Fastracks surprised me for a state like Colorado. The intermountain West is traditionally Republican which traditionally doesn't get behind these issues. That said, I don't see how the city of Minneapolis should or could carry through with such a referendum. Maybe this is something better left for Minnesota (and a different list)?
Allen Graetz Lowry Hill -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Russell Raczkowski Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 8:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Time for a Rail Referendum? In Denver. . . . KIRK JOHNSON, NY TIMES - Mass transit systems get tougher to build as cities age and grow, planners say. But as the Denver metropolitan area begins work on one of the most ambitious urban transportation projects in the nation's history - 120 miles on six new rail lines to be built all at once over the next 12 years - that logic has been turned on its head. Politicians and planners say that for reasons of economics and car culture, Denver could never have embarked on such an adventure in urban thinking at any imaginable time in the past. . . A survey commissioned by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation this year found that support for mass transit was in direct correlation to how long people had lived in the state. Among those here 15 years or less, two out of three liked the idea, compared with about half of the people who had been here 30 years or more. The $4.7 billion transit project, called Fastracks and financed by an increase in the local sales tax, was approved by 58 percent of the region's voters on Nov. 2. (end) In Minneapolis. . . . Maybe we have been going about things the wrong way with cooked citizen participation supporting car culture, consultant managed public input, legislative approval, cronyism, and corruption. Maybe we should just go for financing by public vote and get a transit system built. We might get there faster. . . . Just a thought. Russell Raczkowski Bancroft 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
