Posts filed under ‘Transportation’
What a Joke
By Andrew Richter
While it is hard for me to withhold a smile with the new Crystal city council being sworn in on January 6, one glance at the work session packet makes me shake my head.
The item in question is “Appointments to the Blue Line Extension Advisory Committees.” This is of course the committee to force light rail on Highway 81 (or as the elites call it Bottineau Boulevard.)
Now check out the expectations of committee members and you will see why my mood sours;
Serve a 2-year term and attend meetings
Boring enough…..
Actively participate in discussions; be a voice to advance the broader interests of community
Let’s hope or why bother going.
Report back to the community group represented
Provide feedback on communication and public involvement efforts
Now check out these last two;
Listen to and respect the viewpoints of others
Accept outcomes of Met Council decisions
So you’re supposed to listen and respect the viewpoints of other….unless you’re the Met Council. Then you don’t have to listen or respect anyone.
Get rid of the Met Council!!!!
Tax, Tax, Tax, It’s Never Enough
By Andrew Richter
Of all the despotic things government could do to screw us out of money this is near the top. First, check out the title of this idiotic article
Minnesota May Start Taxing Drivers
I’m sorry but with gas taxes, wheelage taxes, licence tab fees, and so on, I think drivers ARE paying taxes.
Gas prices are finally falling, but those savings might not last long.
Oh no we can’t allow that!
At least 18 states, including Minnesota, are considering taxing drivers based on distance. Gas prices aren’t the only reason for the idea, since newer cars get better gas mileage.
Wait, I thought fuel efficiency was a good thing?
Oregon has a pilot project that will start next year to test the idea. They’re having 5,000 volunteers pay 1.5 cents per mile instead of the 30-cents-per-gallon tax.
So if your car gets 30 miles to the gallon you get to pay $0.45 instead of $0.30. What a joy, government screws us again!
An electronic device attached to their vehicle will report how far they drive in state.
And what other data with they be collecting? Like it’s going to stop with counting miles.
Minnesota is one of four other states trying something similar. Hennepin and Ramsey counties both approved “wheelage taxes” last year.
Huh? A wheelage tax is a $10 flat annual fee. What does that have to do with putting an electronic chip in your car?
Statewide, Gov. Mark Dayton has been considering a number of different ways to fix roads and bridges with less gas-tax revenue.
How about we spend the money on roads and bridges not light rail and bike paths? No, that’s to easy.
I have an idea; how about we tax walkers for every step they take on a regional trail, or bikers for every mile they bike, or transit riders for every mile they sit on the bus? Sound absurd to you? Me too, just like the idea of taxing cars per mile.
Besides the goal of a tax like this isn’t to raise revenue; its to try and get us to drive less, take transit, ride our bike, and walk everywhere (not to mention access private data). This will also be a large tax increase for the poor since this is a regressive tax.
Since this is a stupid idea, up can bet that the tax and spend crowd who use the environment to grow the size of government, will do what they can to implement it.
Governor Dayton and legislators go ahead and try to implement this! I will not participate in it. You can come and arrest me if you like. I’ll even show you around my new place if you want but I will not let you put a tracking device on my car. Perhaps instead of thinking of new ways to steal our money or restrict our freedom, how about you cut the budget for once.
Do as I Say, Not as I Do
By Andrew Richter
Well is really a shock, after all light rail is for us “little people.”
Most members of the Metropolitan Council rarely use the public transportation system they are in charge of overseeing, based on transit pass usage and a Star Tribune survey of the 17-member body. Met Council members receive a free transit pass as part of their appointments to the board. Information obtained through an open records request shows that 10 of those passes were never used in the past year. Five council members swiped their cards between 10 and 21 times, while just two registered more than 70 rides.
They get “free rides” do they? It’s not free……it’s paid for by taxpayers.
By comparison, a full year of two-way weekday commutes would rack up closer to 500 rides. “We should ask whether members of the council have sufficient expertise about transit … to be managing a transit system. Do they understand the problems at a deep level?” said University of Minnesota professor David Levinson, who researches transportation systems and has written about the need for transit decisionmakers to commute on their own product.
