Information without Implementation

Where CURA was awarded the contract to work on the Anti-Displacement document, I was concerned that it would be a cookie-cutter-rubber stamp-too-little-too-late report that would and should be buried somewhere. To my surprise and delight, the report turned out to be forward-thinking, community-focused and riddled with unbridled truths about the current and past behavior of our elected officials.

There are too many worthy recommendations in the report for me to single out one as my go-to directive. C. Terrence Anderson and his team have done an excellent job of documenting past missteps (Green Line) and anticipatory and current actions that can taken now to ensure the business owners and residents within the West Broadway BLRT area have the resources they need in a timely manner.

I've never been much of a gambler although I like visiting Las Vegas but I'm almost certain that the Met Council, City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County and other responsible entities will either dismiss the findings within the report, implement some recommendations that will be too little too late, not provide enough funding to ensure success or conclude that more research is needed before moving forward. In either of these instances, the citizens and residents of north Minneapolis will once again be left out in the cold, having nowhere to turn. Although I am a strong proponent of the BLRT extension and the proposed alignment, I strongly believe that the displacement aspects of this transit project are being treated lightly with a lack of understanding of the immediate and longer range impact to local businesses. They are scared and rightly so. It will be difficult for them to see the long-term value of this project when all they can see is the immediate and unaddressed problems, issues and concerns with little or no funding available to calm their fears. I worked for many years as a Park Board representative on the Met Council's Blue Line Committee, when the alignment was at Olsen Memorial Hwy. That alignment made north Minneapolis a pass-thru community ineligible for the benefits tha most transit projects bring to a community, so I'm pleased that now north Minneapolis is not forgotten and the prospects for new visitors, new customers, new opportunities has me excited about a transformative northside, but a northside that maintains and provides benefits to current residents and business owners. I left my tenure as the Blue Line representative a couple of years ago because that was the time to address displacement and not wait for a "report". I suggest that the recommendations in the report be implemented forthwith.