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by Michael Khoo
February 18, 2000
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RealAudio 3.0 |
Governor Jesse Ventura'strip to Colorado continues today. The governor is in Denver this week in part to study that city's light-rail transit. He says the Denver experience offers lessons in building successful rail systems, including overcoming political obstacles. Ventura's plan for a Minneapolis LRT line faces a challenge from some state lawmakers. But the governor seemed to downplay those concerns yesterday while he toured Denver's system.
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Ventura's tour included a brief train trip through Denver's downtown. As he rode the rails, the governor said he was impressed.
Ventura: Very quiet. Very clean. You can hold normal conversation. I think that's the nice thing, and smooth; very smooth ride. The stopping and starting is smoother than a vehicle.But as the governor well knows, the political path of light-rail is anything but smooth. Back on the home front, Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives are threatening to repeal state funding previously committed to a Minneapolis LRT line. The proposed line would connect downtown Minneapolis with the Mall of America in Bloomington.
Critics say the $548 million project is a waste of public dollars. They contend improved bus service could outperform LRT at a fraction of the cost. Nevertheless as Ventura stepped off the train, he said the Denver statistics clearly contradict the opponents.
Ventura: I'd just like for them to sit through the briefing that we had earlier today and debunk all these myths and these non-truths that they're trying to tell the people of Minnesota. That's what I would prefer them to do. And then have them get on and ride. But I don't think they got the courage to do it.In fact, officials with Denver's Regional Transportation District say their LRT numbers have surpassed all performance projections, prompting an expansion of the current, five-mile downtown line. A southwestern extension is scheduled to open this summer. And last November, Denver metro-area voters approved a 19-mile addition linking downtown with the booming Tech Center in the southeast.
Colorado officials are seeking $524 million in federal assistance for that project; putting them in potential competition with Minnesota which is hoping for $274 million from the same source. But Cal Marsella says the federal pot is big enough for both states. Marsella is the general manager for Denver's RTD.
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Marsella: We look at this partnership that's emerged with the state of Minnesota as an effort to further the transit agenda across the country. What we're all really looking for is a recognition that transit's playing a critical role in every city in America. So we don't see it as a competition at all. It's a partnership.Competition or not, Colorado does enjoy a few advantages over Minnesota. Their current LRT projects have already established a track record for completing work on time and on budget. And elected officials there are showing a more-or-less-united front in support of rail.
Professor Andrew Goetz is the associate director of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver. He says Colorado's LRT consensus is in contrast to the feuding between supporters and opponents in Minnesota.
Goetz: There is a competition for federal dollars, for light rail, for other transit - especially new start-ups. And the federal government likes to see coalitions. And the major political groups getting behind a particular alternative. If there is significant dissension, that usually spells disaster in terms of aid requests.Of course, one person's disaster is another's victory. House Republicans might argue scuttling what they consider a wasteful project is precisely the point.
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