We all agree that putting a 250-foot tunnel over an open road in a densely populated housing complex raises serious public safety issues. No matter how many 24 hour surveillance cameras Winn puts up, the tunnel is not - as architects say - a defensible space.

On transportation, we all agree that the tunnel will make life on the Road worse for buses, trucks, cars, bikes, and pedestrians. For a commuter cyclist coming out of the Yerxa Underpass, a man walking his dog, or a girl on a tricycle heading out to play, the tunnel presents a new level of uncertainty and risk.

The tunnel will cause accidents on the road.

250 feet equals 84 yards. We're talking about a tunnel almost as long as a football field. 

The Planning Board's report did not affirm or endorse Winn's plan and Board members as well as hundreds of citizens continue to state that putting a building with a tunnel over a road is a truly poor idea.

When there are over one thousand four hundred signatures to a petition against Winn's plan, when a city publicly advocates for more open spaces, and when a tunnel promises to bring crime and transportation safety problems, shouldn't Winn and the CDD look at other design options?

The Trust’s approval of Winn's plan means it has knowingly and willfully neglected the duties and responsibilities accorded to the Trust by the Council. 

For its part, by so egregiously dismissing the CDD guidelines WinnDevelopment has betrayed any trust accorded to them by the people and the city. 

We ask the Council to once more look closely at this project and withdraw the 18 million dollars awarded to Winn by the Trust. And, starting with Walden Sq. Road, we ask the Council to pass an ordinance mandating that developers follow CDD guidelines more "to the letter" or risk having funding withheld. When a developer adjusts their design to more closely respect CDD guidelines the Trust can then award funding.