Minneapolis â (April 1) Transit officials are worried over safety concerns on the city's new Light Rail line, and are installing new safety features.
Sometime this year, the new light rail cars will be zipping down the Hiawatha corridor at speeds up to 55 mph. Until testing began, little did officials realize the jostling effect of increased speed and and height of the tracks. While rail cars zip across the 35th St., 38th St., 42nd St., and 46th St cross streets at grade, the tracks rise on gravel trestles to height more than 2 feet above the ground on the blocks between the passenger stations. Along with the tall ramps crossing Lake Street and the Crosstown Highway 62, the constant rising and falling, (or "rollercoaster effect"), has necessitated the installation of big plastic "horse collars" on every seat. And just like at Valleyfair, once the doors close, the collars will clamp down on LRT riders. "People were getting sick, and we had to do something," said R. Frank Furt, Coordinator of Passenger Safety at the line. "But at least on LRT, their feet get to touch the ground." Charlie Casserly, Sena (In the spirit of the latest Skyway News) 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
