Bus Rapid Transit

The Gateway Corridor Commission still can't decide if they want bus rapid transit (BRT) or light rail transit (LRT) on Hudson Road in St. Paul. They have a lunchtime talk for Monday, June 24, 2013 (11am-1pm) at the Oak Marsh Golf Course, 526 Inwood Av N, Oakdale. There is no cost to attend and a light lunch will be provided. Registration is required (St. Paul Chamber or Woodbury Chamber). Joseph Calabrese, the Cleveland RTA $243,386/year manager, will explain Cleveland's HealthLine bus, formerly known as the Silver Line, formerly known as the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Bus Rapid Transit is a bus. Sometimes it has stations with platforms, sometimes dedicated lanes, sometimes it uses honor-based fareboxes, and sometimes it's really just a bus route with an expensive name. As a bus, it has braking and steering advantages over light rail trains and its capital infrastructure costs are less than light rail.

HealthLine - Cleveland's BRT Example

HealthLine is a $197 million, 6.8 mile($29 million per mile) RTA Euclid Avenue bus rapid transit system in Cleveland, Ohio. Construction began in 2006, was completed in 2008, and inconvenienced Euclid Avenue consumers and businesses, causing many businesses to close.

HealthLine bus passenger lists the problems:
   ♦  most bus riders must stand (BRT has half the seats of a traditional bus)
   ♦  half of the bus seats are on raised platforms (difficult for seniors & disabled)
   ♦  narrow aisles & 18" seats
   ♦  station platforms not marked as eastbound or westbound
   ♦  riders don't know where to stand on the platform or which doors to go in
   ♦  two foot leaping gap between bus & station platform
   ♦  fareboxes that don't work
   ♦  bus shelters with 2 or 3 cold metal seats

HealthLine buses are slower than expected, 25 mph in pedestrian zones. The rules were changed to allow buses a 35 mph limit. Either way it's not rapid transit (10.6mph average speed), has problems with traffic signals and crashes. Euclid Avenue had 411 reported collisions from October 2008 to July 2011, plus:
► 2013 March 12 - HealthLine bus hit a car at Euclid & East 4th at 10:30am sending 8 people to hospitals, including both drivers.
► 2011 November 1 - HealthLine bus hit a car at Euclid & East 89th at 2pm. Both vehicles were westbound. The car wanted to make a right turn.
► 2011 October 24 - HealthLine bus hit a car at Euclid & East 9th at 12:30pm.
 
HealthLine uses New Flyer articulated buses made in Winnipeg, Canada; Crookston, MN; and St. Cloud, MN. (Light rail uses Siemens and Bombardier trains from Germany.)

Here's another Cleveland opinion of HealthLine.

Gateway Corridor Bus Rapid Transit

The problem with the Gateway Corridor is that it can't beat I-94.

The best place for a bus rapid transit is where it can be rapid -- on the highway. Buses can't travel fast on residential streets, like the St. Paul portion of Hudson Road. Many express buses already run successfully on I-94 (MetroTransit express 294, limited stop 350, express 351, express 353, express 355, express 375), using the shoulder to move around traffic instead of a dedicated lane. And the Gateway Corridor ridership can't justify the opportunity cost of dedicating an I-94 lane each way for either a bus or a train.




Bus rapid transit on Hudson Road in St. Paul would be painfully slow for Woodbury travelers and would not be beneficial to Hudson Road residents and businesses. Snow plows would hack at the dividing curbs. But buses have the breaking and steering advantage over trains (improved safety) and reduced infrastructure (lower capital costs and maintenance).

The Gateway Corridor Solution

If the list of eastside buses above aren't enough, add another bus to I-94, with seating like existing MetroTransit buses and without removing a lane from traffic.

Light Rail Brakes

The most dangerous part of light rail is the lack of braking ... aside from the ludicrous Gateway light-rail-on-residential-roads fiasco.

Light rail can't brake. Yet it has hundreds of names for 2 ½ types of brakes.

♦  ½ Deceleration
Pulling back on the throttle on a light rail train -- deceleration or down shifting in a car -- has all sorts of needlessly complicated names: dynamic brake, progressive brake, regenerative brake, service brake... Really none of it is braking, just using the motor to slow down.

Sick of seeing horrific traffic accidents, a police officer angrily pulled over yet another motorist failing to stop at a stop sign. They argue. The belligerent motorist says, “Hey, I slowed down. What more do you want?” The cop starts beating the driver with a nightstick and says, “Now, do you want me to stop? Or just slow down?!?”

