Home
Pam's Calendar
Pam's Bio
Kari's Bio
Podcasts
RSS Feeds
VIDEO VAULT
NEWS
Contact the Campaign
Polls on Issues
Pam's Blog
Donate
PCR Editorial
Donation Ethics
MN Is One State
Times Such as These
Discuss Forum
Clean Campaign Pledge
Platform

Issues

Transportation The Need

We need a variety of ways to transport our citizens to a variety of locations. The outmoded Idea of every citizen battling freeway and the urban core roadways each day and that being the most available option is past its prime. Have you ever been to Houston, Texas? The hurricanes of recent weeks showed us how difficult it was for Houston to evacuate their population. We do not want this to be the case in Minnesota should we need to evacuate for any reason. Here you will find a rough outline of my plan for the citizens and bright future of Minnesota. Light Rail

The most historic and best years for Minnesota with regards to transportation and mass transit occurred in the Ventura Administration. Governor Ventura's strong commitment to seeing that Minnesota enters the 21st Century with at least one leg of the Hiawatha Line in place was the most significant legacy of his administration in my opinion. The success of the Hiawatha line has exceeded expectations, and adding more light rail lines will prove to do the same.

I plan to make certain we get back in the hunt for new ways to bring additional light rail lines online. My primary goal for light rail expansion would be to create an East/West corridor that would run from Woodbury to Wayzata, Orono or Long Lake and run through the Hwy 94 corridor.

Subsequently, a light Rail line that would shadow the Hwy 494-694 loop would be helpful and provide many stops such as Mall of America, Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, New Brighton, Shoreview, White Bear Lake, Oakdale, Inver Grove Heights, etc. These new links in the chain can be very strong especially when we add the Metro and Suburban Transit buses to link in with the system at each stop.

Heavy Commuter Rail

Using existing train tracks for heavy rail, we can add more options for those traveling from the rural areas to the urban cores. The North Star Corridor line will be a nice addition to the multi-modal plan for transportation that we need to embrace as Minnesotans for the future. We need to begin to link the heavy rail aspects of the state transportation plan to the other modes of transportation available in the urban core and then to additional heavy rail lines that make sense.

Create the Superior line that could hook into the Red Rock Line and beyond to provide service along the Mississippi and shoot over to Rochester. The Red Rock Line out of Hastings to the downtown Saint Paul Union Depot is one example. Read more about here: http://www.redrockrail.org/project.htm

Maintaining our clean air is one reason that this makes sense. We have experienced many air quality warnings in the past three or four years in the Twin Cities area, due to many things, but if we can cut the transportation on our roadways, as citizens by choice elect to ride the rail, we will improve our air quality by leaps and bounds.

We need to think about how we can use electricity created by these new sources of energy to clean up the way in which we transport our citizens to their jobs, but using more electric trolley buses and light rail. Personal Rail Transit (PRT)

A professor from the University of Minnesota designed personal Rail Transit or PRT decades ago and it is time we look into this idea seriously. It is the perfect solution for transportation in a small community such as a college campus, linking other college campuses in close proximity. Read more about the Taxi 2000 here

It would also be an ideal way in which to transport folks in a small area, such as a shopping area in an the urban core, or say for instance a place like Como Park and Zoo in Saint Paul. PRT is another perfect link in the chain of my multi-modal policy for mass transit in the urban core and in outlying communities that have college campuses or the need to transport folks in small towns to various locations. Let us rally to get the Taxi 2000 on the drawing boards.

Economic Opportunity

As we undertake this bold plan of revitalization through mass transit, we will see more and more opportunities for economic growth through inviting new businesses to locate in our state.

Greater Access to Public Transportation

In Duluth, the city provides free public bus service to all college students. I think this is an idea that can cause us to recruit more students to our Colleges and Universities if we can make a commitment to this concept.

Our college-aged students have many challenges to graduate these days. High tuition costs, and living expenses prevent many students from owning their own personal transportation, and they rely on a system that we can provide. We need to assist them with safe and reliable transportation that links them comprehensively through the urban core as well as to the suburban areas where many students choose to live.

Our Senior Citizens also need special consideration when it comes to their transportation needs. Metro Mobility is a great asset that we have for those that are incapacitated and need a ride to appointments, the grocery store and other community activities. We need a special Golden Years Pass for those who are still vitally active and yet have chosen not to drive because of their age or economic factors.

