Wonderful. MDOT has announced that it has reduced the size of the Blue Water Bridge Plaza by about 8 acres, "saving" 21 residences and 4 small businesses from being taken for the project. The local officials can congratulate themselves that they've scored a "victory" for the "little guy", forcing Big Bad MDOT to back down on its rapacious demands.

But how much of a victory is this, and who pays the price? The slightly revised footprint hardly changes the outline of the plaza, doesn't alter the rerouting of main roads, and barely affects the perimeter. It spares a handful of small, old properties - six of which have already been purchased as hardships - and a few businesses.

But the human cost of this change is devastating. Fifteen property owners who have been jerked around by the off again/on again, stop and start history of this project are again thrust into turmoil and disarray by another unexpected curve ball. Rather than finally being able to move on with their lives, they now face being trapped in their homes while the Plaza is constructed around them. Particularly hard hit are the eight families stranded in a residential "island" near Mansfield and 11th Avenues. This odd loop will be effectively surrounded by the project, cut off from area neighborhoods and sandwiched between the rerouted Pine Grove and the Plaza walls.

These properties have been stuck in limbo for the past six years, and now find themselves in even worse shape. With no official buyout in the offing, the owners will be unable to sell to anyone for any price until Plaza construction is complete, and probably not after that. Homeowners are trapped there, unable to move, while their properties lose all value (not that they will see that loss reflected in their tax bills.) For many of those families, their homes are the only wealth they have - and now that is being taken from them by forces beyond their control.

An old African proverb says, "When elephants fight, the grass suffers." The concerns of the people trapped in the Zone have been trampled for years now, and this recent change is the worst yet for the people directly affected. Local officials may consider it progress, but it's the worst kind of token victory: one that has no substantive effect on the project but a devastating impact on a few unfortunate families.

So who will help these people? MDOT tried, but was forced to back down in the face of local opposition. Local government? No, they have all they care about: their pound of flesh in the form of water bills and property tax payments. The ad-hoc group that came together to oppose the Plaza expansion? Nothing forthcoming there - it seems their concern for the community stops at the point that community members need help. The local media, with their incessant anti-Plaza drumbeat? It appears they're only willing to oppose - when that opposition causes hardship for local families, it suddenly isn't the media's problem any more.

It looks like it's up to us to find help for these families. The rest of you go throw yourselves a party - after all, it's always easier to celebrate a "victory" when someone else is paying the price.

Roger Thomas
Living in Limbo Coalition