♦  1 ½ Standard Brakes
Pulling back on the throttle decelerates the train down to 3mph. The standard brakes kick in at 5mph and below. Light rail train operators don't have a separate control for the standard brakes... no foot pedal... nothing. They might not even be aware they are applying brakes below 5mph. The non-standardized world of light rail has at least four names for standard brakes: air brake, disc brake, electro-pneumatic brake, and friction brake.

A train operator once said, “Any idiot can start a train; it takes skill and practice to stop it where you want it to stop.”

Spot the emergency brake button & point it out to the operator

♦  2 ½ Emergency Brakes

Passengers on Minneapolis light rail trains can't see into the cab because one-way mirror film is on the windows. If they could see in, they would see a red button, a mushroom-shaped button, for the emergency brakes. Once again, there are many names for it -- magnetic brake, rail brake, track brake -- which doesn't matter so much as getting train operators to use the emergency brake in emergencies.

Looking over recent light rail crashes and deaths, it seems like some cities have a transit culture that permits emergency braking and some do not.

Emergency brakes activated on powered bogie

Does Minneapolis have a culture that prevents train operators from using the emergency brakes?

Transit documentation says yes and no.

A light rail train operator was reprimanded for using the emergency brakes to stop at a red light. The operator should have used the throttle to decelerate and stop but used the emergency brake instead and was reprimanded. The operator and the union took the reprimand to an arbitrator. Metro Transit rolled on about the dangers of using the emergency brake:

“[Metro Transit] indicated that it is possible to damage the wheels of the train by such a stop [using emergency brakes] as the wheels slide across the tracks. This can create a flat spot on the wheel which causes vibrations and may even necessitate the replacement of the wheel... and passengers could have been jostled” - arbitration of train operator reprimand for using emergency brakes - MCTO-ATU, BMS Case 13-PA-0462, March 21, 2013.

Yes. Using any mechanical device runs the risk of wearing it out.

The Metro Transit Rail Operations Rule Book claims:
“Safety is of the first importance in the discharge of your duties... In the case of doubt or uncertainty, the safest course of action must be taken.” - Metro Transit Light Rail 2008 - Rail Operations Rule Book 5th Edition (pages 7-8)

The most recent emergency situation on the Minneapolis Hiawatha Line (Blue Line) was on March 23, 2013.

A northbound Hiawatha light rail train hit a westbound car on East 26th Street at 6:30pm. The train pushed and crushed the driver's side of the white four-door sedan for one block before coming to halt. A fire burned in and around the car. The car's driver, 49 year old Francisco Antonio Sanchez-Andrade, died at the scene, in front of the Metro Transit rail technical support center. One passenger described the impact as, “We didn’t even feel it, that’s how soft it was,” almost as if brakes were not applied.

Sanchez-Andrade died a bloodied, fiery death, but at least the passengers weren't jostled.

How do these train operators sleep? Do they justify the deaths over potential reprimands?

If train operators are willing to stop the trains, can they stop the trains?
          Siemens S70 LRV #201 emergency braking                2.25 m/s² (if used)
          Bombardier Flexity Swift LF-70 emergency braking    2.73 m/s² (if used)


If light rail train operators can't or won't use the emergency brakes, what can anyone do?


Victims of the inability of light rail trains to stop need to know the variety of information that can aid a lawsuit. (Most should start by getting a good lawyer.) Lawyers will seek information in a Request for Production.

Things to Request: accident & incident reports (police & transit), black box event recorder data, brake-rate test reports (annual, post-accident, recent), emails, police interviews (was the emergency brake touching the rail?), post-accident medical report, Rail Control Center (RCC) communication transcription, Rail Operations Rule Book (current edition), supervisory memos, train operator certification, transit & state inspection reports, video camera recordings (inside & outside the train), visual reports (track brake on the rail), witness reports (was the emergency brake touching the rail?)

Rail Volution 2014 in Minneapolis should address the light rail culture against braking.

They won't.






A Minneapolis mechanic denied being addicted to brake fluid.
He said he could stop anytime.

American Institute of Certified Planners’ (AICP) examination answers

Here are sample questions and answers for the American Institute of Certified Planners’ (AICP) examination.

