Adam Maleitzke   Minneapolis -- 2003-05-25

It's arrived, finally! I'm an architecture and urban studies major at the U of M, and thought I'd provide some commentary on the light rail situation. Here is the beginning of the Hiawatha light rail project. While many see it as a waste of money and a tool for business interests only, it is a necessary step in order to reduce the congestion that now plagues the Twin Cities. The TC is one of the most congested metro ares in the country, and unless organizations like the Met Council are allowed to implement their smart growth vision for the area via light and commuter rail, this current "car culture" we've come to enjoy will corrode our once beautiful cities. A continual expansion of the suburbs cannot be sustained, and until the republican majority in this state find brains (think Pat Awada) and quit this fixation with the glory of the suburbs, the Twin Cities will continue to experience smog alerts, increased commuter times and public outrage. Europe has done it, and to great success. It's inevitable: if there is a great concentration of people, there must be the infrastructure to support them. Light and commuter rail is the answer, my friends.

alan   MN -- 2004-01-13

adam, i completely agree. we DON'T want the TC to become another los angeles. it would be a shame to lose more historic architecture and greenspace to faceless freeways, and more air pollution.

Randy Lyken   Minneapolis Minnesota -- 2008-03-22

I support light rail too.