Holle Brian wrote:
> 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.
Agreed that this doesn't hit the heaviest travelled areas in the city, but if
it works as planned it should relieve some pressure from 35W and the
crosstown interchange as well. I think it makes a good first effort, if such
an effort is to be made, in that it should be able to stand alone as a rail
system. It ties together two major retail areas, with a major transportation
area (airport) as well.
>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.
Minneapolis is a growing city again. Most people agree that creating
affordable housing is a crucial need. To be affordable it will have to be
high density. Will some people make a profit from provbiding this housing?
Most likely. You have highlighted a major opportunity for the people of the
areas affected to avoid an oops. Lets start planning on how the changes that
come work for as many people as possible.
>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.
I support capitalism (not an unfettered system) for reasons other than
profit. I believe there are other values involved. I am free to do the work I
want to. I am free to find people I want to work with, or hire people I enjoy
working with. I enjoy competition. I enjoy the creativity of deciding what I
think will work in the market. I appreciate you have your values, and I share
some of them, but don't fool yourself to thinking that someone who disagrees
with you has no values.
Bob Gustafson
13th
