City Council Candidates Aligned to Repeal the Summit Avenue Regional Trail Plan
Saint Paul –
Seven Candidates for St. Paul City Council, one from each ward, held a news conference on Tuesday October 24th at NOON at Cochran Park on Western and Summit in Saint Paul. There the candidates pledged to Repeal the Summit Avenue Regional Trail passed by the City Council on May 24, 2023, as there first act upon being duly seated on the council.
Robert Bushard of Ward 4, organizer of the event said “The Summit Ave Regional Trail Plan is predicted on the false assumption that ‘Summit Ave needs to be reconstructed anyway, because the infrastructure is 100 years old’.
The storm sewers were separated from waste sewers in the 90’s as a result of lawsuits brought by cities downstream receiving raw sewage during heavy rain storms. The water utility wants to replace lead feed lines with copper and that can be done without open trenches or tree damage, but is that even necessary.
Electrical and other upgrades if needed can be accomplished as is being done on Cleveland in the first weeks of October. There, 20 foot pipes meant to carry electrical wire are driven underground for the entire block, making one long pipe or raceway.”
The infrastructure is not broken and does not need repair or replacement that requires destroying the Avenue and up to 950 trees.
About the Aligned Candidates
The candidates are a mix of partisans and non-partisans who agree the Summit Avenue Regional Trail Plan must be repealed.
See the video here:
You Tube Video
Bushard4Ward4 