The information is not entirely complete, since members occasionally flash their pass to a bus driver, board light rail without swiping or pay another way. The data provided by the Met Council showed pass usage, but did not connect a pass to a specific user. One newer member who commutes by bus frequently was not aware members were entitled to the pass. But interviews and e-mails with each member show that few incorporate public transit into their daily lives — if they use it at all.
Some Met Council members said they try to take a bus or light rail once or twice a month, while others reported very limited usage. Those who are not retired or working from home said they drive because their jobs require them to make frequent midday trips. Several also cited lower frequency service in their suburban locales as a major hurdle.
“I know that my colleagues, even those who may not be using transit themselves, are listening to and being responsive to constituents who are frustrated that there could be more and better transit service,” Council Member Jennifer Munt said.
Senior staff at Metro Transit, who participate in a friendly transit usage competition, fared significantly better. The 33 staffers in the challenge have averaged 127 rides since January, with general manager Brian Lamb racking up 617 rides on the bus or light rail.
The Met Council is perhaps the most powerful unelected body in the state, and also the most scrutinized. Appointed by the governor, its part-time members oversee Metro Transit — a division of the Met Council — in addition to regional transportation planning, waste water and regional parks. They represent districts scattered across the metro area, stretching from Chaska to Mahtomedi and Ham Lake to Lakeville.
Met Council board members are not the only ones facing scrutiny for their ridership. Similar questions about how often transit board members use their own systems have arisen recently in other cities, including Chicago, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. A man’s challenge in September to have Utah Transit Authority board members depend on transit for one week was largely ignored, but generated local headlines. Twenty years ago, San Francisco voters even passed a ballot measure urging their public officials to ride more.
Typical of Limousine liberals……it’s like sending sending your kids to private school because you have money and power and then preventing others from doing the same.
Breaking News: Residents to Have a Say!
By Andrew Richter
Only with the Met Council would this be news;
The Metropolitan Council has released a public comment draft of its latest Regional Transportation Policy Plan (TPP), and metro residents will be allowed to give input on their community’s transit needs.
Oh wow thank you so much! Incidentally, look at the wording; we have a transportation plan but we are talking about transit.
Updated every four years, the TPP creates policies that are derived from objectives regarding public transportation, creating a course of action that will improve transportation choices and needs based on input by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and representatives from city, county and transportation agencies. The plan was last updated in 2010, and this new iteration will be known as the 2040 TPP.
In other words, these so-called experts figure out how to get grant money, go to focus groups and figure out what words to use, then try and “sell” a plan to cities and counties. If there is anytime left, residents get a say, but of course, the plans have already been made.
“When the Blue Line Extension was selected as the locally preferred alternative, the cities and the counties said, ‘We want transit, we want it on this line, and we want it to be light rail instead of bus rapid transit or streetcar,’” said Metropolitan Council spokesperson Meredith Vadis. “When that was selected … the council then said, ‘Yes, we’re good with this, too.’ What we do is amend the TPP. The TPP is essentially a long-range transportation policy plan.”
No we don’t, we don’t want any of it.
This new amendment will emphasize the encouragement of residents biking and walking, expanding the MnPASS lane system and expanding transit services. Additionally, the plan will address transportation strategies, land use and local planning, freight investment and highway investment.
According to the Met Council, the metro area will add 824,000 new residents and 550,000 new jobs by the year 2040, necessitating a shift in transportation options and responding to the demands of changing demographics and an evolving economy. The council is allowing residents to speak their mind on what transit and transportation changes their communities would need to accommodate such shifts.
Yeah right! When have these projections ever been right?????
“There’s a lot of different interest from the public,” said Vadis. “We may hear from people who say, ‘I really want to see transit on my neighborhood street corner in the future.’ Or, ‘I take this major artery to work (and) it really needs to see improvement.’” “There’s all those different kinds of competing interests, and those are comments we take into consideration,” Vadis continued. “There’s just so many different things that we could hear from people, and we want to hear all of it.”
