To future generations, it will have seemed odd that people in the second half of the 20th century and in the early 21st century couldn't take a train from one Twin City to another. It's seems a no-brainer. They will say, "Duh!"
Taxpayers today are paying a hefty cost for the dismantling of the Twin City Rapid Transit rail lines in 1954.
But there's a good side: It doesn't take long for these light-rail lines pay for themselves
The Hiawatha line in Minneapolis connects the airport, Mall of America, Metrodome and downtown. It has been great at reducing traffic, popular among the commuting public and is a money maker for Metro Transit. The line paid for itself in two years.
It resulted in the construction of 12,000 housing units within a half-mile of the route before the rail even opened. There was a business boom along the line, too. You can't say that people don't want light rail. They yearn to leave their cars at home and take a train.
Light rail makes sense for the state's metro area. It's good for the state's image and for the state's economy - which in turn benefits all of Minnesota. Plus, light rail makes driving in the Twin Cities much easier for us outstate motorists.
It's not just for Twins games, either. The Twin Cities are a major economic and educational engine for the entire state, and it's good to see an editorial board in Greater Minnesota recognize that a modern rapid transit infrastructure is part of maintaining and advancing that engine's viability.
I began my interview with Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) by asking for his elevator ride assessment of the legislative session that just ended. Frank is by nature verbose, but he thought for a second and had this to say:
"We did our work, but the Governor [Tim Pawlenty] over-reached on the budget," he said. "He is absolutely dismissive of the separation of powers under the constitution."
He reminded me that Gov. Al Quie only used unallotment once, but Pawlenty has used it three times. This is an emergency tool and should not be used as Pawlenty did. Quie and Pawlenty for several hundred millions, but $2.5 billion? This is wrong.
"I'm angry," Frank continued. "This is going to dramatically affect people's lives."
When I lived in San Francisco, I mostly used mass transit. When I came here, I did not use the local transit that mostly consists of smelly buses that take drunken-sailor paths, with long wait times, long ride times and where I paid too much for the service that I got. Really to know what mass transit could be, one has to go to Europe.
So the mass transit system here is controlled by Met Council, another of those invisible agencies appointed by Republican Governor Pawlenty.
All 17 members are appointed by the Governor to four-year terms that are co-terminus with the Governor.
(Minnesota State)
So no oversight by the legislature or the media. This agency is distant from any real accountability.
From the 2009 Budget on the Met Council website, I found that the Met has a
700 million dollar budget, with a 19.7% debt service. This is strange because I thought we had a strict policy against having that high a debt service:
State lawmakers have traditionally limited new debt to 3 percent of expected state revenues.
(MPR)
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) wants his constituents to think that he's fiscally responsible. According to Kline the most important fiscal issue is earmarks or as Kline characterizes it, pork. He always fails to mention that earmarks are less than 2% of government spending. Ironically, he delivered plenty of pork for his friends and corporate donors before he needed a new bumper sticker slogan.
Of course, he's also hoping his constituents will forget that he voted for every irresponsible tax cut for the wealthy, that it is under his watch that a Clinton surplus was turned into a mind-bogglingly huge Bush deficit.
Kline also wants to his constituents to pretend that he's taking care of his district's business.
He's hoping they don't think our roads and bridges are important. Kline has repeatedly voted to slash the budgets to improve and maintain our infrastructure. After the I-35W bridge collapsed, complaints that the Hastings bridge across the Mississippi was about to collapse were taken seriously. The economic collapse has made it difficult to find the funding for the rebuilding effort, though.
Obviously, John Kline is unwilling to help obtain an earmark to make sure this important project could begin. So it will get done without him. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is helping obtain right of way money, but there is a $66 million shortfall, according to the Hastings Star Gazette. Officials claim the project is merely delayed.
Kline's constituents will have to be grateful that our lone Senator, Amy Klobuchar, will be working to get this project done as Kline is MIA.
Rep. John Kline's (R-MN) "no pork" pledge is damaging his district. He refuses to help get money from the federal government to help build bus rapid transit on Cedar Avenue. Cedar Ave. runs from southern suburbs like Kline's own Lakeville towards the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Kline used to be gung-ho for pork. He brought home the bacon for his friends, allies and campaign donors until he realized that he needed a bumper sticker campaign slogan. Earmarks, or "pork" as Kline likes to call it, makes up less than 2% of our federal government spending. Yet, Republicans like Kline think it is the way to financial soundness in this country.
