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<br /> Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> to be pushed back because indecisior,regarding the Pequot lakes Alignment and an alignment on the Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> north aside of Nisswa is,also=esolved As soon as these Jwo issues are resolved the proiect will be 10 pt
<br /> moved into the funding^cvcle and indications are it would be a priority There are no indications to IWI
<br /> suggest that"commercial investment in Pequot Lakes will languish until at least 2020",well beyond ;, Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> any construction timetable,as the Chamber suggests. Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> 10 pt
<br /> The Chamber also indicates that"ar through town route maintains the expectations of all involved7. Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> ostensibly because it is the status quo What is not factored into this analysis is the dramatic increase Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> in traffic, the closure of many access points and the inevitable congestion particularly on County 10 pt
<br /> Road 11,that all agree will occur These anticipated changes are neither expected r�qr desired by the Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> residents of Pequot Lakes, 10 pt
<br /> communities that havetalltdecided to-keep tthe existing h-- ay al gnmm aned that�eanot alone Formatted:Font:Georgia,to pt
<br /> Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> will be bypassed„" Overlooking the obvious fact that the most successful downtown rn the area 10 pt
<br /> Nisswa is already bwassed and has been for decades it is not clear why Pequot Lakes would want a Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> level playing field The City of Pequot Lakes stands to inherit,via the Alternate Alignment,a Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> destination downtown that Brainerd Baxter, Nisswa and Crosslake are all investing large sums of 10 pt
<br /> money to create There is no question that visibility is important, as 5,g%of shoppers suggest,but
<br /> there is more than one way to create such visibility. Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> The Chamber argues that since"traffic levels will return to their current levels on existing Highway 10 pt
<br /> 371 by 2030 with a bypass that pedestrian safety issues won't be resolved. While the Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> acknowledgement that the highway through town creates significant pedestrian safety issues is Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> helpful the Chamber overlooks the fact that the.old highway will become a county or city roadway Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> While there is little flexibility in slowing or calming traffic on a four-lane state highway, there is a io pt
<br /> great deal of flexibility once we are in the county or 6V System The conclusion of the Chamber is
<br /> based on an assumption,that is not valid Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> Formatted•Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> The Chamber also argues that "11 decision for the through-town route would result in business 10 pt
<br /> confidence that would immediately be translated into near-term construction, improvement to Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> existing structures,and development." They cite a survey that indicates that 23%of the businesses Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> who responded to the Region 5 surveymdicated they would expand if the highway remained in its
<br /> current alignment While this may be true particularly along Government Drive, there is little Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> likelihood that new business will be established along the other downtown streets. Tying the , Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> development of the downtown to the highway corridor creates a style of development-sprawl-that ' 10 pt
<br /> neither plays to the strengths of Pequot Lakes nor provides the City with much opportunity to grow ' Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> cost-effectively beyond the highway�D---------
<br /> — — t Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> The Chamber contends that the Alternate Alignment was sold to the public as having overpasses and Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> that this was a critical component of the overwhelming public support The truth is that. while Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> overpasses were included in the initial presentations (largely as away to push up the cost of the Formatted:Font:Georgia,10 pt
<br /> Alternate Alignment and thus support a cost/benefit analysis that favored the through-town option),
<br /> they have not been part of any presentation public discussion or survey since 2004 There has been Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> significant public debate and discussion over whether the intersections should be signalized or round- 10 pt
<br /> abouts The Brainerd Lakes Chamber should not assume that the residents of Pequot Lakes are so Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> poorly informed. 10 pt
<br /> Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> The Chamber resents no evidence to support their claim that"the long term costs of both routes are 10 pt
<br /> a wash — due to turn back maintenance future development on the bypass etc." Studies Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> commissioned by the Cily show the opposite They factually with numbers and calculations to 10 pt
<br /> support the conclusions show that the expansion of the existing alignment would at a minimum Formatted:Font:(Default)Georgia,
<br /> have a cost 12 times greater than the benefit This is compared to the Alternate Alignment which 10 pt
<br /> would have a benefit 42%greater than the cost_ Formatted
<br /> Pequot Lakes Downtown Plan—Updated December 2007 8
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