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danbelshan 
Group: Members
Posts: 263
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Apr. 04 2012,7:15 pm |
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Crazy about Consultants
Consultant recommends we build a four-lane down Bridge Ave. Cost Millions and would be happy to consult more in the future about it. They are again at the trough and on the agenda April 17 for another $16,000 to reconsult a 1 mile section.
Actually south half (from Hammer Road North) of the reconsulted section is soccer and baseball fields and houses so not much reconsulting there.
I guess reconsulting the North half mile from the Ball Diamond to I90 is where they will consult. Cost for that half mile is then $16,000 , $18.18/yard, $6.06 a foot or 50.5 cents an inch.
More Consulting
Courthouse Consultant recommend we build new and hire them to design. Cost Millions.
Jail Consultant recommended we build new jail and hire them to design it for 130 local prisoners. (today we average around 30 local prisoners) Cost Millions.
County was asked to contribute to Downtown Renovation. We have been told Consultant recommends Street Scaping downtown with less parking and 20 foot sidewalks. They say will cost Millions.
Consultant on walkability rides bus around town and says we need more walkability. Cost unknown
In my opinion: We need to use our existing staff and resources to solve issues with common sense. Look what Freeborn County and our cities did in the past. I don't believe a consultant was brought in every time a decision had to be made.
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twingroves
Group: Members
Posts: 599
Joined: Oct. 2007
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Posted on: Apr. 04 2012,7:43 pm |
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just proves the city is run by a bunch of dumb ass people and they need to be told what to do
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digger
Group: Members
Posts: 102
Joined: Nov. 2004
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Posted on: Apr. 04 2012,8:01 pm |
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So all of the studies done on Bridge in the past was just to throw money into the wind them studies don't tell us anything? City engineer states last study is over 10 yrs old and we can't use it. Dan, I think at the next meeting you should make a motion to take x number of inmates issue them each a pen and notebook, ankle cuff them to a street sign and tell them to start counting. Do this for a week and I'm sure we will get the same numbers a consultant gets for a lot less and the inmates get some fresh air and sunshine.
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grassman
Group: Members
Posts: 3858
Joined: Mar. 2006
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Posted on: Apr. 05 2012,5:54 am |
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That is what America has become. A conglomerate of businesses that sole purpose is." let me help you with that"... for a price.
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git er done!
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This is my real name
Group: Members
Posts: 1468
Joined: Sep. 2006
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Posted on: Apr. 05 2012,9:37 am |
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Why don't our elected commissioners and city councilors oh I don't know... SERVE THEIR CONSTITUENTS and spend time out there counting traffic themselves? They could do the work in varying shifts until they got a reliable count. Serving your community means more than having meetings. Get out there and get your hands dirty. You're getting paid to sit anyway, why not count something while you're at it?
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PEZ the only candy you eat after your favorite fictional character spits it out of their tracheotomy hole.
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Common Citizen
Group: Members
Posts: 4818
Joined: Jul. 2006
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Posted on: Apr. 05 2012,4:34 pm |
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Create a school project for one of the math classes.
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hymiebravo
Group: Members
Posts: 4989
Joined: Jan. 2006
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Posted on: Apr. 06 2012,7:07 am |
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What was ascertained after the "last" consultation?
What action was taken?
Also: It does seem peculiar that there isn't someone or some entity, already on the tax rolls in some capacity, that could resolve the supposed dire need here.
I'm going to predict that traffic isn't going to change that much there. In spite of the concern about the new Kwik Trip, and Hy-vee "possibly" upgrading their gas & go--and the new owner of the Chevy dealership.
And if there is an insurmountable deluge of "new" traffic. Then have MNDOT, or someone, help put in a light or something somewhere around there.
Who do I send my consulting fee for that, to?
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jimhanson
Group: Moderator
Posts: 8491
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Apr. 06 2012,5:40 pm |
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Bridge Street has already been identified as the busiest road in the County. A traffic count won't get anything done. What IS needed is:
Find alternative ways to move traffic. Traffic already moves pretty well from the Fairgrounds north. What is needed is alternative ways to get south of the lakes.
Starting at the Freeway, traffic coming or going from the north can use the freeway itself to move to the highway 13 exit.