The Gateway Corridor has entrusted their plans to west bank University students. Are they engineers? No, they study public affairs -- technically they study how to get a good score on the AICP exam. One of the main rules for both the Gateway Corridor and the AICP exam is that guessing is expected -- there is no penalty for wrong answers. Ethics and professional conduct only count for 5%.

  •  $495 first-timers (63% pass), $425 try-try-again
  •  70 multiple-choice questions
  •  150 scored; 20 are pretest items (pool of 600 questions)
  •  3.5 hours
  •  15 minute orientation before you begin
  •  Plan to arrive early
  •  No penalty for wrong answers
  •  Guess, don’t leave anything untouched

The test will say "wards." Most of the country should read wards as county or district. The term wards is used because the AICP test was written by the American Planning Association (APA) of Chicago, Illinois. Chicago has wards. (Chicago had Montgomery Wards.) Why Chicago? Pay attention planners, this will be on the AICP test. Chicago was leveled in the fire of 1871, causing the city to rebuild with brick and stone to become a very modern city when it hosted the Columbian Exposition in 1893. After the rebuilding and the successful world's fair, planner Daniel Burnham established a plan for Chicago in 1909 (after everything was built and done).

Geography Question
What do many consider Frederick Law Olmsted's greatest example of a suburb?
        A. Petaluma, California
        B. Belle Isle, Michigan
        C. Riverside, Illinois
        D. Ramapo, New Jersey
The answer is C. The question is asked because Riverside is part of Chicago and Frederick Law Olmsted was the first president of the American City Planning Institute, forerunner of the AICP and APA. There is no practical purpose for this information. It is just APA advertising.

Demographics Question
According to 2010 Census Data, where is the mean center of population for the United States?
        A. St. Louis County, Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
        B. Phelps County, Missouri (Edgar Springs, MO)
        C. Texas County, Missouri (Plato, MO)
        D. Cook County, Illinois (Chicago, IL)
The correct answer is C for 2010. The answer for 2000 was B. The purpose of this question is the quantification of people without divisiveness nor specificity to any location.

Safety Question
Rubber mats cover the unused light rail tracks at University of Minnesota crossings to prevent light rail cement-embedded track dangers. Which of the following objects have become stuck in light rail tracks, causing deaths?

        A. Stroller
        B. Wheelchair
        C. Motorcycle
        D. A and B
The correct answer is D. This question compares wheel sizes to embedded tracks, addressing safety issues of objects trapped in the tracks. Notice the noun-verb agreement requires a plural answer. This is a dead giveaway. [light rail hazards]

Geographic Safety Question
Debris has caused light rail trains to derail. Match the debris with the location of the derailment.
        A. Leaf oils and rust in Tacoma & gravel in Cleveland, Ohio
        B. Gravel in Tacoma & leaf oils and rust in Cleveland, Australia
        C. Marbles in Portland & motor oil in Detroit
        D. Sand in Chicago & motor oil in Detroit
The correct answer is B. Gravel in the tracks derailed a light rail train in Tacoma in 2012. Leaf oil and rust was blamed for the derailment of a light rail train into a station bathroom in 2013.

Legal Question
Which federal agency governs the standards for cement-embedded light rail tracks?
        A. AREMA
        B. FRA
        C. both AREMA and FRA
        D. there are no Federal standards
The correct answer is D. Chicago has neither light rail nor embedded tracks. APA doesn't care. APA gets confused by multiple federal agencies.

Diversity Question

Which of the following pieces of federal legislation focused on slum clearance?
        A. 1906 Antiquities Act
        B. 1934 Federal Housing Act
        C. 1949 Housing Act
        D. 1968 New Communities Act
The correct answer is C. The question provides the legality for the acquisition of low income housing for higher income development.

Financing Question
Who is credited with the following quote "a budget may be characterized as a series of goals with price tags attached"?
        A. Jane Jacobs
        B. Aaron Wildavsky
        C. Matthew Barnaby
        D. Robert Moses
The correct answer is B. The question is asked as a nod to every planner's dream of unlimited funds, originally known as the Las Vegas planning experience, now called the Dubai experience.

Transportation Question
The current federal transit planning process, with its policies and institutional emphasis on cost effectiveness, biases the alternatives analysis toward routes with existing right-of-way and ease of obtaining right-of-way, especially for rail service, without regard to potential real estate developments on inexpensive land. This results in transit lines that are direct and cost-efficient from an engineering standpoint, but do not have the dangers associated with embedded tracks and multimodal roads encouraged by the planning profession.
Which best identifies the transportation goals of transportation planners?
        A. Eliminate urban blight, low-income housing, and diversity
        B. Economic growth of real estate developers
        C. Federal money for infrastructure increases chances of Olympics or Super Bowl, just not for Minneapolis or Detroit
        D. Planner pride in change for change's sake
"There are no right or wrong answers," the American Planners Association will say before they start grading. They will only mark B or C correctly, most of the time. There is no oversight.

