Lutsen residents speak out on town planning, bike trail issues

Nancye Belding

True North correspondent

At Monday’s town planning meeting, funded by grants from Lutsen township ($5,000) and the Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Partnership ($30,000), 50-plus residents answered co-moderator Mary Vogel’s call for a “lively and productive discussion” with wide-ranging and divergent dialogue, often reflecting starkly opposed points of view. The biggest issue addressed was whether snowmobile and ATV use will be permitted in downtown Lutsen once the Gitchi Gami Trail comes through.

In general, multi-use is prohibited on the trail, but in Beaver Bay there is an exception, according to Lutsen Supervisor Diane Parker. Local residents object to restricting snowmobile and ATV where it has been permitted in the past. Locals use the existing service road to get groceries and mail and fill up their gas tanks. They don’t want to give up this access; the decision to fund the planning process with township funds was made primarily in the belief that multi-use in the town center could be accommodated with professional planning.

The Gitchi Gami Trail is already funded, but resident disagreement regarding its location prompted the trail association to delay implementation for a year. Meanwhile the township looks the University of Minnesota’s Center for Changing Landscapes to create design models based on resident-directed options that include snowmobile and ATV access in the town center, along the existing service road in use for many years past. “We are here to listen to your ideas, hopes and aspirations,” Vogel said, and then present some options using conceptual drawings and “ideas to protect, celebrate, and enhance both cultural and natural resources.” CCL consultant CJ Fernandez explained the basics of the planning process:

· A volunteer steering committee will serve as an essential liaison between CCL and residents. They will inform the public about their meetings and findings, and help to complete resident surveys as needed. They will publicize the next three public planning meetings in which CCL will present design options for review and comment; and they will bring together all of the players/stakeholders concerned with the town center process. All citizens attending were invited to sign up for the steering committee. “This is a community design process; everything is on the table. We want to hear every idea.”

· Because of the imminence of the Gitchi Gami Trail, funded for Lutsen during the coming year, CCL’s second public meeting will focus on a trail assessment, as well as an overall analysis of the downtown physical environment. In the third meeting they will present the first set of preliminary town center designs, and the final plan will be presented at a fourth meeting, hopefully in June of next year. The steering committee will then draft a formal letter, including its project recommendations, and deliver it to the town board.

Resident and sculptor Tom Christiansen got laughs for suggesting that a Wal-Mart might be on the town wish list. Whatever your politics in Lutsen, nobody wants the big boxes. “My big issue is slowing traffic,” Christiansen said. Fernandez said CCL will look at clear zones, design speeds, access points and safety to help the town “present a unified view” to highway planners.

The ensuing discussion focused on some basic issues:

· What will Minnesota Department of Transportation require of the township plan, and what speed limits will apply in the town center? What do speed limits dictate about road design—number of lanes, surrounding vegetation, curb and gutters, etc.?

· Will MnDOT work with the township? CCL staff said that Rod Garver, North Shore highway corridor manager, is anxious to work with local governing entities. He is an enthusiastic supporter of local control and wants future MnDOT plans to reflect local consensus.

· Is there wiggle room in MnDOT’s plans for trails that will accommodate both biker/hiker/skater needs and local access via snowmobile and ATV? Yes, Fernandez and some residents said, it should be possible to find space for both a bike trail and multi-use access in the highway configuration.

· A number of residents complained about ATV and snowmobile use on the highway, saying that non-locals were not respectful of other drivers and fearing that in future the township would be over-run with these vehicles. Lutsen Board Chair Brad Ludlow responded, “Locals just want a place to ride, gas up, and get to the trail heads.”

· Summer residents asked to be kept in the loop. Fernandez said design options will be posted on the CCL web site: http://ccl.gis.umn.edu, and there will be mail surveys as well as e-mail input throughout the process. The second public meeting will probably occur in January.

Reprinted from Cook County News Herald