On Wed, 11 Aug 2004, M Charles Swope wrote:
The reason there is a difference of opinion about whether the St. Paul LRT should be on University Ave. or on I-94 (or the existing tracks North of University) is that there are differing notions of the purpose of it in the first place.
I know I repeat myself on this, but I think it is important to get it into people's heads:
Lite Rail is designed to be all things in all places. It is a high speed train, it is a trolley. It can serve locally, it can serve regionally.
The confusion about it is totally natural, and really is by design.
The problem with LRT is that this All-In-One approach has a cost associated with it. A neighborhood that might be well served by a trolley (the weight of a bus) winds up with the equivalent of a railroad track down the middle of it to accomodate the very large weight of LRT. And all the utilities have to be moved from the streets, too -- that's what's so damned expensive about the thing.
If we get away from the one-size-fits-all approach, and look at a multi-modal transportation system -- one that might include cars at park'n'rides, for one -- we can look at what is appropriate for a given location. AND (this is very important) we can do it a lot cheaper -- or, more accurately, stretch the precious transportation money a lot further and serve more people.
University Avenue could use a trolley system. Or, frankly, a cable car system suspended overhead and dodging traffic from above. This would need to feed into a fast rail system, which could be built on existing tracks using existing bridges and connect people not just to suburbs, but to all of Minnesota.
Two different needs, two different systems. It's the interface between them that becomes critical, but it's entirely do-able. And instead of talking about getting from Downtown to downtown, we're looking at getting anywhere in Minnesota (and not messing up the parking along University, too).
LRT is not the only answer. We have to think about what need we have first, and then decide how to meet that.
Erik Hare [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.comcast.net/~wabbitoid/ Irvine Park, West End, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, North America, Earth
Fine Amish furniture, cedar chests, and crafts http://www.harmonycedar.com
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