Clearly University Circle wheels are squeaking and the PD has agreed to be an unquestioning amplifier. A couple weeks ago there was a spate of articles/editorials and then readers were given a break, but now the pd is back at it…”We got to have it- that Opportunity Corridor- we just gotta." After all, “important people” want it.
Steve Litt and the editorial board use the term “boulevard" to describe this road that we desperately need. Wonder if it might be the same kind of boulevard that was proposed for the West Shoreway until they realized they couldn’t use state money for a road that called for speeds slower than 50mph? Remember, the proposed highway is just an extension of the Clark Freeway, and its purpose is to get people to UC, not have them stop along the way. Brent Larkin would have us believe that the disadvantaged area some PR person has brilliantly referenced as the Forgotten Triangle will be uplifted if only this road cuts through it.
The PD’s editorial on 5/12 advised us to look to St. Paul for a vision of the wonders a new road might bring, including new businesses, new houses, parks and schools. We have a glut of empty new houses, not to mention abandoned and foreclosed old houses. Maybe UCI should work on cleaning up its contiguous backyards before going to play in someone else’s? There are a number of existing roads that empty near or into U. Circle already. These roads and their houses and businesses (or lack thereof) could definitely use some development money, but perhaps UCI would prefer to keep these downtrodden areas “forgotten” in the minds of their clients and visitors. Also, it’s easier to start new than to fix the old. Maybe Toby Cosgrove didn’t learn about slash and burn operations in school- how this kind of M.O. generally wreaks havoc on the civic environment. Since we are already in an air quality non-attainment zone, you’d think the medical-cultural heart of our region would be brainstorming on how to entice visitors to use the existing and new transit stops instead of demanding more asphalt.