnic restaurants to be located. Courting the Indian, Vietnamese and Mexican restaurants from strip malls in the suburbs would create a wonderful summertime environment for both tourists and residents and give Minneapolis back a pace and focus that is lacking."

-- Julia Singer, Minneapolis