‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Commentary: Trails shaped our lives Betrayed trails harm livability Betrayal has shaped our lives We can shape it anew!
By Harvey Winje Be-trail can be turned upside down! Help Wanted! Will you help? Phillips Community has been betrayed in many ways over the years. This observation is as we begin to discuss the effect of traffic on liveability and how it may be calmed. Should we blame others and risk waste of energy and a chance to unite our community or should we admit that we all need to take responsibility so we can move beyond finger pointing to solving the difficulties together? Will you help? Will you slow down? Will you take part in a discussion of what will work better? During Black History Month we were reminded of the African concept of Ubuntu by a recent visit of Naomi Tutu. It is helpful in this regard. According to Michael Onyebuchi Eze, the core of ubuntu can best be summarized as follows: “A person is a person through other people strikes an affirmation of one”'s humanity through recognition of an ”˜other”' in his or her uniqueness and difference. It is [...]
St. Paul”'s Church Rejoices 50 Years after relocation to Phillips on Portland Avenue: Concerts and March to Celebrate Historic Congregation”'s Golden Jubilee of March to New Site in Minneapolis
By Roland Wells Marching from their old building to their new site on March 22, 1964, St. Paul”'s Church committed themselves to the Phillips Neighborhood. Seven years before, St. Paul”'s Church had faced its biggest decision. They learned that the projected I-94 freeway was going to take their building. The congregation had been located at 18th Street and 14th Avenue South. A decision had to be made. Would they, like hundreds of congregations in Minneapolis”' core city, move to the suburbs, or would they stay in the city? Already they had members living in Bloomington, Richfield, St. Louis Park and Plymouth. Moving to the outskirts of the city might make sense. In a crucial meeting, one sentence was uttered that would determine the future of the congregation: “Where is a church more needed than here?” From their decision in 1957, they began to look for a location nearby. At that time, the majestic former First Presbyterian lay derelict. The [...]
The Intra-Neighborhood Freeways: How about Traffic Calming Initiatives?
By Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Improvement Association 26th & 28th Street have increasingly multiplied their traffic count over the past 10 years. Cars speed through so fast, no one in the neighborhood can get across these streets anymore by car, by bike, or by foot. There are periods during the day where those streets are impassible going north to south. Additionally, the amount of pollution stirred up is unbearable. Dirt collects on the siding of houses within 1/2 block of 26th & 28th, blackening siding and causing it to be frequently washed. So, with that amount of collection visible on the siding of houses......what is happening to our lungs?? As Wells Fargo, Childrens”' Hospital, and Allina have continued to grow, the amount of traffic going thru our neighborhood has also continued to grow. We need the traffic calmed, we need public realm improvements to enhance the pedestrian and biking experience, and most importantly, we need to encourage workers [...]
