Coleman renews Ayd Mill fight with call for I-94 link
Lex-Ham
St. Paul mayor's plan is latest chapter in long-running debate about
connection, its impact on traffic
BY JASON HOPPIN
Pioneer Press
Reopening an old wound, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman wants to link Ayd
Mill Road with Interstate 94, raising fears among some neighbors that
a north-south freeway is on the horizon.
Coleman's hopes are to redo Ayd Mill as a two-lane parkway that
connects indirectly to I-94. The city is seeking more than $2 million
to buy land for the $44 million project, including property belonging
to several businesses.
The mayor's proposal comes as a surprise to many, including City
Council Member Jay Benanav, whose ward includes Ayd Mill's north end.
Benanav said the idea was idiotic and preposterous.
"It's going to encourage more cars coming into St. Paul," Benanav
said. "All we're doing is building a new way to pollute the
environment."
During his time on the City Council from 1997 to 2003, Coleman tried
to forge a middle ground position between those like Benanav who
oppose the I-94 connection and former Mayor Randy Kelly, who sought to
extend the road.
Coleman seeks a two-lane parkway with a 35-mph speed limit. The
project would include bike and pedestrian paths. Currently, no bikes
are allowed on Ayd Mill, though plans are under way to add a bike lane
alongside the railroad tracks that parallel Ayd Mill.
Last month, the city sought funding through the capital improvement
budget program, which funds bricks-and-mortar projects in St. Paul.
This year, 142 proposals were submitted, with bids competing for a
slice of $11 million in funding, said Dede Demko of the city's Office
of Financial Services. The mayor and council have final say over how
the money is divvied up.
Under the proposal, the northbound Ayd Mill Road exit at Hamline
Avenue would be eliminated. The Hamline Avenue bridge over the tracks
would be rebuilt to accommodate the new extension.
The road would then head north, crossing Marshall Avenue before
proceeding across I-94 on a new bridge and emptying onto St. Anthony
Avenue. The Pascal Street bridge over I-94 would be demolished,
allowing the city to move freeway on-ramps at Snelling Avenue to allow
traffic to flow more freely, City Engineer John Maczko said.
The sunken, 1½-mile Ayd Mill Road gully has been the stage for many
fierce political battles over the years.
The road was built 40 years ago as a link between I-94 and Interstate
35E, but for years neighborhood pressure kept the ends from being
connected to the freeways, and it was used primarily as a shortcut
through town. At one point, neighbors even hoped to turn it into a
park.
In 2002, amid fierce debate over the road's future, then-Mayor Randy
Kelly opened up the south end to I-35E, in part to relieve congestion
on Lexington Parkway, which commuters were using as a link between
I-35E and I-94.
But critics say that move put pressure on the intersection of Selby
and Snelling avenues, near the northern terminus of Ayd Mill, which is
often overrun with cars during peak hours.
Yet businesses in the area fear a new northern opening would mean
traffic - and the dollars it brings - would bypass them. Eva Oswald,
who owns Garden of Eva, a flower shop on Marshall Avenue and heads the
Snelling-Selby Area Business Association, said she hopes the city
installs a Selby exit from Ayd Mill.
"When they had it closed (during a 2002 traffic experiment), we
noticed a substantial drop in customers," Oswald said.
Maczko said the new alignment would retain a Selby Avenue exit. He
also said the mayor remains flexible on the plan.
"He's willing to look at options," Maczko said. "But it's got to come
from the neighborhoods."
And one neighborhood may be changing its mind. The Snelling-Hamline
Community Council, once evenly split on the issue, recently took
another vote following the increase in area traffic.
According to notes on the meeting taken by Mike Madden of
Neighborhoods First!, which does not want Ayd Mill connected to the
freeways, 21 people voted in favor of a four-lane connection option.
One voted for a two-lane connector, and six voted for a park.
No one voted in favor of the status quo.
A representative of the Snelling Hamline Community Council could not
be reached for comment.
Jason Hoppin can be reached at jho...@pioneerpress.com or
651-292-1892.