Minneapolis/ St. Paul Traffic (insurance, maintenance, tax)

[JenLee]

I just got an email that gives me a bit of encouragement: it seems that our hard work to get some mass transit back in our area of the Twin Cities is starting to pay off! Here is a blog by one of our state representatives about it: Paul Gardner, State Representative (District 53A): Bus Service in Shoreview

They are going to re-instate one of the last bus routes that they pulled out of this area about 2-3 years ago! I don't live near that route; but I shall "go out of my way" to USE the bus service there because I do believe in mass transit!

[SlyFrog]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

Planners have known for some time that traffic fluxes to meet the road capacity.

That makes the answer logically obvious: we should cut back to single lane highways everywhere, and the population and suburban sprawl would drop like a stone.

The alternative is to build a random 10 lane highway out in the Nevada desert, then everyone will move there and away from Minnesota.

After all, the traffic fluxes to meet the road capacity, right?

[Minneapolitan]

Originally Posted by TimtheGuy

First, I don't believe the report that we are 2nd worst in the US for traffic. Secondly, I live in an outer suburb (Hastings) and think traffic on our side of the cities (SE) is not a problem at all. My wife commutes to downtown St. Paul and I commute to Rosemount. Driving from Hastings to the airport, MOM, St. Paul and anywhere East of 35E (Eagan, St. Paul, Oakdale, Woodbury, Stillwater) is a breeze.

Why would I move to 'the city'????

Of course you don't run into traffic. Nobody lives on that side of the metro.

Obviously you haven't driven ANYWHERE in the south, ENTIRE WEST, northwestern, or north suburbs. Try driving from Minnetonka to Burnsville on a dry, warm, and sunny weekday anywhere between the hours of 230 and 630...then tell me traffic in the TC area isn't horrid. I used to drive that everyday some 3 years ago (when traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it is now), and it would take me at least an hour and a half. That's 20 miles, BTW.

I have since moved to MPLS, and could'nt be happier. I take the bus and/or bicycle almost everywhere I go, and hardly ever use my car. I used to put 400 miles a week driving from home-work-school. Now I drive that in maybe 3 months.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by SlyFrog

That makes the answer logically obvious: we should cut back to single lane highways everywhere, and the population and suburban sprawl would drop like a stone.

The alternative is to build a random 10 lane highway out in the Nevada desert, then everyone will move there and away from Minnesota.

After all, the traffic fluxes to meet the road capacity, right?

Your first solution make sense economically (but unfortunatly not politically!) Your second solution is, um..., well, it needs a bit more work!

[Carolina_Belle92]

Wow... talking about traffic? I've been to Minneapolis SO many times (I'd have to count two people's fingers and toes at least) and it's never seemed to me like a traffic-ridden congested city.

You want traffic? Live in Baltimore. Think half an hour for a ten-mile commute on the best of days. The Beltway is HELL when you're trying to get to work.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Isaysos

Unchecked urban growth that we are seeing in many american cities does not just contribute to climate change, but also habitat destruction, and loss of land to grow crops. Lets also not forget about the negative social impacts (lack of community, increased time spent in the auto, decreased incentive for physical activity). TimtheGuy, your ignorance frightens me. Perhaps you should do some research and educate your self on the world energy situation and demographic changes before you make your rash, ill-informed comments on this forum.

Your being so naive scares me. Your original post to start this thread starts with:

As many of you may have heard, new reports show Minnesota (Minneapolis/St.Paul) traffic is now the second worse in the nation

. THERE IS NO WAY IN **** THAT WE HAVE THE 2ND WORST TRAFFIC IN THE NATION!! You only add to the fuel to the propoganda. I am sure you are a big Michael Moore fan.

Your talk about the environment w.r.t. global warming leads me to believe that the same thing has happened there. A report comes out that "shows" some possible link between global warming and our vehicles or some doomsday report about energy and you are first to jump on board. I am sure you would love to TAX the heck out of all of it to reduce consumption, which of coarse impedes business and free markets.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Minneapolitan

Of course you don't run into traffic. Nobody lives on that side of the metro.

Obviously you haven't driven ANYWHERE in the south, ENTIRE WEST, northwestern, or north suburbs. Try driving from Minnetonka to Burnsville on a dry, warm, and sunny weekday anywhere between the hours of 230 and 630...then tell me traffic in the TC area isn't horrid. I used to drive that everyday some 3 years ago (when traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it is now), and it would take me at least an hour and a half. That's 20 miles, BTW.

I have since moved to MPLS, and could'nt be happier. I take the bus and/or bicycle almost everywhere I go, and hardly ever use my car. I used to put 400 miles a week driving from home-work-school. Now I drive that in maybe 3 months.

While

Nobody lives on that side of the metro.

is quite a stretch...it sure is nice! If people have such an issue with traffic, maybe they should check it out.

You used to commute from Minnetonka to B'ville?? Why? I always point people in the right direction on this forum as to which cities to consider with respect to where they will be working. If they told me they were going to work in B'ville then they should live in the immediate area.

If I took a job in the areas you mention

ANYWHERE in the south, ENTIRE WEST, northwestern, or north suburbs

then I would live somewhere relatively near by. It is a pretty simple concept.

[Minneapolitan]

Originally Posted by TimtheGuy

While is quite a stretch...it sure is nice! If people have such an issue with traffic, maybe they should check it out.

You used to commute from Minnetonka to B'ville?? Why? I always point people in the right direction on this forum as to which cities to consider with respect to where they will be working. If they told me they were going to work in B'ville then they should live in the immediate area.

If I took a job in the areas you mention then I would live somewhere relatively near by. It is a pretty simple concept.

Thank God there are smart people out there like you that think about that when they move somewhere, but the matter of fact remains that many, many, MANY people commute from suburb to suburb, clogging the freeways. A Minnesota geography professor of mine showed us some stats about commuting in the TC area. I recall that over 60% of our metro population commutes from suburb to suburb everyday. Just like I had in years past. And they don't live nearby, either. That's just the way it is out there, and we can't force people to live near their place of work. And that means more and more congestion, as more and more sprawl builds and jobs are farther from peoples' homes...Unless we do something about it (ala give people more options in transportation).

And btw there is NO denying that a huge majority of our suburban population lives in the south metro swinging up through the west to the north. For this very reason, your commute is vastly different than the great majority of peoples' that live here.

One last note...I disagree that we are the second worst traffic in the nation. However, I would believe that we are the second worst metro in terms of worsening traffic compared to X amount of years ago.

[Isaysos]

Timtheguy, smarter planning would actually decrease taxes because we would have to spend less money on infrastructure costs. If our traffic keeps increasing the way it does, we would have to double our freeway lanes in the next few decades (talk about tax increases). Yeah, your probably right on global warming, all of those scientist and the global community dont know what they are talking about.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Isaysos

Timtheguy, smarter planning would actually decrease taxes because we would have to spend less money on infrastructure costs. If our traffic keeps increasing the way it does, we would have to double our freeway lanes in the next few decades (talk about tax increases). Yeah, your probably right on global warming, all of those scientist and the global community dont know what they are talking about.

I am sure you are a big proponent of mass transit. And I am also sure that it (mass transit) would reduce taxes as well since they need so little subsidy to operate. (heavy sarcasm)

Taxes and costs will ALWAYS go up/be higher if liberal/environmental extremists like yourself get your way.

So, you dispute the fact that there are scientists who disagree that global warming is caused by human activity?? Or, that there has climate change on earth in the past prior to industrialization?

You say Isaysos and I say it aint so.