Highway 252 Safety Task Force
Highway 252 Safety Task Force

Suggested Talking Points

Your Voices as Residents, Political Constituents and Taxpayers are Vitally Important!

The project public comment period ended May 26th, it remains vitally important to reach out to your elected government representatives to oppose MnDOT’s recommended project design alternatives for Hwy 252, particularly the fatally flawed and irreversibly harmful 6-lane freeways.

Click on this link on how to do so:

Get Involved

YOU can make a difference and help re-shape the Hwy 252 / I-94 project so that only alternatives that benefit We the People of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and North Minneapolis are considered for moving forward from the current Environmental Review to the next stage of the project, the Environmental Impact Statement.

Let’s get started!  HERE ARE THREE WAYS FOR YOU:

  1. The Easiest!  Use the Pre-written Letter at a blog post on the Hwy 252 / I-94 project at the web site of our friends at the organization Our Streets MPLS: MnDOT Ignores Data, Community Concern with Highway 252 / I-94 Project Proposals, by Alex Burns, Our Streets MPLS, April 17, 2023
  2. The Next Easiest! Copy and Paste Talking Points supplied by Stacy Barnes! 
  3. A bit more work but worth it if you want to personalize your Public Comments! Combine and Create Talking Points supplied by David Mulla!

COPY AND PASTE EXAMPLES OF TALKING POINTS:  Supplied by Stacy Barnes.

If you have time, please send an email voicing your concerns about each one of the categories below. You can copy and paste the text, hit send and do it again!

PROPERTY CONCERNS:

Copy & paste #1:

I, and the neighbors I love deeply, live near Hwy 252 / I-94, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.  MnDOT wants to eliminate the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements that seizes few to no homes and only 1 business, but keeps the 6-lane Freeways that seize up to 78 homes and 3 businesses.  The non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements seizes fewer properties, causing less displacement of homeowners and businesses than the 6-lane Freeways.

I support adding back the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternative with permanent safety improvements for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), because it has fewer property losses and seizures than the 6-lane Freeway alternatives.

Copy & paste #2:


I attend church / mosque near Hwy 252 / I-94, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives and expansion of I-94 MnDOT is recommending.

MnDOT wants to eliminate the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements that seizes few to no homes and only 1 business, but keeps the 6-lane Freeway that seizes up to 78 homes and 3 businesses.  The non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements seizes fewer properties, causing less displacement of homeowners and businesses than the 6-lane Freeways.

I want the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives with permanent safety added back for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), because it has fewer property losses and seizures than the 6-lane Freeway alternatives.

PROPERTY CONCERNS + INEQUITY CONCERNS:

Copy & paste #1:

I have invested my life savings into my home in Brooklyn Center and have come to love the neighborhood and the community deeply. The impact of this project on my home and my neighbors will be absolutely devastating.  It will destroy a community whose members loves one another deeply and devastate the natural beauty of the Mississippi riverfront area.

Property value will continue to plummet and there will be an overall increase in stigma associated with Brooklyn Center as an area no one wants to visit and no businesses want to set up shop in. The ongoing destruction this project threatens is frustrating almost beyond words. 

North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, and Brooklyn Park need real solutions that work for the people actually living in these places – these communities do not need more outsiders determining how to use the space WE LOVE AND LIVE IN.  

MnDOT has not estimated the indirect impacts of freeway interchanges on property encroachment and seizure of houses and businesses due to widening of local roads.  Local roads at 73rd Ave. and Brookdale Dr. have to be widened when freeway interchanges are built. 

I am opposed to construction of freeway interchanges that result in widening local roads, decreasing frontage land and displacing homeowners and businesses.

SYSTEMATIC RACISM + INEQUALITY IN DEVELOPMENT:

Copy & paste #1:

I am a Brooklyn Center resident.  Rightly, the city is currently going through a strategic planning process, (as are many cities in our state and country) that seeks to eliminate racism and inequity from the way infrastructure is developed.  The development MnDOT is proposing flies in the face of that goal and uses the same deeply flawed and systemically racist development tactics that have been in place since the founding of our nation.  It is time to truly prioritize safety, health, environment and equity.

