In a message dated 5/2/01 3:32:45 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Holle listed as an anti-environenmtal policy the "big expensive LRT system that is of dubious environmental and social value." A second green response was that LRT was a good idea. A third response was that LRT was a bad idea and that we should have "dedicated bus paths and paint the busses to look like trains." Who has the right mind on this one? >> Sorry for the apparent contradictions - I'll try to clarify. The Green Party has never taken a position in support of the Hiawatha LRT line, although we do support light rail as a public transportation option. The question is, does the dog wag the tail, or the other way around? Even at its busiest, Hiawatha Avenue does not experience anywhere near the traffic congestion that occurs on real commuter routes like the Crosstown, I35 and I94. And presently the heaviest public transportation use occurs on the buslines in the University Avenue corridor. I doubt it will be any consolation to people trying to get to work to know that there is a convenient train running tourists, conventioneers and business people back and forth from the airport to downtown. The Hiawatha LRT line seems to be more motivated by greed than need. In order to justify this first arm of our rail system, the ajdoining neighborhoods will need to change in order to accommodate the rail line - more parking lots, business development and higher density housing - to bring people to the transportation system, rather than the other way around, while existing needs for public transportation are not being met. Regarding the metal recycling plant - yes, this is a NIMBY issue, and not an easy call. However I think the neighborhoods and advocates for restoration of the Mississippi River lost big on this one. Recycling our resources is, of course, a vital part of protecting the environment. But even more vital, and more fundamental to the kinds of environmental protection the Greens advocate, is reducing the waste stream to begin with - a slow growth/no growth philosophy that is highly discordant with policies based on economic competition and expansion. If this seems like a religion to some, maybe it's because the environmental movement, like other value-based movements, is not profit motivated. And a note to Dyna - hybrid-engine buses are being used in Los Angeles, they are quiet, clean and fuel-efficient. -- Holle Brian Bancroft (612) 822-6593 _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
