PCI has made entering downtown more difficult

I am outraged that the Physicians' Clinic of Iowa (PCI) is building its new medical center directly over Second Avenue. For months I have watched the construction of the new center, waiting to see a skywalk or some other connective structure go in to allow Second Avenue to reopen. It is clear, however, that this is not to happen.

Second Avenue and Third Avenue are one-way streets that decrease traffic on First Avenue, thereby allowing drivers to easily enter (Second Avenue) and exit (Third Avenue) the downtown area. By building over Second Avenue, PCI has made entering downtown Cedar Rapids more difficult, particularly because its new center cuts Second Avenue in half. It would have been one thing if PCI had built over the street further east and cut Second Avenue shorter by, say, 25 percent or so, but it chose to build virtually at the street's midpoint.

One of the highlights of the new PCI center is its advanced cancer care facilities, but I remind the public that Mercy Medical Center is also in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art cancer center. Mercy's center has come at no cost to Cedar Rapids citizens, which to me indicates that it is more committed to the raison d'être of health care: service.

Kenyon Thorp

Marion