Speed Gibson

Reading the Letters in the Minneapolis Star Tribune is usually just an exercise in frustration. Occasionally a thoughtful, well written letter slips past the goalie, like this May 9 letter. In response to a May 3 opinion on the Central Corridor light rail line by Kate Wolford, President of the McKnight Foundation, the writer challenges whether she had "taken a good look at key elements of the actual plan."

Big problem: how to best serve the University of Minnesota's needs as a major transit stop without creating dangerous street congestion, and while helping -- rather than harming -- nearby neighborhoods. The university's proposed alternative route at its main campus solves this problem; it is a faster route at a lower cost than an expensive major upgrade of the Washington Avenue bridge that would require considerable additional mitigation because of altered traffic patterns. The Metropolitan Council, however, remains stuck in its own bad plans.

We're seeing this trend more and more, where those around the project get to vote, but not those affected. Is this the new model, deliberately crafting projects to openly rob Peter Victim to pay Paul Voter?

Biggest problem: slow transit time resulting from the route on a busy street where the train must stop at red lights, subject to traffic delays. On University Avenue's 6.1 miles between Huron and Rice, there are 25 stoplights on a major street lined with retail businesses and offices. By comparison, the Hiawatha Line runs on a spacious divided highway and the train has priority at the eight stoplights between the Metrodome and Hwy. 62. Officials admit that the Central Corridor line as now planned will be much slower than the freeway express bus, making it a billion-dollar same-speed replacement for the limited-stop street bus, much too slow to attract automobile commuters off the freeway. (The Met Council and Ramsey Rail Authority threw away an expensive study that preferred a much faster, less costly rail route along I-94 that was expected to draw much higher use than a University Avenue line.)

I highlighted that last sentence to once again say that Light Rail is Pork, not Transportation.

A third problem, never discussed in the media, is difficulties arising from Central Corridor and Hiawatha lines running on the same tracks between the Metrodome and the western terminus. The exact coordination necessary to use the same tracks would be easier to maintain if the Central Corridor ran along I-94 on a faster, more predictable schedule. Otherwise we can expect snarls and delays of perhaps 10 minutes.

We're not supposed to care how long it takes! We're being green! We're creating jobs! We're investing in infrastructure!

Whether you believe in Light Rail or not, whether you believe our K-12 Public Schools are short of money or not, we still have the specter of our school children pressing their noses against the glass, watching the elites wildly overspend on this project.

I give Mr. Markle my thanks and the last word:

All three of these problems should be dealt with before pushing ahead with a badly planned project -- apparently the most expensive public works project in state history -- that we'll later regret.