Oh bull sh**! You’ve got your minds made up, now it’s all about “taking comments” after the fact to make it “look like” you’re listening…..get rid of this God D** Met Council. Oh wait, I forgot we can’t live without the Met Council right ReNae Bowman?
Consultant for Bottineau?
By Andrew Richter
Here’s some more wanted tax dollars;
Although Hennepin County is far from seeing a completed Bottineau Light Rail line, progress continues on the proposed transitway. According to Golden Valley City Planner Jason Zimmerman, Hennepin County hopes to name an engineer for the proposed line by end of summer.
Can I apply? My first proposal will be to not do the project.
Planning Advisory Committee
Last October, the Golden Valley City Council appointed the Bottineau Light Rail Transitway Planning Advisory Committee to tackle the design and proposed station that could be located in Golden Valley.
Another waste…..
The committee is comprised of representatives from various city commissions such as the Planning Commission, Environmental Commission, Open Space and Recreation Commission and more. The committee has met several times since its inception.
So it’s just the usual city cliche.
Zimmerman acts as the committee’s staff liaison. Zimmerman reports to the council each month with updates. His latest update was presented June 17. Within his update, Zimmerman reflected on past activities and introduced the project’s next phases.
Update
In May, the county held an open house and public hearing to receive comments, concerns and questions from residents regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The city of Golden Valley held a joint commission meeting to discuss the comments further.
Following the comment period, the city submitted its comments to the county for revision. All comments, concerns and questions are to be addressed in the Final Environment Impact Statement.
Like not doing the project at all.
Those interested in reading through the comments can do so at bottineautransitway.org. According to Zimmerman, Hennepin County will be interviewing interested consultants and engineers for the next few months.
“Hopefully, by the end of the summer the engineering team will be on board and that will kick off the next two-year project development phase where they’ll start really laying out the exact alignment, station location and infrastructures – all those details we’ve been looking forward to,” he said.
While the Planning Advisory Committee has been meeting, its workload has been light until now. The committee has begun receiving information to look over and digest – the first piece of which was a market study.
This study explores the first four stations of the transitway and what the market could support in those areas (housing, commercial). The study is designed to generate ideas within the committee.
According to Zimmerman, the county plans to host open houses at each of the four stations by the end of the year.
Oh yippy!
“Hopefully, by next January or February there will be station area plans that will come out in a more finished form,” he said.
I hope not.
For now, the committee looks forward to meeting more frequently as the project gets underway.
And hopefully it never does.
It’s hard to say that this is a waste of money since the entire project is a waste.
It’s End the Met Council Night
By Andrew Richter
Folks, come one come all to End the Met Council night!!!
Community Solutions MN Presents: #ENDTHEMET The Effect of Out-of-Control, unelected government, and how to stop it! Event is free! Food and drinks will be there for purchase. The doors will open at 6PM and we will have a panel discussion starting at 7PM.
Host: Brad Carlson of AM 1280
Panel;
Oak Grove Mayor Mark Kornin
State Auditor Candidate Keegan Iverson
Crystal Planning Commission member and Community Solutions own Andrew Richter
Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look
The event is HERE on facebook!
Come one come all!
Bottineau Continues To Take A Beating
By Andrew Richter
Here’s yet another letter to editor opposing Bottineau Transit;
For decades I’ve seen bus service deteriorate in frequency and extent in Golden Valley. The reason given is there are too few riders to justify some of the routes and service frequency.
Now we are looking at spending $1 billion just on construction of the Bottineau light rail line in anticipation of enormous future ridership demand. Compare that $1 billion to the total annual budget of the entire Metro Transit system – $310 million.
Yes, the construction cost alone of one 13-mile rail line exceeds the entire annual budget of the Twin Cities metropolitan area’s primary public transit system by more than 3 to 1. Is much thought given to economics?
James Larson
Golden Valley
Again….well said!