The Purpose and Need statement of the project is too narrowly focused on high traffic and I support broadening the Purpose and Need statement to place the highest priority on safety, health, environment and equity. 

Furthermore, MnDOT’s 6-lane Freeway alternatives on Hwy 252 will divert huge numbers of cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks from other more affluent and whiter communities and onto Hwy 252 through the largely residential communities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park (resulting in traffic numbers currently carried by I-94, which is an 8-10 lane freeway).  Our communities are more than 60% BIPOC, and are very vulnerable to the harmful air, noise and water pollution caused by such large increases in traffic numbers through our communities.


I am opposed to the Hwy 252 6-lane Freeway alternatives, which divert large numbers of cars and diesel trucks through our majority BIPOC communities. I support lower-traffic alternatives such as the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with safety improvements.

HEALTH CONCERNS (ASTHMA / AIR QUALITY):

Copy & paste #1:

I have asthma / COPD / a respiratory disease, so I am very concerned about my breathing and health resulting from the 6-lane Freeway alternatives and expansion of I-94 MnDOT is recommending. MnDOT says that improving Public Health is a goal and objective, but the impact on Public Health resulting from massively increased traffic-induced air pollution through 6-lane Freeway alternatives disproves MnDOT’s  claims of being concerned about Public Health.

I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives (and oppose expansion of I-94) for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), because they carry much lower numbers of cars and diesel trucks, produce less air pollution, and would cause fewer deaths and hospitalizations of people from traffic-induced air pollution.

ROAD SAFETY:

Copy & paste #1:

My husband was involved in a crash on Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending. There are so many crashes on Hwy 252, that it seems Hwy 252 was designed to be dangerous.

MnDOT is still considering an interchange at 66th Ave. where the distance for merging is too short to be safe, increasing crashes by 45% relative to properly spaced interchanges.

I reject the idea of having an unsafe interchange at 66th Ave. I demand that MnDOT build a full range of safety features on and around Hwy 252.

Copy & paste #2:

Increasing safety was the biggest impetus for the Hwy 252 / I-94 project to begin with (or at least this is what the public has been told). However, MnDOT wants to eliminate the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway which has a 60% reduction in crash costs, but wants to keep the 6-lane Freeway, which has only a 30% reduction in crash costs. 

The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway is safer than the 6-lane Freeway.  I support adding back the safer Low Speed 4-lane Freeway alternative and eliminating the less safe 6-lane Freeway alternatives for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Copy & paste #3:

My child attends school near Hwy 252 / I-94, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending because of increased air pollution and numbers of crashes.

I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements that would bring fewer harms / greater community benefits to the cities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park than the 6-lane Freeway alternatives and the Normal Speed 4-lane Freeway MnDOT recommends. 

­­­­ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENT: 

Copy & paste #1:

I am an avid cyclist along / near Hwy 252 / I-94, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending because of increased air pollution and decreased access to trails and parks.

I am opposed to MnDOT’s recommended 6-lane Freeways and I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives with permanent safety improvements for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Copy & paste #2:

I love to canoe on the Mississippi River near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending because of its adverse impacts on water pollution and river fish and wildlife from salt and toxic liquids.

Therefore, I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives (and oppose expansion of I-94) for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) because they carry much lower numbers of cars and diesel trucks, and have less water pollution.

POLLUTION / DRINKING WATER:

Copy & paste #1:

My drinking water comes from Brooklyn Center wells located near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane Freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending because it carries a risk of polluting these wells with salt and toxic liquids that may spill in crashes involving freight trucks.

An unsafe interchange at 66th Ave. greatly increases the risks of crashes involving diesel freight trucks and cars.  Crashes at this location involving diesel trucks carrying hazardous liquids risk polluting the groundwater and surface water drinking water supplies for Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis. Banning diesel burning heavy freight truck traffic from Hwy 252 alternatives is necessary.

Copy & paste #2:

Climate Change is real, forever chemicals are seeping into our water and soil, and weather continues to get more and more erratic because of our poor infrastructure and development choices.