Labor Question
For bus and rail operations, labor costs are directly linked and become a financial burden on the system itself. Which of the following scenarios have labor implications:
  I.    Bus drivers make too damned much money for steering, braking, and collecting fares.
  II.   The honor system of light rail fare collection requires no cashiers or ticket takers. Businesses should consider using this exchange model.
  III.  Light rail train operator training just sounds redundant, especially for a job without steering, braking, collecting fares, or making announcements.
  IV.  Houston light rail planners promised quiet light rail to residents and when residents complained, MetroRail track workers began manually greasing the rails several times per week. MetroRail has since introduced automated rail lubrication for noise abatement and reduced derailment.
  V.   Transit security officers are replaced with cameras.
  VI.  The Atlanta Olympics insulted local bus drivers by offering $6/hour. Hiring from outside Atlanta, caused a massive transportation debacle. Bus drivers got lost, crashed buses, and quit during their shifts.
  VII. Changes to cement-embedded light rail tracks must be made with a jackhammer.
        A. All of the above.
        B. None of the above.
        C. I and II. Couldn't read any more.
        D. II, III, and IV
The correct answer is A. The question addresses the labor component of transportation, to reduce a positive impact for low income neighborhoods. When you run into long questions like this one during the test, use the Mark option on the exam to mark it and move on to shorter questions that involve less reading.

Planning Question
Which is the most common mistake made by planners?
        A. not talking with community residents and businesses
        B. not providing insider investment information to politicians
        C. not developing corridors where property values are low for quick turnaround
        D. not using the Critical Path Method, the Ouija board of decision making
The correct answer is A, but the American Planning Association will make the mistake of marking C instead because that's where the money is.     

Eminent Domain Question
Which best describes the result of Kelo v. City of New London (2005)?
        A. Planners can take private property if the property is part of a spiffy real estate development project.
        B. Planners banked on companies to increase the tax revenues and attract a wealthier population in place of the lower middle class home owners. The property was taken and sits abandoned eight years later.
        C. Eminent domain was strengthened  by the Supreme Court, the President, and several states.
        D. The NLDC did not change its name to RCDA. Connecticut Governor John Gowland (federal inmate 15623-014) and development commissioner Peter Ellef did not go to prison for corruption.

The correct answer is B. Watch PBS Constitution USA episode 2 which shows the property damage and personal hardship resulting from the New London CT fiasco. Forty-four states (and a Presidential order) have since enacted legislation restricting eminent domain. Opposition to the ruling was widespread but never filtered down to the APA. The APA material says, "government’s pursuit of a public purpose may benefit or depend upon individual private enterprise" and then it mumbles to itself "until they screw up and leave us holding the bag." Pfizer closed its New London facility in late 2010 with a loss of over 1000 jobs. In 2012, its New London tax breaks were set to expire which would have increased Pfizer's property tax bill by almost 400 %. The developer, Corcoran Jennison Companies, couldn't get a loan despite being given 91-acres of waterfront land for $1 per year.

Step Down Method Question
The latest census reported the population of Centerville to be 24,000. Riverside is the neighborhood you are studying. Riverside is located within Centerville, and has historically been one of the larger, more vibrant neighborhoods. At the time of the last census, 8% of the population lived in the Riverside neighborhood. Five years have passed, and City has experienced growth in all of its neighborhoods. The current population of Centerville is estimated to be 32,000. Use the step down method to calculate the population.
        A. 1,920
        B. 2,016
        C. 2,560
        D. 19,200
Use the Tongue To Corner of Lips Method also. The question implies that the answer should be calculated for the current population. It doesn't say that. Take 32,000 x .08 = 2,560. The answer is C.

