I don't know the answers to Sean's questions about railroad viaducts (I've been "told" third-hand that the ones referred to here in Northeast are RR property), but this brings up something related that infuriates me that I cannot believe is legal in this city:
I was trapped for 25 minutes last Friday (along with a bunch of other drivers and a city bus) on Central Avenue at the Canadian Pacific Railway crossing at about 34th-35th Avenue NE when a train went back and forth, forth and back, stood still, etc., blocking traffic. Twenty-five minutes. During the lunch hour, no less, when traffic is particularly heavy. This is not some country road. This is a major thoroughfare for this city and THE major thoroughfare for this part of town. The SUVers started to drive over the cement median to escape. I couldn't. I was on my way to an appointment that I had to ditch, but of more serious concern to me is the impact this has on emergency services, especially in light of the cuts made to our local fire station and the large number of seniors in this area. Our neighborhood was told many months back that the Minneapolis fire chief was working on some agreements with the city of Columbia Heights to service us in the event that Minneapolis couldn't respond due to the cuts -- but we are cut off from the city of Columbia Heights by the railroad. If I lived in the Columbia Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, I'd really be nervous. Those folks are cut off from the rest of Minneapolis by the railroad. "Upper" Northeast, according to a map from the fire chief, already had some of the poorest response times in the city due to the geographic and industrial handicaps of the area. At the time, I recall the firefighters saying they should be able to respond in 4-6 minutes or something along those lines. Twenty-five minutes I'm sure would have been deadly. But to get to my real reason for posting: I was told that there is a Minneapolis ordinance that prohibits a train from blocking a road for more than 10-15 minutes. Does anyone know if this is true? What are the consequences? I find the potential of this incident to be disturbing. P.S. Don't waste an e-mail if you are going to point out "you bought a house by a railroad so now you have to put up with it..." It is now 2003. Gayle Bonneville Northeast's Waite Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
