on 8/11/04 9:04 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > 1) Based on what you know today, would you like to > see a light rail system built in St. Paul ALONG - > University Ave. (similar to the Hiawatha > corridor system)? > > YES or NO > > Optional: short explanation of vote (or caveat). > 150 words or less > ================================================ Andy Driscoll
YES This return to solid multi-modal mass transit is so overdue, we should be ashamed and embarrassed for our shortsightedness since losing the well-installed system to corporate greed in 1950-1 (thank Carl Pohlad in the main for that). Think Boston, New York, DC, etc. Incredibly helpful to minimizing pollution and traffic. If all we're about is expediting travel between loops for downtown denizens, then something other than University Avenue might be welcome, but mass transit is for the masses, especially those who can't or shouldn't use single-occupancy vehicles in the heart of the cities. Why would anyone think that skirting the city's premier commercial street would be good for anyone? University Avenue and its neighborhoods need this, and the downtowns need it if the current configuration - St. Paul, the center of state government and Minneapolis. the state's core of law and finance (with blends of both in both cities)- maintains. We've already read how shocked but delighted retailers along the Hiawatha corridor are for the boost in their business. Imagine having the same happen to new Americans' businesses and other urban retailers along University. Some will wail that it's too late or too expensive or too-something or not-enough-something. Nonsense. We don't say that about the increasing numbers of cars built and driven every year and the burdens they place on our infrastructure. Never too late. Andy Driscoll Crocus Hill/Ward 2 ------ > Willie Nesbit > > YES > > Based on what I know about the cost and having had considerable > experience with other cities' light rail , subways, and elevated > trains, I vote yes. I believe twin citians in general are in denial > about the need for improved mass transit. The drivers here are among > the rudest and most poorly trained of just about any I have > witnessed. The jams here are not caused primarily by poor roads or > conditions but by poor driving skills and inconsideration. The > increasing crisis in the oil industry will continue to wake all of us > up to the coming end to the current dependable fossil fuel based > internal combustion engine. Mass transit is the wave of the near > future and we need to get on board. > > ------------------------------------------------ > Andrew M. Hine > > YES > > (Explanation too long - please submit shorter version) > ------------------------------------------------ > John Harris > > NO > > I am all for a line between the cities but university doesn't seem > like the right route. There appears to be more negatives than > positives with this route. Also, seems it would simply take people > off the buses and put them on a train instead of getting people out > of their cars. > ------------------------------------------------ > Dan Dobson > > YES > > YES, but not along University Avenue. Lite rail in St. Paul needs to > be along I-94. > > Most of the light rail systems in America separate cars and lite > rail, i.e. New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and > San Francisco. > > The only place I know of where cars and lite rail are combined is in > downtown Portland, where lite rail is slower than molasses. > > Lite Rail along I-94 will be faster, less expensive and lead to less > congestion in the long run. Lit rail then can be extended to Hudson > and Stillwater. > > YES to Lite rail in Saint Paul. No to Lite Rail on University Avenue. > ------------------------------------------------ > Pam Ellison > > YES > > The only thing that would change this for me is if PRT were being > considered. Seeing it is not, I would vote for a rail system that > would allow for going below or above the street grade on major > intersections such as Hwy 280, Snelling, Fairview, Hamline, > Lexington, Dale Rice and 35 E. I think it could go east where > University becomes Minnehaha, out as far as the 3M complex and > go West as far you can into downtown beyond the U. > > I believe that an elevated system like Chicago could work as well. > ================================================= _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
