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June 2012 |
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SOUTHWEST TRANSIT TO HELP VICTORIA ROUTES BEGIN MAY 30TH FROM RECREATION CENTER Administrator Don Uram reported on May 14th that SouthWest Transit will be offering express bus service from Waconia and Victoria to downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, as well as service to Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia. "Carver County is kicking in $10,000 plus MnDOT and SouthWest Transit are paying for service to Waconia and the Victoria Recreation Center," said Mr. Uram. "This gives our residents the opportunity to commute directly. The first month of operation is being provided free. Bus service will continue through the construction period. The city will put their bus routes on the website and advertise for them." This service is designed to help alleviate some of the congestion and traffic backups that will occur as the MnDOT works on Hwy 5 between Chanhassen and Victoria for three months. Stated Mayor Mary Thun, "I heard that if this route is successful, it could become permanent. I'm suggesting we really, really publicize this. We want people to use it." "It sounds like a tremendous potential service," agreed Councilmember Tom O'Connor. The express weekday service provided by SouthWest Transit will have four morning routes traveling from the Waconia Ice Arena and the Victoria Recreation Center to downtown Minneapolis. One route will continue on to the University. In the afternoon, there will be three routes taking passengers back to Victoria and Waconia. Said Mr. Uram, "They've studied license plates and determined that 198 cars at their Station are from our area. There was transit service here at one time, and it was dropped because of low ridership." SouthWest Transit will also be providing a reverse commute each weekday morning for people who work at Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia. This service will be from SouthWest Village in Chanhassen and East Creek Transit Station in Chaska and will go to Ridgeview Medical Center. In the afternoon, the service will bring riders back to their vehicles in Chaska and Chanhassen. A guaranteed ride home program will be offered to those riders who need to get home during the mid day. As Mr. Uram stated, the first month of service on all of these special routes will be free. The costs will be paid for by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, SouthWest Transit, and Carver County. More information is available at www.swtransit.org.
TAKING IT OUT OF THE REALM OF MAGIC CONNECTING CITY TRAILS AND ADDING PARKS At the request of city councilmembers, Administrator Don Uram will schedule a workshop to talk about who gets parks and trails in the city, when do they get them, and who doesn't. Stated Councilmember Tom Strigel, "A resident of Chevalle said that the existing Chevalle park is already overcrowded. What is our standard for who gets a park? A brief look at our Master Plan doesn't really address that. Does anybody see a need for a joint workshop between the Planning Commission and the Park and Recreation Committee? Do we need fewer and bigger parks? More trails? Is that a topic we want to take on?" Stated Ann Mahnke, Director of Public Works, "The Master Plan was developed to use as a guide. It's somewhat difficult to pinpoint a location out in the middle of a cornfield. Ideally, we'd like a trail within a half mile of every resident. We'd like to have a park within a half mile of every resident. Maybe we should decrease the number of totlots. I'd be happy to walk through this process." Asked Councilmember Tom O'Connor, "Aren't there standards, so many parks per so many people?" "There certainly are national standards," said Ann. Stated Councilmember Jim Crowley, "Nowhere does a plan imply execution. What are we going to do over the next three years? How do we take it out of the realm of magic? I'm still looking for the path that we're going to travel." Replied Mr. Uram, "The information is available. Maybe it's how we communicate it." Added Councilmember Crowley, "A hundred and forty-four neighbors of mine are asking, When does Laketown get a park?" Said Mayor Thun, "I do think we do need to sit down on this. We do need a workshop so we clearly understand." Agreed Councilmember O'Connor, "There's enough fog around for all of us." A workshop will be scheduled.
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