I haven't read the Saint Paul list for a while, so here are a few comments on a February posting.
As far as eliminating the need to add 1.5 highway lanes, the correct reading of the propaganda is that the backers claim that the train has the capacity to carry as many people in an hour as the highway. That prediction is based upon four cars with 150 seats each in a train and a train at 6:00 a.m., one at 6:30, and one at 7:00. The problem with that is that the 7:00 train, as most young children know, doesn't run in the same hour as the 6:00 train. At best, IF there were four cars per train, the train would have the capacity to carry as many people as one lane of the highway actually does. The last I heard, they were planning on three-car trains, which would have 450 seats. Whether that's enough seats depends on the distribution of passengers across the eight trains operating during a rush hour. According to the Northstar Draft E.I.S., the average rush-hour speeds on Highway 10 (28 mph) and I-94 (38 mph) and the number of severely congested miles on Highways 10 and 47 are forecast to be the same with or without the train. Why is that? Because the oft-quoted 5600 "people" riding the train would be 2800 people making round trips. Almost all commuters make a round trip in one day. Because the ridership on the Northstar commuter coach buses (who would have to shift to the train) was 630 one-way trips a day in August 2004. That's about 11% of the projected train ridership without removing a car from the road. Because many of those who shift from car to train will have been passengers in a car that will still make a trip. Because drivers will shift from other routes or times IF Highway 10 did become a little less congested. 1/3 of the major intersections with Highway 10 are predicted to be more congested with the train than without, only one or two of the rest get better. Of course, the cars travelling Highway 10 and I-94 have the capacity to carry three times as many people as they actually do. People sometimes say that buses take up too much space on the road. A standard 40 foot bus has about 40 seats and takes up the same space as 3 cars parked bumper-to-bumper, while a 60 foot articulated bus has about 60 seats and takes up the same space as 4 cars parked bumper-to-bumper. If more than 4 people are on the bus, you are saving road space. Visit www.EffectiveTransit.org The Independent Unsubsidized Voice of Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities (no lrt) * lrt isn't a potato chip, you can stop at just one * Bruce Gaarder Highland Park Saint Paul MN [EMAIL PROTECTED] A month ago, Bob Spaulding wrote (in part): In the case of Northstar, there is a direct tradeoff between plowing more money into adding lanes to I-94 and US 10 that go from Minneapolis to St. Cloud. Northstar will direct us to more traditional, compact growth in town centers, and will eliminate the need to add 1.5 highway lanes (according to http://www.northstartrain.org) ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: [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/
