07-22-1998 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARCADE STREET BRIDGE Whereas the Arcade Street Bridge will be replaced in 1999; and Whereas Ramsey County invited proposals from three artists for the bridge's conceptual design; and Whereas Ramsey County Public Works established this Advisory Panel to define criteria for the new bridge design, to review the bridge design proposals and to make a recommendation to the County Board regarding a preferred design from among those proposals; and Whereas the.bridge sits in the midst of a pastoral neighborhood environment, with two lakes and many trees and the . new bridge should enhance and integrate into this "gentle" park and residential environment; and Whereas the bridge is on a local road and has an intimate character and should emphasize a pedestrian function, while still accommodating traffic; and Whereas the bridge is the union of two communities (Little Canada and Maplewood) that had once been Minnesota wood and farm land and the bridge's form and decorative elements should accommodate arid reflect the meeting of these two communities and evoke their natural and human histories; and Whereas the bridge will be seen by pedestrians and motorists as they cross, by boaters as they pass beneath, and by residents and visitors as they view it from a distance across the lakes and the bridge should consider these multiple perspectives and experiences; and Whereas the bridge should be elegantly distinctive and memorable and should reveal interesting perceptions of its details and form over time and experience; and Whereas three outstanding bridge proposals were developed and presented by the artists Cliff Garten and Aaron Parker, Stanton Sears and Andrea Mykelbust, and Marjorie Pitz; and Whereas the models of the three proposed designs were displayed in the Little Canada City Hall for public review and comment and an open meeting was held to present them to the public; and Whereas Ramsey County Public Works evaluated the bridge designs in terms of their response to applicable codes and functional requirements and their potential to be cost effectively constructed and concluded that all of the designs met those standards; and Page 59