It’s been a productive week in Munster for civic dialogue. Town Councilman Jonathan Petersen answered questions about town operations and developments during a public meeting that he held at the Munster Library on November 19th and the For The Love of Munster group hosted a public forum regarding plans for Ridge Road on November 21st.
Approximately 200 residents attended the presentation at Munster Church on Ridge Road to learn about the background and developments regarding a $17 million RAISE grant awarded to the town which would supplement costs to update Ridge. During the past year, the majority of the Town Council members have stated that they were against the idea of reducing lanes on Ridge Road. Recently, the council submitted a modified version of the proposal to the federal government for consideration, but members of For the Love of Munster have stated that the modified proposal may not meet the requirements to hold on to the substantial funding opportunity.
Residents attend a presentation by For The Love of Munster at Munster Church.
Presenters Mitch Barloga, Paul Rotatori and Amanda Kilibarda Gutierrez took turns outlining different aspects of the project, including the criteria the RAISE committee used to select Munster as one of just seven recipients nationwide. They also conducted informal polls with attendees, gauging perceptions of Ridge Road’s current state and residents’ familiarity with the proposed updates.
“There are genuine concerns of a project of this nature” Mitch Barloga said to the attendees. “We’re not ever going to just push them aside. We want to address it. We want to do our best to make sure you understand the truth of it.”
Barloga provided responses to frequently raised questions and concerns regarding the project. Even though there was no Q&A session during the presentation, residents in favor of or opposed to the project could talk to members of the “Yes Ridge” team to get information about safety, access and aesthetics of the project.
Toward the end of the presentation, Barloga was blunt in stating that the choice of utilizing the RAISE grant can determine the future of the northwest part of Munster. “It might take one or two construction seasons to make this work. The road will not be shut down during the construction season, but keep in mind that in both the original complete street and recently adopted five-lane design are for the same length of street and have roughly the same cost and time frame for construction,” Barloga stated. “Either way we’ll endure construction, but what do you want to get at the end? Do you want a road that looks pretty much the same way it looks now or something that is completely different and is a lightning rod to the community?”
During the breakout session, attendees were treated to snacks provided by Sweet Tooth, Von’s Vittles, Mishkenut and OMG. Residents for, against or indifferent to the proposed plans and lane reduction also had the opportunity to interact and discuss their hopes and concerns for future development.
Representatives from the Town of Munster or Town Council were not contacted for comment at the time of publication. Munster Town Council members’ opinions regarding lane reduction on Ridge Road can be found in Town Council meetings that are available on youtube as well as episodes of the Munster radio show which can be accessed on WJOB’s facebook page.