But Kline has recently become a very principled man.
The Lakeville Republican's refusal to go after earmarks, in which federal legislation sets aside money for projects in legislators' home districts, has caused consternation locally as county officials try to secure the remaining $11.9 million needed for the BRT line, as well as other road and transit projects. With a six-year federal transportation bill in the works, Dakota County officials are afraid their projects will be left out.
"How do we position ourselves in this congressional session or the next in terms of making sure the money keeps coming to us to help finish this project?" board chairwoman Kathleen Gaylord asked Kline during the roughly 30 minute meeting on Tuesday.
(Star Tribune)
But let's get to another root problem. Kline has consistently done the wrong thing for his district in regards to our roads and bridges as well as transportation issues generally. He supported budget cut after budget cut to our transportation infrastructure maintenance. He even opposed funding rebuilding the crumbling Hastings bridge.
His wrong-headed attitude toward transportation combined with his "no pork" pledge makes him simply wrong for his district.
I frequentlywriteabout how Tim Pawlenty's budget cuts have left us with what I call "our crumbling infrastructure." Did you think I was just exaggerating to make a point? Well, check out this story from WCCO:
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ? Drivers heading north on Interstate 35E got a bit of a scare Saturday afternoon. A chunk of concrete fell off the Maryland Avenue Bridge in St. Paul and struck two cars. One car had damage to its hood, the other to its windshield.
That part of I-35E was shut down in both directions at 5 p.m. while the bridge was inspected. Inspectors said the piece of concrete that fell was a 4-foot by 4-foot piece of concrete that was 3 inches thick.
...
Last August, Maryland Avenue bridge was inspected and received a sufficiency rating of 77. If a bridge receives a sufficiency rating less than 80, it is eligible for federal rehabilitation funding. MnDOT said that doesn't mean the bridge isn't safe.
Our infrastructure is literally falling apart. And while the Republicans were trying to convince us that we should put all of our transportation fixes on a credit card, courageous DFL legislators authored a solution, with the help of the "Override Six." The gas tax wasn't popular, but sometimes hard decisions need to be made, and kudos to them for having the political courage to do what was needed.
The Pawlenty administration, on the other hand, continue to have a horrendous attitude about transportation. A MnDOT spokesperson acted as if the latest news was no big deal by saying "It's basically the same type of situation as like when your sidewalk starts breaking apart due to weather and the salt and just the elements." No big deal--35E is just breaking apart. So here's a question for all of you: are you willing to pay an extra 5 cents per gallon to stop 1200-pound chunks of our freeways from falling on us? I know I sure am.
Peter Bell, chair of the Metropolitan Council, refuses to stand up to bossman Tim Pawlenty and lobby for some real funding for transit. At a time of high gas prices, we could build a real transit system and help provide some relief for transportation costs. Instead, Bell provided excuses for raising fares in a commentary written for the Star Tribune a few days ago:
The Metropolitan Council does not want to cut transit service. Indeed, our long-range transit vision calls for expanding service and doubling ridership by 2030....
Even with our proposed fare increase, riders will pay only about 30 percent of transit operating costs. The other 70 percent will come from the taxpayers -- in the form of MVST revenues and legislative appropriations.
If you ask me, this doesn't sound like the rhetoric of a man who wants transit to succeed. Pointing out that transit is "subsidized" is a red herring designed to make transit look like "big, bad government." The truth is that all transportation is subsidized, not just transit. According to the Department of Finance (PDF link), in the 2008-2009 biennium we allocated approximately $5 billion to transportation. The gas tax pays for approximately $1.3 billion. Which means that 74 percent comes from the taxpayers -- in the form of MVST revenues and legislative appropriations. Bell's arguments are typical anti-transit arguments. The numbers show that all transportation is subsidized--so why is it okay for cars, but not for transit?
So what's the real reason behind the fare increases? Well, bossman Tim Pawlenty has already proven he's against transit--in fact, he was willing to sacrifice the Central Corridor as a bargaining chip. Peter Bell hasn't had the cojones to stand up to Pawlenty and ask for real funding for transit. Until Bell decides to stand up to his boss, we'll continue in this vicious cycle of fare increases and declining ridership.
