You might say,
- After the closure of 5th St between 11th Avenue and Park Avenue as part of the Vikings Stadium (4 blocks), and the $9.79 million project to realign the I-94 offramp to 7th St rather than 5th St.
- AND the elimination of all curb cuts and curb uses of 5th St between Park Ave and 5th Ave S (2 blocks) with the Commons/Edition redevelopment
- AND the lack of continuity for motorists on 5th St S where it is blocked by Government Center Station, AND the lack of a traffic lane north of the tracks on 5th St between 5th Ave and Hennepin Ave (5 blocks)
- AND the lack of comfortable bicycle facilities into the core of downtown AND the newly-created two-way bikeway next to the stadium from 11th Ave / Samatar Crossing to Park Ave at 5th St
- THEREFORE this lane becomes THE PERFECT space for a two-way bikeway that extends existing bikeways on the east side of downtown right into the downtown core near Government Center Station.
But Public Works would say,
- But think of the handful of cars that need to use 5th St S to go from Northbound Park Ave to Northbound 5th Ave who do not want to use 3rd or 7th Streets to make the jog! (Here's data on the usage before the stadium, back when 5th St S actually served the Star Tribune blocks)