I Take a Gander at the Girard Meander

With new construction at both Calhoun Square and the new Mozaic space comes the opportunity for a new public thoroughfare. The plan is that the portion of Girard between Mozaic's plaza and Lake street, and from there Calhoun Square, will become what has been dubbed the "Girard Meander." The Meander will be open to cars, but will be designed to be easily closed off for evening or weekend events.

The Uptown Small Area Plan says "the street [Girard Meander] should be designed to be closed on occasion for festivals, events, and markets." This sounds great, especially the market thing - I hope that it's a sign that there is a movement from somewhere within Uptown to get a farmer's market going.

I think it's a great idea: create a public space that will perhaps be truly public (unlike Calhoun Square, which remains in private hands) and can be used for a variety of outdoor public functions. Wide sidewalks are a wonderful thing, especially if they can accommodate outdoor patios and other amenities of fun city living.

My only problem with the Girard Meander? It's got to be the world's stupidest name. "Girard Meander." It sounds like it was made up by some mall marketing firm. Does everything need to have a name? And do they need to sound so artificial? It's not like there's a meandering river winding its way up Girard. It's just a street with some sidewalks. A nice street, perhaps, but that doesn't mean we have to give it a dumb name befitting of some new development in Chaska.

The Girard Meander? It's a good thing. "Girard Meander?" I hope you never catch me calling it by such a ridiculous moniker.