Jon Gorder wrote:
On the other hand, there are extensivley unused rail yards just to the North of University Ave. Why isn't a short line heavy rail system part of this dialogue?
Because it would not serve the neighborhood. I'm shocked to have people on the thread over in the Mpls forum suggest things like a line between the downtowns with only a stop at the University. That is isolating thought that cares not a whit about the people in-between. LRT is not just about transportation. It's about economic redevelopment. A BRT done right (separated right-of-way, preferred signaling, real stations, etc.) is nearly as expensive as LRT, because the _stations_ are the biggest cost. LRT has proven over and over again that it draws more riders than buses. If we build the central corridor on the existing rail lines or on I-94 it will be Rondo all over again. The community suffers the construction pain and gets absolutely no benefit from it. As for LRT stopping at lights, there is nothing in stone that says it will be that way. That is my current understanding of what the plan is. Just because there are lights doesn't mean the rail won't get preferred signaling. I again point to the portion of Hiawatha that runs on 34th Ave. in Bloomington. I suspect the line on University will look very much like that. A subway, elevated train, etc. is a non-starter. It's way too expensive. We are competing with a lot of regions for new starts federal transportation funding. Those regions are way, WAY ahead of us in secured state funding and a commitment to build a city for the future. We are leaving ourselves behind. BIG-TIME. The single criteria used to determine whether we get federal dollars is the cost per hour saved over other transportation options. It's an incredibly stupid and short-sighted metric, but that's what we've got. Inflate the cost too much and you won't get it. Design something that doesn't attract riders and you won't get it. We'd better do this right and we'd better think beyond just how fast people get from A to B. We have a _city_ to build. We need to get the federal funds but we must make sure those funds are used in a way that benefits the whole community the most. David Greene The Wedge, Minneapolis 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:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