In addition, the stark inequalities BIPOC communities face due to poor, or blatantly racist choices, made by “government agencies” (like transportation boards / commissions / departments) have left our citizens scared, angry, and at war with one another. 

The plan MnDOT is trying to force through onto the residents of North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, and Brooklyn Park repeats these dangerous patterns. If it goes through, it will end in more of the same destructive outcomes we KNOW to be true from projects of this nature, such as I-94 through Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul and I-35W through South Minneapolis.

The alternatives below are better investments to make with MY and MY NEIGHBORS tax dollars who actually LIVE IN BROOKLYN CENTER.

  • MnDOT recommends the 6-lane Freeway and expansion of I-94 without doing any evaluation on its impacts on salt pollution of ground or surface water.  The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements would carry 34,000 to 46,000 fewer cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks daily than the 6-lane Freeways and the Normal Speed 4-lane Freeway alternatives that MnDOT has recommended.  These large reductions in traffic, along with the no-expansion I-94 alternative would have much less salt pollution than the alternatives MnDOT recommends.
  • Furthermore, MnDOT recommends 6-lane Freeways on Hwy 252 and expansion of I-94, although they have not evaluated impacts on hospitalizations and deaths from traffic-induced air pollution.  Currently, 11 people a year die from traffic-induced air pollution in the three zip codes adjacent to Hwy 252 and I-94.  The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements would carry 35,000 to 46,500 fewer cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks daily than the 6-lane Freeways.  These large reductions in traffic and the existing no-expansion alternative for I-94 have much less air pollution than the 6-lane Freeways and the expanded I-94 alternatives. 
  • I and my neighbors who LIVE ALONG AND NEAR Hwy 252 are opposed to the Hwy 252 6-lane Freeway alternatives, which divert large numbers of cars and diesel trucks through our majority BIPOC communities. I support lower-traffic alternatives such as the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with safety improvements, as well as other non-freeway alternatives.
  • DO NOT dump your air pollution and roadside trash in our wonderfully diverse neighborhoods.
  • Do NOT pollute the majestic Mississippi River (which is absolutely VITAL not only to the communities in question but to all of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as the environment and ecology of our state and nation at large). 
  • Reduce traffic in our lower-income, working class communities: and avoid diverting traffic that originates in higher-income, middle-class, and upscale communities and uses our neighborhoods as pass-through traffic corridors for their convenience with no thought of the harms they are inflicting upon us.

COMBINE AND CREATE EXAMPLES OF TALKING POINTS:

Supplied by David Mulla.

Listed below are:

(1) 8 example Introductory Statements, and

(2) 10 example Talking Points, focused on opposing the 6-lane freeway alternatives in particular.

Combine and Create your own Talking Points! You can pair an Introductory Statement with one of the Talking Points and adapt them as you see fit to develop your own Public Comment(s).

There is no limit on the number of Public Comments you can submit, so feel free to write up more than one, if you have a lot to say! The more Public Comments, the better!

1. Introductory Statements:

You can begin your comment with one of the following personalized introductory statement examples:

  1. My child attends school near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  2. I live (or am a property or business owner) near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  3. I (or my child or my parents) have asthma or COPD, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  4. I (or my family member or my friend) was involved in a crash on Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  5. I am an avid cyclist (or walker, jogger, park user, golfer) along / near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  6. I attend church or mosque near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  7. My drinking water comes from Brooklyn Center wells located near Hwy 252 (or comes from the Minneapolis water intake on the Mississippi River near Hwy 252), so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.
  8. I love to canoe (or fish or watch wildlife) along the Mississippi River near Hwy 252, so I am very concerned about the 6-lane freeway alternatives MnDOT is recommending.

2. Talking Points

Feel free to write several different combined Public Comments (Introductory Statement + Talking Point), if you agree with more than one of the introductory statements and talking points. 

