No statues?

Pioneer Press Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:47:36 -0700
Rybak endorses car-free 'transit mall' at U; tunnel plan deemed too expensive

The tunnel at the U isn't dead, but they're reading it its last rites and resurrecting Cass Gilbert. That's one way to summarize Wednesday's developments as key decision-makers struggle to agree on the final route of the proposed Central Corridor light-rail line linking St. Paul and Minneapolis. On Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak came out in favor of a bold "transit mall" where trains would roll through the University of Minnesota's East Bank campus at ground level while traffic on Washington Avenue would be forced elsewhere. The U hasn't made up its mind yet. The idea evokes a century-old plan of St. Paul-native architect Cass Gilbert, who envisioned a neoclassical grass mall stretching from Northrop Auditorium to the banks of the Mississippi River. Replace the marble statues with light-rail cars and hybrid buses, and you've got something along the lines of the new interpretation Rybak supports. It's unclear how other roads would handle the cars shunted from Washington Avenue.

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