Gas prices are in the news pretty much every day right now. Not wanting to squander an "opportunity," Republicans have been engaging in their favorite pastime: baseless attacks. It's always easier to make attacks rather than presenting your own plan, and the GOP is happy to shovel mud. Our favorite GOP shill/press-release-poster Micheal Brodkorb got the ball rolling yesterday:
It was the DFL legislative leaders who pushed a massive gas-tax increase. (emphasis added)
I don't think people will buy it. The increase in the gas tax is responsible for a scarcely perceptible portion of increasing gas prices. In fact, I dare Mr. Brodkorb and his colleagues, like Michelle Bachman, John Kline, and Norm "W" Coleman, to keep pressing this attack. It illustrates the Republican mindset perfectly: they're perfectly willing to sacrifice our roads and bridges, our economic competitiveness, and our quality of life to save 2 cents. According to twincitiesgasprices.com, the average price of gas today is $3.966/gal. 2 cents of that was due to the recently-increased gas tax--approximately 1/2 of 1 percent of the current price of gas. And it will bring us a bundle of benefits (more on that in a moment).
It continues to boggle my mind that Republicans oppose investment in our state. Nobody would run their personal finances the way the conservatives have tried to mismanage our state. Just suppose you had the opportunity to make an investment which would cost approximately 1 percent of your monthly fuel costs. In exchange for that small added expense, you could gain the following benefits:
- You could make needed home repairs more quickly, lowering your costs and gaining equity.
- Your health and productivity would increase, giving you more time with your family and making you more likely to get a raise at work.
- You would consume less fuel each year overall, thus reducing your costs.
That's exactly what the Republicans are huffing and puffing about! The DFL legislature has asked us for a modest sacrifice, equivalent to approximately 1 percent of our current gas costs. In exchange, we can have the following:
- We have already moved up the schedule for fixing our roads and bridges, which have been crumbling under Republican rule.
- We can expand the capacity of our roadways and transit, thus helping people move faster and making us a more attractive destination for doing business.
- Decreased congestion (or, the way things have been going, slower-increasing congestion) can help everyone reduce fuel consumption and commute time, helping our investment to pay off immediately.
Folks, this is a no brainer. I know that higher gas prices are hurting people, but the transportation bill is not responsible for that! Unfortunately, we have developed a transportation system so dependent on fossil fuels--for which both parties are responsible--that it will take a while to dig out of the current situation. In the meantime, we can't afford to let our infrastructure decay and our competitive advantage against other regions diminish. For the small cost of the investment, our returns are vastly greater.
I am absolutely horrified at the Star Tribune's report that MnDOT knew about rusted gusset plates on the Winona Bridge in 2007. An April 2007 inspection showed major damage. Some of the most damning discoveries include:
1. One of the gussets had rusted all the way through.
2. Pack rust was pushing some pieces of the bridge apart.
3. Inspectors noted that two of the bridge's bearings "are not functioning as designed."
I can understand not shutting the bridge down in April, when gusset plates were not widely considered to be a major problem. But in the aftermath of the I-35W bridge collapse, this bridge should have been closed immediately. MnDOT ordered new inspection after the collapse, but they had one that was only about four months old! This is a connection they would have required only a minimum of competence to make.
This is not meant to be a political attack. This particular incident was not Carol Molnau's fault or Tim Pawlenty's fault--it shows serious problems throughout the entire MnDOT organization. These inadequacies need to be addressed immediately. There are no two ways about it--MnDOT put thousands and thousands of our citizens at high risk every day.
Nearly 90,000 drivers a day got welcome news Monday, when the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced a major bridge improvement plan that would move up by a year the replacement of the Lafayette Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul.
MnDOT is making a major effort to invest in the safety of our roads and bridges. What's making this effort possible? The gift that keeps on giving, the Transportation Bill passed by the legislature over Gov. Tim "Do-Nothing" Pawlenty's veto.
The Star Tribune also reported that the Lafayette Bridge is rated worse than the I-35W Bridge was when it collapsed. Delaying its replacement is just inviting another catastrophe. Users of the Lafayette Bridge--and indeed, all citizens of this state--should thank our DFL legislature for looking out for our safety when the Governor would not.
The Star Tribune is reporting that the Winona bridge will reopen on Saturday for passenger cars. However, it will remain closed to commercial trucks, and cars will not be able to pull any trailers, including boats.
