As a city, we should give careful consideration to the types of development we allow. Buildings and other structures last a long time, and their collective impact on our quality of life is immense. Everything from how comfortable we are walking down the street to our ability to get to work is affected by the quality of buildings and infrastructure around us.
One issue people have raised is the potential for increased congestion due to denser development. This concern is overstated. A traffic study related to the proposed apartments conducted by independent local consultants indicates the development will have only a minor impact on traffic along Cass Street. Traffic will only increase by 2%, an unnoticeable amount. If traffic congestion is a real concern, neighbors should advocate for projects that will help people get around without driving. Transit and the density that support this are the solution.
An upgrade to transit service could help alleviate issues of congestion by encouraging people to use means of traveling besides driving, improve access to jobs and other destinations for those who cannot or choose to not drive, and promote public health through decreased emissions and active transportation. However, a transit system, whether it uses rail or buses, needs riders to be effective. Density in housing and jobs is the only way to get the riders necessary to support a quality transit system, and the proposed apartment complex will play a role in providing that support. Density also decreases the miles of roads and other support infrastructure that must be built, decreasing the City’s maintenance costs.
In the long term, improved transit supported through denser development will certainly help the City as a whole. It will also help enhance the character of the neighborhood. The proposed development lies on a large block filled mainly with box stores, strip malls, and fast-food establishments. These land uses tend to bring with them large surface parking lots and service roads, creating an atmosphere of frenzied drivers that makes walking or biking uncomfortable. This is a much worse environment than one where people walk because they use transit or live near where they are going. By creating a place where people are incentivized to walk, we get more walkers. If we choose to continue designing exclusively for cars, we will get more cars – and congestion.
In combination with walkable and transit-oriented development in the Crossroads District, these apartments can have a very noticeable positive impact on the neighborhood. We don’t know the exact design of the proposed development, but we expect a high quality project of the type for which Bluestone Development, a local developer, is known. It should have ample walking and biking connections to the surrounding neighborhood, minimal car parking, and plenty of bike parking. This development project can be a step in rehabilitating the structure of the area near 72nd and Dodge Streets and in improving our transportation system.