Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Light Rail: "We Told You So"
Is it really possible that nobody considered the impact of at-grade light rail crossings when they planned and built the nearly $800 million Hiawatha light rail line? All those traffic “experts” who wowed Minnesotans with those projections of light rail’s impact on transportation seem to have forgotten that most of us drive—and the smooth working of the transportation system is what government should be working to improve.
And the transportation system is suffering badly due to the opening of the Hiawatha light rail line. Lines of cars now stretch up to 4 blocks, impeded by the incessant crossing of the trains across the heavily traveled roads—crossings that are mandated by our contract with those traffic experts in the Federal Government.
And these are the geniuses who want to give us the Northstar Corridor and the University Ave light rail line? Can you imagine the traffic snarls that would be caused by a routine closing of University Ave to car traffic every 7 minutes?
I'm told that parking near the stations has been hellish as well. But I'm not sure the light-rail advocates were all that interested in making it easier for commuters in cars. The goal was probably to increase commuter frustration hoping that they could again point to light-rail as a "solution." They won't rest until we're all taking light-rail or bicycles.
More and more workers in the Twin Cities are settling here in Western Wisconsin. It would have been more logical to invest in a passenger line along the I-94 corridor, bringing workers into the Twin Cities from as far away as Eau Claire. This wouldn't just bring in the workday commuters, but the day-trippers as well. Put stops at the Airport and the Mall of America, and you'd never have trouble finding passengers.
