Well, here goes!
Please know, one and all, that I am on the agenda at tomorrow evening's Kingfield Neighborhood Association Board to present information to a project tentatively called the Twin cities Sustainable Transportation Co-op.
I encourage all who just want to spend a few minutes learning about this to stop by MLK, JR Park and listen in.
We pay handsomely to destroy our health, and that of our children and grandchildren. We pay a huge price to destroy neighborhoods and our lakes an streams with car-culture. There are also global "eco-terrorist" implications to our car culture.
After we pay to do the damage, we pay again in terms of rising health care costs and neighborhood traffic and environmental ameliorative efforts. We try to undo so much damage.
The meeting is open, I believe. It is a Kingfield thing, with a Kingfield agenda. However, listening neighborsare welcome, I am sure. The issue is certainly metro-wide.
I believe that we can reduce transportation costs dramatically, reduce adverse health impacts on urban citizens, reduce health care costs by a stunning amount. We can improve neighborhood business environments, engender diverse and creative micro-eco-enterprises, and reduce the strain of overcongestrion on our main highways and freeways.
I believe that we can achieve all of this while saving money in our city's budget as well. We can save the entire Metro area huge sums of money simply by establishing a network of sustainable transportation co-ops, based in neighborhoods throughout the metro area.
As a KFNAB member, I understand our meetings to be open to the public, but focused clearly on the KFNAB agenda, and inviting especially input from KFN folks. So, we all will observe protocol and decorum respecting the board's agenda and such - as do all neighborhood boards, I think. Even so, if you have a few minutes to listen in, I would be encouraged greatly by your presence. I think I've got about 15 minutes...guessing between 7:15ish or 7:30ish or so...
(Am I in trouble, David? I didn't clear this invitation...heh, heh....gulp!)
Also, please feel free to e-mail me on- or -off list to continue online discussion of this vital, central topic.
Thanks so much!
Gary S. Hoover
Kingfield
Ward 10
In a message dated 3/12/02 11:40:37 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
As a low income person, I am always stunned by the
amount of money we throw at problems. When we
"redistribute" the wealth, I see lots of middle class
professionals and sometimes union members getting
good salaries; but I see no difference made in the
fundamental problems.
LRT and about a billion dollars later, there will be
no dent in the fact that the vast, vast majority of
people will still be using fossil fuels to propel
their utterly inefficient cars to get milk. This is
craziness, and I know we, the people (hooray!!) can
come up with entirely new models. We need to transform
the society, not extend the reach of consumerism.
LRT is based on the SMART GROWTH model which is not
working: rather than limiting growth, it has become a
means whereby professionally employed people are paid
to design and build infrastucture that will facilitate
citizens spending more money, consuming more, and
keeping our catastrophic capitalist economy humming
along to armeggedon.
Taxi2000 might be one to look at.
How about the Trike Bikes that Gary Hoover rides. For
folks that do not bike: I'm tellin you, you don't know
what the fun, joy, good health is yours by getting on
a bike for commuting. Rather than more parking lots,
we need shower stalls throughout the city so people
can wash up after working up a sweat. Think of the
reduction in the costs of maintaining our medical
establishment!! What if downtown spent as much money
promoting Trike Bikes and the pleasures of human
powered transportation, as they spent on the LRT.
By the way, I have a great story for anyone who is
interested in saving on rising medical costs. I am on
Medical Assistance, and have personally saved the
system over $20,000 for a heart pacer my cardiologists
said I must have. I wish I could have that money to
pay my neighbors to do all the jobs begging to be done
in my low income neighborhood.
Lynne Mayo
Sustainable
