Raucous Caucus - http://www.raucouscaucous.com is a parody site. There is an active debate on the Minneapolis Issues list about whether Raucous Caucus is a "cross-pollination" of the Stride website which opposes the 35W Excess Project. (http://www.stride-mn.org). I think of Raucous Caucous as a modern day mix of John Teniel (who illustrated the Alice In Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass) and Mark Twain, who has some observations about government bodies that are still quite timely. However, often some of the proposals that come out of the various government units here in the state don't need much massaging to be satire. I posted before about the proposal to cut snow plowing to pay for new roads, which I consider a dumb idea, and an idea which will ironically produce more traffic delays.
I had not thought fully about the rather pungent implications of closing rest areas.
By Penelope Prospero III Undisclosed location on Pawlenty's Pavement
Is nothing sacred? The family road trip � summer vacation, visiting
relatives, taking kids to college, heading for a rock concert � is as
sacred as God, Mom and Apple Pie. And what is an integral part of any road trip? Rest Areas.
Earlier this week, Mn/DOT proposed shutting most of them down because the state can no longer afford the luxury of providing travelers with flush toilets. This means we are back to using the woods and ditches on the side of the road. One Mn/DOT contact, who asked to remain anonymous, offered this sage advice: "Now might be a good time to learn what poison ivy looks like. And don't forget to wear blaze orange."
The proposal to shut down rest areas was a "no-brainer" for Mn/DOT. Idyllic hideaways on the side of the road don't transport commuters to jobs, or turnips to market, so what use are they? The current regime has proudly announced they will be diverting every transportation penny to where it really counts � building more roads and bridges, primarily in the Metro area for suburban commuters. Goodbye North Shore rest areas where the weary traveler can gaze out on majestic Lake Superior. Hello new 594/794 beltways and a brand new, six-lane Stillwater Bridge.
http://www.raucouscaucus.com/flush.html
No rest stops for the weary?
TRANSPORTATION:Many of the roadside rest areas in the Northland would be closed under a MnDOT proposal.
BY SCOTT THISTLE
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
ST. PAUL - The wait to urinate while traveling Northeastern Minnesota's highways could get a lot longer if a Minnesota Department of Transportation budget-cutting proposal moves forward in the Legislature. MnDOT would close a host of roadside rest areas, including most of those between Duluth and the Canadian border -- as well as most between Superior and North Dakota. The closures would save the state about $2 million a year and help the agency reach its $42 million annual budget reduction, proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty as part of his fix for the state's $4.2 billion budget deficit.
But the cuts would also take away the part-time jobs of hundreds of
low-income elderly people who clean the restrooms and maintain the grounds at the rest areas around the state as a way of supplementing their retirement incomes. The cuts also call into question MnDOT's relationship with area cities and the Department of Natural Resources, which it partners with to provide rest areas in some locations. Examples include the Gooseberry Falls rest area on Minnesota Highway 61, where MnDOT partners with the DNR, and the Floodwood rest area, where MnDOT shares costs with the city of Floodwood.
"It's just a proposal concept right now, and ultimately it may not fly," said Bob Winter, MnDOT's districts operations director. "Cutting budgets is not fun and there is never a good way to do it but, when you are talking $42 million, you've got to start cutting some meat."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/5315680.htm
EY: So maybe some of us need to go down to the transportation committee hearings, to give the legislators our rest area stories and memories, as well as remind them of the olden days when the highway shoulders served the rest area purposes.
Seems to me a much better place to look for cutting the budget in DOT is to look at their fleet, and cut the SUVs that are being used by managers to go to meetings.
250 folks went to the Taxpayer League rally. That was a pretty poor showing compared to many of the other rallies -- but they got a personal audience with Pawlenty. There was regular promotion of this rally on the Jason Lewis show.
Eva Young Near North Minneapolis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Blog is up: http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
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