Kim --
Thank you for your post regarding this topic on the Minneapolis list.
I also want to affirm the way you have chosen a vehicle that consumes less gas and makes less pollution!
More individuals making such careful, thoughtful choices can make a very real difference in our community and in our world.
It is true, too, that we need to re-think (re-imagine) our metro transportation infrastrucure. As you pointed out, we have developed a sprawling metro -- expanding outside the I394/I694 loop without regard for transportation or integrated urban planning. The "auto culture" assumptions blinded us -- and still do.
I think Jim Mork suggested parking ramps at the freeway with mass transit into town from there -- great idea! Italy now experiences so much pollution in city centers that they've begun to outlaw gasoline motors in those parts of those cities
(See this article link if interested)
http://www.evworld.com/databases/storybuilder.cfm?storyid=452
I know a retired MnDot engineer who worked toward "park & ride" and also "park & bike" options. Of course, it was a very uphill battle, but maybe now some folks are more open to re-thinking these options.
We have the technology to radically improve our urban transportation with relatively little immediate expenditure (read "tax burden") to the metro, we simply need the liberated imaginations and the will to begin.
Such individual steps as buying smaller, hybrid or low-emission vehicles are a big help. Choosing active transportation and mass transit whenever possible is a huge step. Designing a collective transportation agenda is also crucial.
Lets support Transit for Livable Communities, the Minnesota Bike & Pedestrian Alliance, Safe Routes to School, The Midtown Greenway and other such projects as they lead the way in developing alternatives1
Again, kudos to Kim and others who are working to make a positive difference through personal choices now!
-- Gary Hoover
King Field
