Not just car traffic lost with Second’s closure

In reading The Gazette Sunday guest columns under “Health care leaders talk mall, costs,” it appears that closing two blocks of Second Avenue is as important as the building itself.

To begin with, closing two blocks of Second Avenue is not true. Closing two blocks means closing the usefulness of the entire street. If downtown is to be rejuvenated, Second Avenue is important for access. If the medical mall will be as busy as they claim it will be, Second Avenue would also be useful. Yes, it also provides an easy escape through town. That's what streets are for.

Bicycles and pedestrians also use Second Avenue. Are you planning on a couple of doors to accommodate passage for them?

There are many ways a building can be designed to provide adequate facilities without closing a street. Who has more claim to a street - the public, which owns the street, or a few people who can't figure out how to build a building without closing a street?

Michael J. Merfeld

Cedar Rapids