Another Great Letter to the Editor
By Andrew Richter
Another brilliant letter to the editor that I don’t even need to comment on;
I received information regarding the Bottineau Light Rail Project Public Meetings. I couldn’t attend, so I spent some time reading the Draft Environmental Statement in-depth.
There have been many articles and commentary about the advantages of Light Rail conceptually. However, reading the DEIS presents a very different vision of the impacts it has on the character of communities it goes through.
The attractions of Crystal, Robbinsdale and Golden Valley are developed neighborhoods with mature landscaping, room to recreate in your own backyard, and garden to provide variety in your diet while eating locally.
Unfortunately, that does not fit the vision of the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County Commissioners. Their vision as outlined in the DEIS is creating densely populated multi-story neighborhoods along rail lines that carry trains from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m.
These trains will pass through Crystal at varied intervals from 20 to 30 minutes to 7.5 minutes during rush hours, That works out to 130 trains passing in a 3-hour period.
There are two proposed at grade crossings in Crystal at Bass Lake Road and at Corvallis. The trains are required by law to sound their horn when approaching these crossings at the speed required to stay on schedule 45-50 miles per hour.
As has been my belief for many years, the devil is in the details. These details will destroy Crystal neighborhoods and home values quickly.
Candace Oathout
Crystal
Perfect…..wouldn’t change a word of this letter.
Sanity From the Sun Post?
By Andrew Richter
Just read this from the Sun post, I’m not even going to comment;
The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority is seeking public comment on its “Draft Environmental Impact Statement.” This massive 834-page document was created to describe “the transportation and environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of a light rail transit (LRT) project to improve transit service in the Bottineau Transitway Corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota.” If that refrain promoting trains sounds familiar, it should.
Please consider “North Star Commuter Rail News, Fall 2002”, a document created by the Northstar Corridor Development Authority. Now 12-years-old, many of their projections have proven wrong.
The ridership forecasts of 10,000 a day were painfully optimistic. In 2012 it served less than 2,000 passengers each day, a total of only 700,276 riders. With total expenses of just over $16 million, that is a tax subsidized cost of $22.91 per ride. The passengers paid $3.67 on average. Is that acceptable?
It is hard to imagine that anyone could claim the Northstar Commuter Rail line has worked out as planned. The latest Met Council financial analysis for station areas along the Northstar Line from July, 2013 concludes, “based upon current market conditions projected rent levels do not support the cost of station area development.” Living adjacent to busy train tracks is not most people’s first choice.
We can’t see the future. Any forecast is, in the end, an educated guess. How accurate it can be depends on how accurate the information used in the decision making process is and what biases filter that information.
The railroad authority’s very existence is dependent on the development of light rail. That is a heavy bias to overcome. We have a dedicated, guaranteed sales tax of 0.25 percent to fund the authority – is it surprising that they promote light rail?
The recent uproar about the Southwest Corridor highlights what could be next for our community. After years and millions of dollars in studies that don’t resolve known problems and conflicts, it is often stated that too much has already been spent, and the only possibility is to move forward. That is seriously flawed reasoning.
The proposed Bottineau line was first imagined in the late ‘80s. If light rail must arrive in downtown Minneapolis and must pass through Robbinsdale, that really doesn’t allow many route options. If Bus Rapid Transit were seriously considered instead of light rail, would it still need to connect to the same two locations to help transit and alleviate congestion in the Bottineau corridor?
If the route selected does not move significant numbers of our fellow citizens easing traffic congestion, it will only help those on the train. We cannot afford another tax-subsidized project that does not also serve the needs of those who actually pay for it.
The whole process of deciding what modes of transportation would be best for Hennepin County and our region has been biased by the creation of the railroad authority. Bias in favor of what is nationally politically fashionable is not an acceptable way to make a billion-dollar decision that impacts every tax payer. Let’s get the politics out of it. Let’s recognize the economic realities of today and issues that existing rail corridors face.
