Politicians and others long have talked about the need in Duluth for affordable housing and rental units.
Meanwhile, a story on Oct. 20 said recent storm damage to the Lakewalk totaled $18.4 million. Another large storm about a year ago with strong waves similarly tore up the walkway and deposited rocks and debris from the lake.
So that's $18.4 million dollars in repairs on top of the $3.5 million in damage from last year - along with possibly permanently changing the shoreline with a large concrete barrier. How beautiful would that be?
I wonder how many affordable houses and rental units could be built with that $21.9 million - especially if local contractors were awarded the contracts and not people with close ties to the commission handing out the money and especially if the contractors put the money into the construction and not their pockets.
Housing units surely would last a lot longer than fixing the Lakewalk - again, until the next storm, when taxpayers will foot another multimillion-dollar repair job.
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Where are all the Sierra Club, BWCAWers, and environmental people opposing everything else in the state when it comes to ruining the Lake Superior lakeshore with a "substantial" concrete barrier between the lake and the temporary Lakewalk?
Ken Hoffman
Cloquet
