I don't want anyone to believe that my suggestion for adding lanes is due to the fact that my commute to Minneapolis from Hastings is taking longer. There has been very little real job growth in both downtowns over the past 20 years. Yes, the increase has been huge, but as a percentage of the total vehicle miles traveled in the 25 largest metro areas across the US downtown commuter traffic is a pittance of the increase. The real problem -- or blessing of prosperity, if you see it that way -- has been the 'huger' growth in suburban jobs and housing. Intersuburban traffic is forced onto 50 year old freeways, making life miserable for everyone. Why not take $300 million from the LRT pot and bury 50% or more of the crosstown commons? The tunnel portion would be heavy traffic only with perhaps only three exits around 50th, 30th, and downtown. Then depress part of a double deck roadway for only light vehicle traffic -- vehicles with less than 3 ton axle weights. Lighter vehicles need less room to turn, stop, and accelerate. Lighter vehicles need much less than 18 feet of clearance and less structure, thereby reducing the heights and visual intrusion of every exit ramp, etc. Lighter weight roadways will last longer and be much cheaper to maintain -- they're far less costly to build and repair since they don't take the dynamic pounding of 18-wheelers. Noise would be substantially reduced, very little new ROW would be needed. All the current exits to 35 from city streets could be better landscaped, entrances could be shorter, steeper, faster, heavy trucks and buses would be limited to the tunnel. Some of the despicably ugly sound walls could likely removed or shortened or actually rebuilt as an amenity instead of an eyesore. Real aesthetics could be introduced. It's being done in Paris, London, Sydney, Boston, LA, etc. Oops -- I forgot, LRT construction has started, so forget that idea. Too controversial and expensive, I'd guess. Only makes the lives of several hundred thousand commuters every day better -- not to mention the local residents -- instead of the 15 to 20 thou who will be on the Hiawatha. Oh yes -- and let's not forget that federal transportation dollars forbid separated grade single purpose roadways. That wonderful attitude from Washington explains why many states routinely build privately financed toll roads to do just what I suggest here. Until and unless voters demand policy makers to perform real long range transportation planning -- untainted by politics and very narrow ideals -- we need to get used to the fact that drive time will be an hour each way. Folks in most every larger metro area than ours have been getting by for decades with that reality. Whining about the damage done by auto traffic, concrete, oil companies, destruction of the universe, etc. doesn't change history. We are in such better shape that our immediate predecessors, we -- live longer, are better fed, better housed, better employed, better educated, spend far more time in leisure pursuits, travel at will, etc. Immigrants flock to our shores. Am I being too optimistic?? Things will change. Politicians change much slower, and policy slower still. How long would you guess it will take for federal and state transportation officials to "get it" ????? [EMAIL PROTECTED]@mnforum.org on 01/17/2001 11:26:16 PM Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject: [Mpls] Crosstown Follies Terry Matula ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: "And what evidence can you point to that indicates that adding lanes is a bad thing? I find it curious that so many people care so little about factual information when it comes to transportation issues." It's not always the present facts that are disturbing. The idea (several years ago squashed) of expanding 35W between the Crosstown and Downtown--and myself possibly having a freeway sound wall for a view if they tear down the block to our east to do it--that is a "bad thing." Not to mention people being forced to move because someone 20 miles further out doesn't want their speedometer needle to flutter under 65 mph... "List manager" (we all know the man behind the curtain?) wrote: "?should city officials lobby to delay the Crosstown Project, to keep lanes open and ease the heavy impact (while perhaps stretching it out) on South Minneapolis neighborhoods where commuters will inevitably cut through? OR What mitigation steps SHOULD the neighborhoods try to get?" Preferable to me, that the commuters should remain in that concrete riverbed than to have them speeding through our neighborhoods (and some of them ending up with their cars entangled in my fence in the inevitable increase in accidents at our intersections)? That one reason for the Crosstown being altered is for safety reasons, bothers me--the accidents along 62 are less due to its design than to drivers' impatience. I say, cancel the project altogether and just keep the potholes filled. Too late for that, I suppose... [Driscoll2] wrote: "[the commuters] actually admit to preferring a freeway parking lot where they spend twice the time they do when the flow is faster as long as the gummint isn't telling them what to do! By Gad." Well, they made their bed[room communitie]s in Ham Lake, Princeton, and various exurbs in Wisconsin, now they can lie in it. THis isn't anti-suburb sentiment, it's just reality that if you're further away from your job, you shouldn't expect to get to work faster than those half the distance or less... It'a kind of bizarre but the ramp meters democratized commuting: After dropping off my spouse at her job in St. Louis Park, my gantlet through two separate meters on Hwy 100 and I394 make my commute time exactly the same as the Cargill V.P. who lives in Deephaven!!!! (Wait, what am I saying?!) Luther Krueger whose commute (when Jo takes Metro Transit) is under 12 minutes from 35th and 1st Av. S., to my ramp at 4th & Nicollet. Lyndale, 8th Ward Signup for your free USWEST.mail Email account http://www.uswestmail.net _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
