Oops, I forgot to sign my last post. But then again this is also my third post today. My bad either way...
Randall Cutting Seward ||Randall Cutting|| > >> All of these would happen in this scenario. Instead, they buy a train >> for about 2/3 MORE than that $440 million, to improve things on one >> route out of 200 in the metro area, and then the service is cut back >> on some of the other 199 because of budget issues. There will be more >> cuts in the future because of lrt. The claim was that the was enough >> money in the long range plan to fund combined bus and train operation >> with only one fare increase necessary in 2007 or so. We've already >> seen a couple of increases before the train even started rolling. > > Budget issues? You mean like the Legislature and Governor reducing the > amount of funds going to transit? > > Service will be re-configured on many routes in the vicinity of the LRT > - that is true. The reason is because busses will operate as feeders to > the LRT not because the budget cannot afford them. > > Post hoc ergo propter hoc. Bus schedules, routes, and service is > continually changing to reflect increases and decreases in demand don't > assume that just because a LRT is being built and service is being > changed that the LRT is the reason for the change. > >> >> Ramsey County wants to build lrt between the downtowns on University >> Avenue because it envies Minneapolis. Costing "only" $880 million for >> an even shorter length of track with no additional maintenance >> facility, it will vastly congest University to the point where the >> county projects that there will be only about 16 blocks along >> University between the Minneapolis/Saint Paul border and Regions >> Hospital that won't have one or two lanes of cars and trucks backed up >> during rush hour. The cumulative length of the backups with lrt is >> about 60% HIGHER than without. >> > Of course St. Paul and Ramsey county want a LRT in the central corridor. > This route would have an estimated 38,000 riders per day and would be > the 5th largest corridor on the day it opened. > > >> Lrt doesn't cut pollution or auto use enough (0.1%) to even be 1/10 of >> the model's margin of error. >> > OK so lets just take the 900,000 new residents in the metro area in the > next 20 years and have them all drive everywhere. Since our highways > are not congested now, I'm sure with hundreds of thousands of additional > cars they won't be congested in the future either. There is clearly no > reason to have any additional transit options. > >> In the San Jose area, they have lrt and buses. They have a $6 billion >> budget problem over the next ten years, so they are cutting bus (and >> even lrt) service to meet the budget. That's so that they can build >> more rail service, so that they can cut bus service more in the >> future. >> >> In Los Angeles, they cut bus service to build lrt and a subway. They >> were successfully sued by the NAACP and the Bus Riders' Union and are >> under a consent decree to provide a certain level of bus service. The >> transit agency has publicly stated that when the consent decree >> expires in 2007, they plan to get rid of the extra buses that they had >> to add. > >> >> A lot of train pushers point to Dallas as a success story. Depends on >> how you measure success. DART rail was supposed to pay 50% of its >> operating and maintenance costs with passenger fares. In 1985 it was >> 35%, in 2001 it was 12%. See the trend? >> > > No holistic transit system, congested highways, more cars, more > congestion, still no holistic transit system, see the trend? > > Yes transit systems are expensive. So are highways. > > > > > 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. > > For state and national discussions see: > http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: > http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > 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 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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
