[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Roads have become a major waste of real estate; with a good transit system we could knock down some automobile related structures to build better things, but PRT? Anybody watch "Majority Report" the other night for a sci fi PRT vision? Big Lake, yeah; put it in Big Lake. Give Dean Zimmerman a break.
It's true that roads take a lot of space but they _are_ necessary. What we need is balance. The current public transportation system is woefully underfunded and funded with unstable sources at that.
Funding PRT now given the $60 shortfall for MetroTransit is irresponsible. I will hold Zimmerman accountable and hope those in his ward will as well. Moreover, PRT reinforces the myth of isolation - that we should be afraid of each other, not interact with our neighbors and look out for ourselves alone. PRT is hyper-individualism manifested in transportation policy. The Taxi 2000 marketing literature sickens me.
HF 1735 / SF 1703 (Transportation Choices 2020) will provide sufficient, _stable_ funding to build out and operate the Met Council's original 2020 public transportation master plan (esentially the 2030 transportation policy plan) by the original target date of 2020. The master plan includes all of the public transportation corridors: Northstar, Central, Southwest, Red Rock, Rush Line, NW Busway, Cedar Busway and some smaller corridors as well as expanded bus service. It also includes local funds for bike & walk projects as well as things like the Midtown Greenway streetcar. The Transportation Choices 2020 Initiative also includes funding to operate public transportation in all of the counties in Greater Minnesota and operate them more frequently, on Sundays, etc.
We've known for a while what to build. Now it's a matter of funding.
Our peer cities are making major investments in public transportation ($4.7 billion in Denver alone!). These bills have bipartisan authorship and support and are being endorsed by a wide range of groups. Given the $60 million public transportation shortfall, we need to starting funding _now_. The shortfall is not caused by Hiawatha LRT as David Strom suggests. It's caused by unstable funding (Motor Vehicle Sales Tax), and rising fuel & health care costs.
More information on the bill, as well as a list of endorsing groups, is at:
http://www.tlcminnesota.org/Events/2005/Legislature/TranspoChoices2020/TC2020-Index.htm
or
http://tinyurl.com/6k7bf
Time to call your state Rep & Senator!
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