Ramsey County has a master plan to make certain busy intersections less busy by putting in left hand turn lanes. The Kendall’s Ace Hardware store was demolished so that the Maryland and Payne intersection could have left hand turn lanes–their problem is what other building gets destroyed at the intersection before that intersection gets turn lanes.
Here is the plan for Arkwright and Maryland Avenue, the first stoplight east of Interstate 35E on Maryland Avenue:
Arkwright and Maryland Turn Lanes Plan
What’s interesting about this plan is that driveways along the nearly 3 blocks effected will have to be redone, and the residents on the north side of Maryland will lose a part of their land to this project. The plan starts at Westminster Avenue (1st intersection) and runs through to half a block passed Clark Street which is an intersection east of Arkwright.
Makes one wonder why Kendall’s Ace Hardware had to be destroyed at all at Maryland and Payne. Oh yeah it was the pet project of the Ward 6 planners that an unnecessary Rec Center/ Library bearing Herb Brooks’ name be constructed at that location…which is now a big hole in the ground.
Imagine when they bid the contract that the resulting changes to the original plan and the fact that inflation would drive up building material costs would make it come just a few million short of building the project. By the way it might be against the naming protocol to name the library/ rec center after Brooks. Perhaps they should have more than one contractor in on the bidding process next time.
Another suggestion is that Ramsey County should tame the wild drivers on Maryland avenue and the money from speeding fines might bring in much needed revenue to the big spenders at Ramsey County. Building a Rec Center/ Library shouldn’t be so close to the speeding traffic on Maryland Avenue. They’ll have to slow down the traffic a couple of blocks on either side of this new kid magnet.
US Army Vet. Lives in North End in St Paul