Nelda Dehn, St. Joseph
Because of illness, I was unable to attend the city council meeting on Jan. 4 regarding Field Street.
From the Newsleader‘s summary of the meeting, my attendance would not have made a difference.
Most attendees spoke against the idea of Field Street. Ignoring the wishes of the people the council is supposed to represent, the council voted the council’s wishes, 5 in favor, none against.
I moved to St. Joseph in 2005. It seems the Field Street issue has come up yearly. It’s a constant threat, especially to those who live in the area affected. I fail to understand why the city wants to take a quiet neighborhood and send a massive “collector road” near it. Looking at the city website, I can’t believe anyone would actually climb on board with this idea, the only explanation being, “it’s for future development on the south side.”
It seems the city has this “need” to use funds on roads, so a road, which will only run from College to Seventh Avenue SE, costing millions, and for years in the future going nowhere, is deemed a good use of these funds. Surely, we have roads in the city that need upgrading and repairs that would be a better use of these funds. More years and millions of dollars will be spent to lengthen the road, supposedly to 20th Avenue. Who will use this road and to what advantage? Are we to look forward to large trucks leaving Co Rd 75, going through our neighborhoods at 35-45 mph? Do we want this danger to our children who will be playing near, riding bikes, skateboards and walking? What about the adults walking with children and dogs, jogging and biking, some on their way to Klinefelter Park? Is this really wanted in our quiet neighborhood?
We voted for city council members in hopes they would have our best interests represented. The council envisions plans 30-40 years into the future, which is good, but at what cost to the present citizens of this quiet neighborhood?