Saturation of Plans - Spatial Areas of Practice Question
Smart growth includes reduced fiscal burden on governments and their taxpayers caused by the costs for financing and maintaining ever-increasing infrastructure deficits or shortfalls. Which of the following is not an example of smart growth?
        A. A balanced transportation system that makes it possible for residents to walk or ride a bicycle to a store, school or work.
        B.  In 2010, Federal Transit Administration head Peter Rogoff chastised transit agencies for planning new rail lines when they couldn't maintain current ones.
        C. Smart growth encourages urban sprawl by extending metropolitan transit into rural communities instead of allowing inner city housing construction to increase urban density.
        D. Every transit agency that builds new rail lines eventually hits a financial wall that forces service cuts. San Jose hit the financial wall in 2001, cutting service by 25 percent and losing more than a quarter of its riders. Portland hit the financial wall in 2012, cutting service by 12 percent and predicting cuts of as much as 70 percent will be needed to meet its financial obligations.

This question is in the Saturation of Plans section but it seems to be another transportation question. The APA should know that just about the entire country needs plans to address critical water shortages, except for Chicago which slurps from several straws in Lake Michigan. This question should be about water: fixing leaking water mains, prioritizing needs, reducing runoff... but no, water doesn't make the AICP Current Topics list. LOL. The correct answer is C.

 Other resources: APA Bulletin
                             AICP Exam for May 2013
                             AICP Exam Prep for 2013, 2012, 2011, & 2010
                             American Planning Association policy guides
                             State Chapters with good materials: Florida, Georgia,  North Carolina, & Utah
                             Light rail crashes
                             Flash Cards of planning law
                    

Minnesota Bills & Gateway Corridor

House File 1444 the Omnibus Transportation Finance bill will be taken by the Minnesota House for a vote on Wednesday, April 24th. The bill is a compilation of previous transportation bills.

Representative Runbeck had an interesting amendment, H1444A30:

1.1.................... moves to amend H.F. No. 1444, the third engrossment, as follows:
1.2Page 29, after line 22, insert:

1.3    "Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 473.408, is amended by adding a
1.4subdivision to read:
1.5    Subd. 11. Transitway fare collection system. The council shall develop and
1.6implement a controlled access fare collection system for each light rail transit line or bus
1.7rapid transit line that enters into final design on or after the effective date of this act.
1.8The system must include physically secured access at each stop on the line that prevents
1.9boarding, and entrance to a waiting area, prior to demonstrating proof of payment."
1.10Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
1.11Amend the title accordingly

Los Angeles is in the process of adding gates and eliminating the light rail honor system of payment. KABC-LA reported that in a test, revenue increased as much as 32%. An April 2013 article in the LA Times, discusses the status of the implementation of the gates.

Using Metro Transit data -- in 2009, the light rail passenger fares were $9,315,345 times 9,863,042 riders = 94 cents per ride. If each of the 9,863,042 riders paid the off-peak $1.75 fare, the annual passenger fare should be $17,260,323 instead of the reported $9,315,345.

===============================================================

[Earlier information:]

Two bills of consequence for the Gateway Corridor will be working their way through Minnesota Legislative committees (for public input) and potentially appearing before the Minnesota House and Minnesota Senate for votes in the next few weeks.

House File 1223 would allow Washington County to proceed with the Gateway Corridor as a bus rapid transit system, although news items indicate the Gateway Corridor Commission has not yet decided whether the Gateway Corridor is a bus system or light rail system. The determining factor has been reported as "whatever funding allows." The first step for this bill is to appear before the Transportation Policy committee at 2:15pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Committee path for House File 1223. On March 21, 2013, Chair Hornstein laid HF 1223 over for possible inclusion in the Omnibus Transportation Finance bill (HF 1444). House File 1444 was presented Friday, April 12, 2013 at 9am in the State Office Building basement.

House File 793 would provide a slush fund of $26 million for any intercity passenger service through the sale of Minnesota bonds. Gateway Corridor would connect St. Paul, Minnesota with Wisconsin (or the border), making it an interstate passenger service, not an intercity passenger service. By name the bill separates the Gateway Corridor from other passenger service projects. This bill would remove the Minnesota Legislature from specific light rail and bus transit system funding. It is a blank check. The first step for this bill is to appear before the Transportation Finance committee at 10am on Thursday, March 14, 2013. Committee path for House File 793.

If House File 793 includes the Gateway to Wisconsin (Corridor), it would give the blank check to Wisconsin commuters. Wisconsin commuters still owe Minnesota money. (A recent report says the MN & WI revenue departments agree that Wisconsin owes Minnesota $69 million. Minnesota wants an additional $6 million annually to cover lost money from Wisconsin commuters.)