We need to rethink Bus Rapid Transit with a fresh, unbiased perspective. Flexibility is essential in an uncertain future, and being able to change routes and capacities to accommodate real growth patterns is a huge advantage. Shouldn’t we have learned that lesson already?
This guy may not write for them much longer….
I’ll Give You Some Feedback!
By Andrew Richter
After several months of dormancy, Golden Valley’s Bottineau Station Area Planning Committee is back to work having received word that Hennepin County hired a consultant responsible for developing transitway stations.
Oh wow, so now we have to pay or a consultant to “sell” transit to us….I though everyone wants this?
“Happily since we had our update last month, a number of things have happened, and activity is picking up,” said Jason Zimmerman, staff liaison for the committee, at the April 17 City Council meeting. The transitway’s consultants are led by SRF Consulting Group Inc., which has previous history working with the Central and Southwest corridors.
For the next several months the consultant will gather data from past studies in the area and meet with Golden Valley’s committee to brainstorm station designs. In addition, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was released to the public. The statement includes the following:
• Purpose and need of the project
Well we know that, it’s to get us out of our cars so the government can control where we go.
• Alternatives
How about not doing it at all?
• Several analyses on transportation, community, social, physical and environmental aspects
Social aspects?
• Indirect effects and cumulative impacts
• Environmental justice
What? Environmental justice? What the hell is that? Do we need an Environmental Supreme Court? You idiots want to run this through Theodore Wirth Park and then talk about the environment?
• Evaluation
• Consultation and coordination
• Financial considerations
Yeah how much money are we going to lose on this?
• Evaluation of alternatives
The document is not a quick read as it spans roughly 800 pages, according to city staff. But the county urges residents to skim its contents and provide feedback. The full document can be found at bottineautransitway.org, City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Rd. or Golden Valley Library, 830 Winnetka Ave. N.
800 pages!!!!!
Hennepin County allotted April 11 through May 29 as a comment period to receive feedback regarding the statement. “(Collecting comments from the public) is the top priority of the county at this point,” Zimmerman said.
Right……
The county will host four public hearings throughout the metro – Golden Valley, Minneapolis, Brooklyn Park and Crystal. Each hearing will include an open house designed for residents to learn more about the project’s progress.
Meetings are as follows:
• 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, at Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Rd.
• 4:30 p.m., Thursday, May 8, at Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, 2001 Plymouth Ave. N., Minneapolis.
• 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 13, at Brooklyn Park City Hall, 5200 85th Ave. N.
• 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, at Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive.
For those not able to attend but interested in providing feedback, email bottineau@co.hennepin.mn.us or mail:
Hennepin County
Housing, Community Works and Transit
Attn: Bottineau Transitway
701 Fourth Ave. S., Suite 400
As always….public meeting at 4;30 in the afternoon where most people can’t make it!
Minneapolis, MN 55415
The City of Golden Valley will host an additional meeting with City Council, Planning, Environmental and Open Space and Recreation Commissions that will accept additional comments.
The meeting will begin 7 p.m., Thursday, May 15, at City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Rd.
“This is obviously an important issue for us,” said Mayor Shep Harris. “The key for people to realize is this is the next step to many.” While Harris says the transitway is years away from construction, he stresses the importance of receiving public participation along the way.
Yeah and you sure listen right Mayor Know it all? People came to your stupid meeting and said they didn’t want this but you voted for it anyway so who the hell would be dumb enough to believe you when they say you’re going to listen? We all know you’re mind is made up.
For those not able to attend but interested in submitting comments to local government, email planning@goldenvalleymn.gov or mail:
Planning Department
7800 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN 55427
The City Council plans to pass a resolution at the May 20 meeting approving the Draft Environmental Impact Statement including resident comments. All comments will be provided to Hennepin County before the project moves back to the Met Council.
According to Zimmerman, all comments must be addressed as part of the final Statement.
Info: 763-593-8099 or bottineautransitway.org.
Here’s an idea NO BOTTINEAU LIGHT RAIL!!!!!
Got it dummies?
Community Solutions MN 