At the risk of stealing thunder from an upcoming post on why can't Mpls- St. Paul be more like Denver (public transportation investment, new publicly-funded ballpark, new airport) below is a link to an article about how Denver is investing millions in public transportation that includes both rail and bus. Here's the opening graf:
"Motorists in the Denver metro area — fed up with clogged roadways and rush-hour traffic — apparently are willing to dig deep to ease congestion and cut down commute time. FasTracks, a 12-year plan to expand bus service and add 119 miles of rail lines, has been called extraordinary not because of its scope, but because voters in a car- worshipping red state approved a $4.7 billion tax increase to pay for it." Here's the link: http://news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050620/ap_on_re_us/congested_colorado_2 Light rail, as part of a comprehensive transportation plan that includes bus, train, autos and bikes can be an integral and cost effective transportation solution. Too bad Denver has to show us how to do it. Dean E. Carlson East Harriet, Ward 10. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Gaarder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 7:50 am Subject: [Mpls] Trains, buses, and cars > Dann allows his love of streetcars to get ahead of the facts. > > Spend $715 million on trains to "increase" daily ridership by 5,000. > > Or spend $440 million to double the number of buses operated by Metro > Transit, possibly increasing daily ridership by 100,000. > > It's an obvious choice to Dann. Equally obvious to me. > > Apparently Dann wants to replace all bus lines with trains at more > than$50 million a mile. > > Here's a pointer to a current article discussing Dann's fear of having > no gas. By the way, how is it that all of the buses will be propelled > if there is no oil? The same way cars could be? > > http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0622/p25s02-wogi.html > > I recommend an article in Ramsey County History magazine, Spring 200, > by John Diers. He was a streetcar rider, worked for Metro Transit for > more than 25 years, and is coauthor of "The Streetcar Era in the Twin > Cities", to be published in 2006. > > It covers horsecars in the 1880s through streetcars in the first half > of the 1900s. It is very good. There are things or emphases that > I don't agree with, like saying that streetcar "ridership had been in > a steady decline throughout the 1920s" when it fell 47,600 between > 1920and 1928, but fell 67,800 between 1928 and 1932. > > Read the portion headed "A Great Conspiracy?". Towards the end of > thatsection, he writes "But if there was a conspiracy, then > everyone who > bought an automobile in the Twin Cities between 1920 and 1950 can be > indicted as a co-conspirator. Those who profited dishonestly from the > conversion were opportunists. As for GM, it saw an opportunity to > sellmore buses and it did." > > > Visit www.EffectiveTransit.org > > The Independent Unsubsidized Voice of > > Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities > > REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