  1. MnDOT has recommended eliminating two Hwy 252 alternatives (Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements) that would bring fewer harms / greater benefits to the cities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park than the 6-lane freeway alternatives and the Normal Speed 4-lane Freeway recommended by MnDOT. I am opposed to MnDOT’s 6-lane Freeway alternatives and I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
  2. MnDOT has recommended the 6-lane Freeway alternatives for Hwy 252 because its Purpose and Need
    statement prioritizes increasing traffic numbers, types and speeds, while downplaying / ignoring safety, health, environment and equity (fairness and justice). This Purpose and Need statement is too narrowly focused on moving traffic and I support broadening the Purpose and Need statement to place the highest priority on safety, health, environment and equity. 
  3. MnDOT wants to eliminate the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway which has a 60% reduction in crash costs, but wants to keep the 6-lane Freeway which has only a 30% reduction in crash costs. The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway is safer than the 6-lane Freeway. I support adding back the safer Low Speed 4-lane Freeway alternative and eliminating the less safe 6-lane Freeway alternatives for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
  4. MnDOT want to eliminate the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements that seizes few homes and only 1 business, but keeps the 6-lane Freeway that seizes up to 75 homes and 3 businesses.  The non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements seizes fewer properties, causing less displacement of homeowners and businesses than the 6-lane Freeway. I support adding back the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternative with permanent safety improvements for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), because it has fewer property losses and seizures than the 6-lane Freeway alternatives.
  5. MnDOT recommends 6-lane Freeways on Hwy 252 and expansion of I-94, although they have not evaluated impacts on human deaths and hospitalizations from traffic-induced air pollution.  Currently, 11 people a year die from traffic-induced air pollution in the three zip codes adjacent to Hwy 252 and I-94.  The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements would carry 35,000 to 46,500 fewer cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks daily than the 6-lane Freeway.  These large reductions in traffic would have much less air pollution than the 6-lane Freeway. I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), because they carry much lower numbers of cars and diesel trucks, produce less air pollution, and would cause fewer deaths and hospitalizations of people from traffic-induced air pollution.
  6. MnDOT recommends the 6-lane Freeway without doing any evaluation on its impacts on salt pollution of ground or surface water.  The Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with permanent safety improvements would carry 34,000 to 46,000 fewer cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks daily than the 6-lane Freeway and the Normal Speed 4-lane Freeway alternatives that MnDOT has recommended.  These large reductions in traffic would have much less salt pollution than the alternatives MnDOT recommends. Therefore, I support adding back the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway alternatives for further evaluation during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) because they carry much lower numbers of cars and diesel trucks, and have less water pollution.
  7. MnDOT is still considering an interchange at 66th Ave. where the distance for merging is too short to be safe, increasing crashes by 45% relative to properly spaced interchanges. I reject the idea of having an unsafe interchange at 66th Ave. 
  8. An unsafe interchange at 66th Ave. greatly increases the risks of crashes involving diesel freight trucks and cars.  Crashes at this location involving diesel trucks carrying hazardous liquids risk polluting the ground water and surface water drinking water supplies for Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis. I support banning diesel burning heavy freight truck traffic from Hwy 252 alternatives. I also am opposed to having an unsafe interchange at 66th Ave. 
  9. MnDOT has not estimated the indirect impacts of freeway interchanges on property encroachment and seizure of houses and businesses due to widening of local roads.  Local roads at 66th Ave, 73rd Ave., Brookdale Dr., and/or 85th Ave. have to be widened to when freeway interchanges are built.  I am opposed to construction of freeway interchanges that result in widening local roads, decreasing frontage land and displacing homeowners and businesses.
  10. MnDOT’s 6-lane freeways on Hwy 252 will divert huge numbers of cars and diesel burning heavy freight trucks from other freeways and onto Hwy 252 through the largely residential communities of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park (resulting in traffic numbers currently carried by I-94, which is an 8-lane freeway).  Our communities are more than 60% BIPOC, and are very vulnerable to the harmful air, noise and water pollution caused by such large increases in traffic numbers. I am opposed to the Hwy 252 6-lane freeway alternatives, which divert large numbers of cars and diesel trucks through our majority BIPOC communities. I support lower-traffic alternatives such as the Low Speed 4-lane Freeway and the non-freeway 6-lane Expressway with safety improvements.

Make sure to include your full name and address (at least your city of residence).

Talk with all your neighbors, family, friends, colleagues, and contacts in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and North Minneapolis, and show them how to do the same!

Get Involved

Good Luck and May your Efforts Be Blessed!