Offering a more comprehensive selection of payment plans for transportation can help special groups that may have financial challenges. We need to offer special discounted monthly "all you can ride" passes to our patrons, particularly for the bus line feeder systems to the light rail and commuter rail stations.

Providing tax credits to citizens that choose to carpool and keep the number of vehicles down that access our roadways is a part of a plan, which offers credits to those who use mass transit as their regular means of transportation. Highways, Byways and Bridges

Finally, we need to look into more advanced technology for maintaining and the repair of our roads. In Arizona, through the metro area of Phoenix there is a strip of test highway where ground up tires have been added to the Bituminous material of the asphalt that makes the road quieter and endure the extreme heat of the desert. I think we should consider this and see if this would also be prudent in our hot and cold seasons. We need to find ways to use recycled materials from many hard sources such as plastics found in our plastic bottles hard cases from old computer terminals, and other hard items to strengthen the polymer that we put on our roads.

Making certain that all carpool parking lots and waiting areas for light rail and bus stops are well maintained with proper lighting and shelter against the winter and inclement elements is key.

Rural Opportunities for Transit

I would like to encourage private bus companies to invest in rural areas of transporting citizens in a particular region of small towns. For instance in West Central Minnesota a bus line might service Montevideo, Benson, Ortonville, and Milan. They could provide a cadre of one or two buses for each town as well as transportation between towns.

This would bring economic growth to the area and provide a few more jobs for those wanting to move to a rural or small town community. They could also link citizens with other modes of transportation nearby. Once commuter rail comes to the western side of the state, buses could take folks to those commuter stations as well as provide transportation to small commuter airports.

FUNDING

In order for us to be conscientiously providing mass transit opportunities from all over the state, we need to take in revenue from everyone statewide.

First of all we need to BUDGET in the first place. We cannot make strides in these areas without insuring that the streams of taxation revenue are tied to like purposed ends. We can no longer just throw everything into the General Budget Kitty and start spending and hope it all works out all right.

As I have stated in my truth in taxation statement, I believe that we need to BUDGET and use Federal Grants that exist to see that we invest in our transportation needs. In addition, we need to see that the state sources of tax revenues that apply to the cost of transportation infrastructure are directly connected to the Transportation Budget Line Item in the State Budget.

Emissions Testing and Safety Inspections

I believe that the emissions testing of vehicles should be re-instituted with one change: that there also be a yearly vehicle safety inspection included and that all non-compliant vehicle their unsafe operation issues corrected and that a yearly inspection sticker be required on each vehicle and that the inspection sticker be placed on the license plate in the opposite corner of the yearly tab sticker. Most states have a vehicle safety inspection and they all handle it differently.

I would suggest that proof of safety inspection be brought to the License bureau to renew tabs, an additional cost would be added into the cost of the tabs and an additional "Safety Inspected 200_ sticker would be included in the same color as the yearly tab registration sticker and be placed on the opposite lower corner of the license plate.

I have seen countless vehicles on the road with loose bumpers and fenders that look like they could fall off at any minute. Bumpers completely missing and flopping trunk lids with bobbing bungee cords attached. This is not an acceptable vehicle to be on the road. Oil burning and muffler dragging cars, are not road worthy. An inspection would make citizens accountable for the safe operating condition of their car. The tab fee would be a flat fee on all privately operated vehicles and slightly higher for company owned and operated vehicles.

Tab Fees

I believe that tab fees for personal vehicles should be a flat rate for all vehicles that have the emissions equipment that is current to meet state and national standards. The inspection fees for the safety of vehicles would be added to the tab fee.

Emissions testing and vehicle inspection revenue would be placed in an account to cover the cost of the program and the additional and larger percentage would be used to repair roads and bridges.

In order to invest in a more independent transportation system that is not enslaved to the idea of everyone driving cars, I would suggest a slight raise in the gas tax to help us in our quest to invest in our mass transit. Unfortunately investing requires us all to invest. This revenue then would be mandatory and be transferred into the state transportation budget to be used for mass-transportation needs. This would include light rail, commuter rail, Personal rail and feeder bus lines to make certain a multi-modal plan is in place and funded.

The regular state license tabs revenue would go directly into the repair of roads, bridges and highway improvements.