When the 35W Mississippi River Bridge collapsed last August, Minnesota Republicans were horrified -- horrified that DFLers would have the unmitigated gall to suggest that maybe we could have spend some more money maintaining the bridge. "Politicization!" they cried, studiously ignoring the fact that the collapse of a bridge owned by the state and maintained by a department headed by the lieutenant governor was, by definition, an event that would require a political response of some sort.
At the time, Mikey Brodkorb, in his role as the mouthpiece of the Minnesota GOP, said:
I was hoping that Minnesota Democrats wouldn't politicize this tragedy. Sadly, some have. I was disgusted by Elwyn Tinklenberg comments on KARE-11. Talk of blaming this tragedy on the failure to raise the gas-tax increase is disgusting.
[...]
Please read the comments about this tragedy on Democratic Underground and Daily Kos. I'll use this phrase for the second time this week: what a bunch of classless bastards.
Harsh words indeed. So I'm sure Mike will be equally hard on the Senior Senator from Arizona, John Sidney McCain III, for his disgusting, classless decision to use the bridge collapse for political gain:
A bill seeking to recover up to half of the current shortfall in state transportation funding is up for a veto override vote today.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill, which passed with a large bipartisan majority in the House, last week before heading out of town. Sources in the House, in which the DFL majority is five votes short of an override, have put the chances of a successful override at about 50-50.
On the other side of the aisle, GOP leaders are taking their opposition to the bill seriously -- perhaps a bit too seriously.
Reports emerged early this weekend that the Republican Party unit in House district 49B has withheld its endorsement of incumbent Kathy Tingelstad, R-Andover, due to her alleged support for the bill. Tingelstad is seen as one of several GOP representatives for whom a vote in favor of overriding Pawlenty's veto is a strong possibility.
Later in the weekend, a Capitol source indicated that the GOP House leadership is going even further: the source indicated that at least one moderate GOP representative seen as a strong possibility to join the DFL on the override vote was threatened with the removal of staff resources at the Capitol -- media, research, constituent services, all would be removed except for the member's legislative assistant. It is unclear whether the minority caucus would even have such authority, but the message from GOP leadership to its more moderate members, if true, is clear -- vote with us or else.
A phone call to that GOP representative has gone unanswered to date.
The bill includes a modest increase in the state gas tax, as well as several other funding mechanisms to funnel more money to long-neglected transportation projects.
An override of Pawlenty's veto might be seen as a slap in the face to a GOP leader with national ambitions. Standing up to large majorities of the party opposite makes a leader strong (see Napolitano, Janet, D-Ariz.; Sebelius, Kathleen, D-Kan.), but once those majorities start getting legislation passed over the governor's veto, the words "ineffective" and "irrelevant" start creeping into the public consciousness.
Ah...bonding bill years are always my favorite! I was fortunate to have been working with our student association over a couple of different sessions. Our budget year battles were always interesting. In those years, higher education was always been gutted by the Governor and the Swiggum led House majority.
I was the chair of our association during a bonding year, they told me it would be a boring year at the capitol.
They were wrong! The textbook bill, academic freedom issues, and other higher education initiatives made for some pretty interesting testimony before the House and Senate committees.
So we were anxiously awaiting Governor Pawlenty's announcement today of his capitol investment priorities for the 2008 session.
Needless to say, I am not surprised nor am I impressed.
On my way home from work tonight, I stopped by my parents place in Annandale to chat for a bit. Seeing the story on the left column of the Annandale Advocate got me fired up a tad bit.
"After collapse, roads become a priority," is the title of the piece that gave our State Representative, Dean Urdahl, a free pass.
These quotes burned as I read them.
"I thought history would show that Dean and I were right (about transportation funding). But I didn't want or think something like this would happen to prove our point," Dille said.
In May, both Dille in the Senate and Urdahl in the House voted in favor of a large transportation bill that was vetoed by Pawlenty.
The article fails to point out the Urdahl flip flop on the Transportation Bill.
I began my interview with Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) by asking for his elevator ride assessment of the legislative session that just ended. Frank is by nature verbose, but he thought for a second and had this to say:
When I lived in San Francisco, I mostly used mass transit. When I came here, I did not use the local transit that mostly consists of smelly buses that take drunken-sailor paths, with long wait times, long ride times and where I paid too much for the service that I got. Really to know what mass transit could be, one has to go to Europe.
