Let's see, Mondale and Tinklenberg have been quoted in the papers as saying that no more than $458 million will be spent on the trolley. Now, we have a $25 million overrun on the airport tunnel, $55 million overrun for building the Lake Street station above Lake Street, no agreement with the federal government on purchasing land and buildings from the military (south of highway 62), two lawsuits down and two more pending. And no federal full funding agreement yet. Of course, it takes Congressional action to actually make the funds appear after a full funding agreement is announced. I'll have to see if there is a line item in the trolley budget for litigation. Let's see, the trolley management committee has decided to transfer the $55 million Lake Street cost to the highway budget, so they can say that money is not going for the trolley. (See the official minutes). In addition to Tim's comments about the intersection of 5th Street and 3rd Avenue, there is also 4th Street (where the contra-flow bus lane to handle the buses that now run on 5th Street) and 3rd Avenue. Admittedly, 4th Street won't be as much work as 5th Street. And then there will be the period when 5th Street is totally closed for the utility companies to move their lines and equipment. And the time that 5th street is totally closed for laying tracks, if it ever comes. One lane might be kept open during some of this work, but left turns from 5th Street will definitely be out at track laying time. So, why start work on 5th Street? So that you can say that the trolley must go on, because so much money is already invested in it... If you want a good laugh, get a copy of the study that Minneapolis had done to consider the impact of lrt, bike traffic, and pedestrian traffic on overall downtown traffic for the next twenty years, especially to see whether turning 5th Street into a transit mall (and closing it at one point) and putting the contra-flow bus lane on 4th Street would have a significant impact. The report concludes that it won't, and backs it up with projected traffic counts that show such amazing things as 400+ vehicles disappearing in the space of a block, and 5th Street carrying in one restricted lane next to the trolley 40%-60% as much traffic as it does today with a width of five lanes. It also concludes that there would be more impact on afternoon rush hour than the morning rush hour from these changes. I guess that that's because the backups trying to exit I-94 onto 5th Street won't be in downtown, they will be on the freeway. Bruce Gaarder Highland Park Saint Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tim Connolly wrote about lrt, 5th street, and the Avenue of the Arts: > Richard Carney notes that the newspaper stated the > closure of 5th Street in Mpls. for moving of water > mains in front of City Hall and wonders if this is not > "putting the cart before the horse"? > > I would have to answer YES. a resounding YES! > > You might expect that sort of response from an > opponent of light rail but as one who has counted on > "the check being in the mail" in the past I am a firm > believer in caution in these matters. I hate to sound > like one of these dolts who can only refer to overused > movie lines from popular culture but "Show me the > money" might be entirely apt at this point in time. > > What time is it, you ask? In a word, or two, I would > say: "Crunch time!" Oh, there I go again. > ... > At a time when light rail might be coming to 5th > Street it only makes sense to schedule these projects > to coincide with one another. I can only envision > closing 3rd Avenue one year , then 5th street the next > when the intersection of 3rd Av and 5th st. will be > torn up all over again.