It can also use Plaza Street to get to the Stables/Shoreland/Old Country Club area. The intersection by the Fairgrounds also serves these areas.
Traffic going to Wal-Mart/Trails/East Side can either take the freeway from I-90 to I-35S, or take Hammer Road past the school. The time is about the same.
NONE of these options are congested. The problem is from the Fairgrounds south.
Fairgrounds to the North side is only a short distance--so that's not a problem.
The biggest problem is getting across the lakes. If the destination is downtown, there really isn't a viable option. If the destination is the South Side, sidestepping to Garfield is a viable option.
THE CHOICES:
1. Do nothing with Bridge--except to control traffic at the Mall with a stop light to allow people to make left turns--and promote the alternatives.
OR
2. Bite the bullet and widen Bridge to the North side. That doesn't really help much, though--once you have the traffic there, you would have to have a way to continue 4-lanes--probably by an interchange to put traffic back on Main Street.
Widening Bridge doesn't do much, except to move the bottleneck to the North Side.
The one thing that WOULD help would be a traffic light at the Northbridge intersection to allow left turns. It would be easily accessible for traffic coming from all businesses both east and west of Bridge. There are enough parallel roads on both sides to allow traffic to reach that intersection and utilize the light.
The light would be the fastest and cheapest solution to implement.
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"If you want to anger a Conservative, tell him a lie. If you want to anger a LIBERAL, tell him the TRUTH!"
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danbelshan
Group: Members
Posts: 263
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Apr. 06 2012,6:54 pm |
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Interesting consultant driven project on Streets in Mason City
http://www.northiowatoday.com/?p=7474
Editorial: Another business flees the streetscape
by Matt Marquardt -
MASON CITY – Another business has left downtown Mason City.
Lillian’s, formerly located at 16 South Federal Avenue, has packed up and moved to Clear Lake.
“I would have gladly stayed in Mason City, it’s my hometown,” owner Twyla Steenblock told NorthIowaToday.com.
With all that has been made of the new streetscape area of downtown Mason City, the sign in the window at her former location stands out. Mayor Eric Bookmeyer has spoken of the “cultural crescent,” some kind of personal IMAX movie he described where sidewalks are paved in gold, customers are steadily coming and going at all hours, a type of utopian “river city renaissance.” Apparently the mayor’s dream skipped Lillian’s, and it is not reaching other businesses as well, NorthIowaToday.com has discovered.
Steenblock said she never envisioned driving all the way to Clear Lake everyday to run her store, but she had no choice. ”Mason City did absolutely nothing to help me stay in business,” she explained. “I was totally excluded from the ping pong ball drop over the holidays. I made some calls about that, and then I was yelled at. The streetscape project was terrible. Then by August things just got worse. Finally I found a great location in Clear Lake (419 Main Avenue), and they welcomed me with open arms. We just had our grand opening and it was a huge success.”
The misery for downtown streetscape area businesses doesn’t stop there. Another small business owner on North Federal Avenue described the streetscape project as “a nightmare” and said his business has not recovered. ”This is the slowest we have ever been,” said the owner, who wishes to remain unknown for fear of reprisal. ”It got worse in August if you can believe that.”
Another long-time business on North Federal that will not be named also informed me that “we are barely hanging on.”
The owner of Butcher’s, also on North Federal Avenue, told me a couple months ago that they will be moving their business about a mile north, well away from the streetscape area.
Add to that other businesses that left recently are a vacuum store, The Scooter Shop, Visit Mason City, and a martial arts shop, among others.
This is not to say that there are not success stories in the streetscape area; obviously new businesses have sprung up here and there. Most notably the Historic Park Inn, State Street Deli, and Chop Restaurant as well as Oak Leaf Comics, just to name a few. But to gloss over or outright leave out the fact that there are still businesses experiencing difficulty downtown is a fabrication. Only when the full story is known can downtown truly succeed. I for one am hoping the city and its partners like Main Street Mason City are finding new and creative ways to spur success for all businesses in Mason City, not just those located in a very small geographic area.
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Go to danbelshan.com for my newsletters.
Go to Dan Belshan on facebook to get the latest.
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I don't think a good share of them could handle making (a) change (lane) without the cash register. 