University neighborhood residents vote down sound walls
State officials proposed the walls as part of a larger project to renovate Interstate 35W, which is still scheduled to begin next year.
Published August 30, 2013
Residents and property owners in two University of Minnesota neighborhoods have voted down proposed sound walls along Interstate 35W.
The four walls faced significant opposition from Marcy-Holmes and Southeast Como residents, who said they were unnecessary blights on their neighborhoods.
The 30-day voting process began July 19 for Southeast Como and July 24 for Marcy-Holmes.
A $13 million project to renovate the highway and add a northbound lane, scheduled to begin next year, won’t be affected by the vote.
“This was a huge effort that brought our neighborhood together,” Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association Executive Director Melissa Bean said Wednesday in an e-mail.
The neighborhood association had urged residents to vote against the walls.
