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Idea for: Transportation
Invest in high-speed transit between cities Small towns in Minnesota--and other wide open places--are hindered from growth by the sheer distance between them and their regional and state centers. Minnesota needs to reinvest in high-speed transit, for both passengers and freight. From Victoria Ford of Saint Paul, MN on 05/15/05
Rating:  This is sorely needed. One of the large deterrents to moving to a rural area is how hard it is to get to urban centers to enjoy the things that really make sense to locate there (large scale shopping, entertainment, corporate centers etc.) This also makes commuting an option. Look at places out east. People live rural and commute to urban areas to work. South Dakota really needs a state rail transit system too. From Nancy Foust of Sioux Falls, SD on 06/09/05 Rating:  It is far too costly to expand MSP International Airport. Why not link Regional airports to MSP with high-speed rail? This would allow planes to fly out of these "Collector Airports," when the hubs are snowed-in; this would promote investment in rural areas like Rochester or St Cloud MSAs, and save the airlines $$ because landing fees and terminal space would be less. The obvious benifit would be the creation of a high speed rail link for commuters. From Alfred Haugen of Princeton, MN on 06/02/05 Rating: Like one of the earlier comments, this should be a no-brainer. This state needs to understand that transportation is not just about highways. Both the Office of Gov. and both Houses should feel really bad about stopping the train in Big Lake, MN, come on it needed to go all the way to Rice, period. After seeing how well this would work, additional lines could be started from Rochester and the northern areas towards Duluth. Yes it will cost money, and yes we must make the the investment. Thanks. From Alan Aleckson of Brooklyn Park, MN on 05/26/05 Rating: This is a great idea! I have thought about this myself. With so many people commuting between Northfield, Faribault, Redwing, St. Cloud, Stillwater, and other cities, high-speed rail would be a great way to improve mobility and open up small towns to folks who wouldn't otherwise consider living so far from work. Expensive infrastructure with a long-term payoff is also what government is best at. No private firm would pay for such a venture, but collectively such an investiment is much easier. From Chris Dart of St. Paul, MN on 05/23/05 Rating: This is a great, important idea. Rail-based transportation options are fast, convenient, and would be a pleasant way to travel across the state. We should stay away from Amtrak! Minnesota needs its own rail infrastructure and system. From Adam Fulton of Duluth, MN on 05/23/05 Rating:  High speed transportation seems appealing, but would it really reach all of the state's regional centers? How would we ever pay for such a venture? Linking the Twin Cities to Rochester, and St. Cloud seems doable. But what about Marshall, Willmar, Brainerd and Alexandria and the regional centers that lie beyond them? From Robert Kutter of Grey Eagle, MN on 05/22/05 Rating: I think that with all the exurbs serving as bedroom communities to the Twin Cities Metro something of this nature should be a "no-brainer." From Aaron Vehling of North Branch, MN on 05/20/05 Rating: If we were able to create an upper mid-west transit system in which the Twin Cities were the center, but you could get to Rochester in 30 minutes, Fargo in 2 hours, Winnepeg in 4 hours, Souix Falls in 2 hours, Duluth in 1 hour and Madison in 2 hours; we would sprout nodes of rural development throughout the state. After 30 years we would dominate the regional economy and have 15 - 20 regional cities of ~80,000 people outside the current metro area. Then small towns could survive in the shadows. From Stan Harpstead of Arden Hills, MN on 05/19/05
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