HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 06-12 Dream house at end of road THE PIONEER PRESS State, city surprise couple ju,, Az, X919
Dream house at end of road
By LINDA OWEN The $600,000 road project also will remove most
Staff Writer of the Hurleys' driveway, they learned, and will re-
To Jerry Hurley and his wife, Patt, moving from quire them to drive a half mile around a concrete
median to turn into St. Paul's East Side to Maplewood was `like moving enough room on what remainseir of thd. e driveway bere won't o
to Edina." park a Volkswagen, much less the Hurleys' station
The Hurleys are newlyweds, and the $70,000 love wagon,they said.
nest they bought a year ago was to be their dream
house. "IF WE HAD KNOWN, we would never have
They almost didn't buy the house at 925 Parkway paid$70,000 for the house,"said Mrs.Hurley,24.
Drive, only a couple doors away from Highway 61, "Who in their right mind would buy a house know-
because it is so close to one of the busiest intersec- ing that?"her husband,25,said.
tions in the area. The real estate agent who sold the house had told
But big oaks screened the house from the traffic, the couple the property extended to within 5 feet of j
and the couple thought they could put in a little wall the curb, the Hurleys said. Belatedly, they had their
and a horseshoe driveway in front. In back, a small lot surveyed.It confirmed the bad news.
woods stretched down the hill to the Maple Hills Today, the Hurleys' oaks are gone, and their '
golf course. house and yard are plastered with"No Trespassing"
Six weeks ago, the dream house turned into a signs meant to keep the road workers off the re-
nightmare. maining scrap of private property.
• Another sign in the yard proclaims, "This is the
THE COUPLE awoke one morning to find high way Maplewood s---s on their residents. Would you
way surveyors pounding stakes in their front yard. like to raise your children here?"
It was only then the Hurleys learned a good deal of
their front yard belongs to the Minnesota Transpor- NONE OF about 10 property owners affected by
tation Department. the road project knew it was coming either, Hurley
The nearby intersection is being upgraded and said, even though the Maplewood City Council ap-
Parkway Drive is being moved to within 15 feet of proved it in 1975 after a public hearing.
the Hurleys'house. Four lanes of traffic, plus a turn "They got us in this mess," Mrs. Hurley said. "I '
lane, will pass within conversational distance of the 1
couple's bedroom. See House,Page 25
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Jerry and Patt Hurley stand across Parkway of their driveway. The new curb will be placed
Drive from the house they bought a year ago, at the far side of the graded area in the Hurleys'
unaware of a road project that will remove most yard. —Staff Photo by Neale Van Ness
House: Dream at e�►d of road
Continued from Page 17 The "squaring" necessitates a yond the fact that no additional
just think it's time Maplewood curve Hurley fears will help pro- land would be taken, city offi
steps in and helps us out." Pel cars into his bedroom. Since cials said. "I don't know how we
the roadway also will be elevat- did that," Mayor John Greavu
Maplewood officials, however, ed about two feet, and no guard said.
say they can't withdraw their ap- rail is planned, he said, "They're But Greavu and Councilman
proval for the project. The not even going to hit the ground Donald Wiegert insisted the land-
neighbors insist the city could before they hit the bedroom." owners were mailed notices at
but won't. The Minnesota Pollution Con- the time of the hearing and sev
The city council did get the trot Agency projects traffic eral attended.
state to agree to move the road- noise will be above maximum WIEGEI€'T SAID he s m a
way a few feet farther away, so standards, Hurley said, but the thizes ut be-
with the Hurle s 5 P
r
that it now will pass 18.5 feet road is too close to allow a noise Heves the road ro ect art of a
from the Hurleys'garage. barrier.
"packageo of oth�r route
The Hurleys house is affected MRS.HURLEY said she spoke
the most by the project, accord- P changes in the Lake Phalen area,
ing to their next-door neighbor, with Maplewood City Planner is badly needed and shouldn't be
Gary Toscana. Geoff Olson about easements stopped.
and land uses"the day before we With construction under way
THEY COtJLD1V'T give their signed the papers." Olson men- on Parkwa Drive, everymorn
house away now, Toscana said. tinned nothing about the road y
He also blames the city council pro)ect,she said. ing brings a new surprise, the
for the neighbors' plight and Olson has said he doesn't re- Hurleys said. One day at 7 a.m.
plans to erect a large sign of his member the conversation. Other Hurley was awakened uy a
own describing how the city officials point out, however wrecking ball falling on the
"sold us down the river." there is no road easement on the Pavement in front of the house.
Highway 61 and Parkway Hurleys' property. The state has That incident ended with Hur
Drive now meet at a sharp angle, owned the land since it was ley menacing workmen with an
making turns difficult and con- platted in the 1930s, and the unloaded shotgun.
tributing to a high accident rate. houses were built later, too close Highway project supervisor
The state and Ramsey County to the line. Paul Juckel said the crews are
plan to"square"the intersection The council apparently ap- "doing everything humanly pos-
to about 60 degrees and add new proved the intersection improve sible not to set one foot on his
turn lanes,medians and signals. ment in 1975 without looking be property."
-.