The problem with any blank check for transit has been highlighted by the Central Corridor's disconnection with its communities (businesses and residents). The Metropolitan Council needs help. Legislative committees need to help ask the tough, detailed questions. The Gateway Corridor has already headed down the wrong road, failing to assure residents that any rapid transit system will be kept off residential streets.

Whatever Funding Allows

A recent Star Tribune article by Jim Anderson had an interesting update on the Gateway Corridor fiasco. According to the article, the plan is to run "along I-94" with "a BRT route -- or possibly light rail, if funding allows."

If funding allows?!?

That's the deciding factor -- for either a bus or a train -- how much money is available?

That's not how to make decisions.

If funding allows, use golden rails and call it the gold line. The Gateway Corridor has been renamed the Gold Corridor or the Giveaway Corridor.

But then, these are the people who wanted to put light rail trains on residential streets.

Foung Hawj

Congratulations to Foung Hawj in winning the Minnesota Senate seat for District 67.

He will do great things for our district and our state.

Winning

A bus driver commented on the previous post to say that I've won.

I have great respect for bus drivers. Bus drivers are the public transit backbone of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. They are the host, cashier, security guard, information desk, and driver with full steering and braking capabilities. Next to teachers and farmers, bus drivers have the most thankless job.

About winning, I respectfully disagree.

The current concept of the Gateway Corridor is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Hudson Road with light rail as either a secondary choice or a future replacement of the BRT.

The concept is flawed and likely to change.

Hudson Road in Saint Paul is mostly residential, although less residential than previous alternatives (3rd Street East, 7th Street East, & Minnehaha Avenue). Hudson Road has families, kids, and the elderly.

Rapid transit does not belong on residential streets.

Here's a Google satellite view of houses on Hudson Road.

Interstate 94 used to be US Highway 12, a highway that climbed the eastside hills instead of cutting through them. Before it was US Highway 12, it was Hudson Road. Remnants of old Hudson Road are a dashed line. They are incomplete. How would a transit line connect the pieces? How would Hudson Road and Old Hudson Road connect? How would a transit line bridge the Johnson Parkway valley at I-94?

Buses can be steered and are expected to stop on a dime. Buses make sense for residential neighborhoods. But the concept of Bus Rapid Transit is to have the bus lanes separated from other traffic. Picture two lanes with bordering curbs on either side. It has been said that BRT hasn't been done before in Minnesota, but I disagree. The University of Minnesota campus bus runs between the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses. It runs on a road with no other traffic south of the State Fairgrounds.

If I were a bus driver, I would like the bus separated from other traffic, yeah, providing the snow plows can differentiate between short curbs and snow piles, and not chop the curbs up into the road. I would want to be able to steer around obstacles, a ball or a kid, and not be forced to hit them like a train would. How fast is Rapid on a residential road?

The Gateway Corridor Commission says the bus will travel 9.8 miles (from Oaks Business Park to Union Depot) in 17 minutes. That's an average of 35 mph. That's too fast for a residential road and too slow for rapid transit. Light rail would take 15 minutes at an average speed of 39 mph. Public transit buses (MTC) currently crisscross the eastside of Saint Paul. Buses drive 55 mph on I-94 (that's bus rapid transit). What is the purpose of the Gateway Corridor?

▼ What is the justification of spending millions of dollars on transit consultants?
▼ What is the justification of a construction project that would disrupt lives and businesses?
▼ What is the justification of half a billion dollars for a bus or a billion dollars for a train?
▼ How could they possibly imagine that rapid transit could be safe on residential streets?!?

Maybe the Gateway Corridor Commission works on commission. It's tough to understand why Lisa Weik, Kathy Lantry, and the others are doing this. Their materials mention Oaks Business Park in Oakdale, at 7755 Third Street North, Oakdale, MN 55128, which is owned by the Carlson Real Estate Company of Minnetonka. What is their connection to the Gateway Corridor? Is this the development that the Gateway Corridor will help?

The latest Gateway Corridor plans estimate 9,000 daily riders whether the vehicle is a bus or a train. The Gateway Corridor Commission says 90,000 vehicles cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge every day, but the Gateway Corridor will not cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge. The ridership is fictional. Conrad deFiebre says the bus ridership would be closer to 6,000 which sounds closer to actual ridership.

Friday morning traffic on I-94

None of this makes sense. The Gateway Corridor Commission has not inspired confidence that they know what they're doing, like when their leader Lisa Weik confused light rail with 1950s streetcars.

It's like arguing on the Internet. How could anyone win?