On Tuesday, July 1, 2003, at 01:37 PM, Dave Piehl wrote:
David Piehl writes: If I'm not mistaken, I believe the Smith Parker law firm (of Access/Excess fame) is involved in this process. If that is the case, just "follow the money", and the "logic" behind otherwise senseless decisions will become obvious.
Public processes should not be privatized! Despite the shortcomings of our local government, I do not support merging local government with local law firms or any other private companies.
Agreed. In looking at transit projects around the country one repeatedly sees the same small circle of consultants running the show. Repeatedly these consultants plan overbuilt projects that will cost far more than is prudent. For example, the Hiawatha Line could have utilized some existing track in that corridor and initially operated with diesel power, leaving the expense of electrification until later if the line's volume justified it. The Hiawatha line was also overbuilt with heavy rail laid on concrete ties and could probably handle the heaviest locomotives, even though the vertical clearances are too low for such locomotives. While this overbuilding may be good for the rail construction industry, it's often a waste of the taxpayer's money.
One also wonders why the planners are so dead set on spending millions on this glorified bus route when an underused rail line is available. Strangely, the preliminary funding for this route sailed through a Republican dominated anti transit legislature. While Minnesota has sadly no makers of rail transit equipment, one of our country's largest transit bus makers has an assembly plant in the heavily Republican area just south of St.Cloud.
It is humorous to me that the county (and Smith Parker?) are diverting traffic from West Broadway, a business corridor, onto Lowry, a more residential area. One of the arguments frequently used to justify the expenditure of $200 million for the so-called Access Project at I35W and Lake is that it will put MORE traffic in the commercial areas and take it out of the residential areas. I don't necessarily agree that more traffic is a positive thing for any area, but it's probably less damaging in a commercial area than a residential area. It's actually funny to think about Peter McLaughlin & Smith Parker promoting one vision for south Minneapolis that they say will increase traffic in commercial areas, and on the north side, many of the same people are trying to get traffic OUT of the business areas!
David, I'll cut you a deal- we'll take the better half of your "excess project" funding and use it to develop commuter rail and upgrade West Broadway...
To me it sounds like they don't want to scare people by taking them through west Broadway....another "urban avoidance" scheme, not unlike the Wells Fargo ramp from I35W.
Yep, looks like a similar strategy- take the commuters around the long way between downtown and the northwest 'burbs so they won't get to see and be appalled at our crack houses and such.
hanging on in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
