Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Light Rail News, 28 Jul 2004

Light-rail critic says tie-up kept quiet (St. Paul Pioneer Press) - Minnesota Department of Transportation officials have known for years that Hiawatha light-rail trains could cause traffic tie-ups on nearby Hiawatha Avenue but kept that information from the public, a leading critic claimed Tuesday. Rep. Phil Krinkie, R-Shoreview, contends that some MnDOT officials tried to delay public knowledge of the potential for congestion to preserve the $715 million line's political prospects.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Funding NYC Transit (With Advertising)

Now a Message From a Sponsor of the Subway? (The New York Times) - Facing what it says could be budget gaps of more than $1 billion in the coming years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the keeper of the region's mass transit system, is exploring selling naming rights to its subway stations, bus lines, bridges and tunnels.

Light Rail News, 27 Jul 2004

Krinkie: State hid LRT traffic data (Minneapolis StarTribune) - State officials knew years ago that the Hiawatha light-rail line would tie up traffic on nearby streets in Minneapolis, but they hid the information to keep the $715 million project on track, a state legislator alleged Tuesday.

Hennepin County wants its name on light-rail cars (Minneapolis StarTribune) - After contributing millions of dollars toward the Hiawatha light-rail line -- and watching it open to widespread praise -- Hennepin County wants its name on the trains. The County Board has voted to ask the Metropolitan Council, which operates the rail line, to list Hennepin County prominently on the rail cars and on all marketing material.

Light Rail Is Kept Off Ballot Again (Los Angeles Times) - Rather than let voters have a say in the controversial CenterLine project, Orange County transportation leaders on Monday said they would try to build political support for the $1-billion light-rail system among local cities. For the second time in a month, the Orange County Transportation Authority's Board of Directors killed a proposal to place an advisory measure on the November ballot as a possible way to persuade Congress to help fund the project.

Monday, July 26, 2004

Monorail News, 26 Jul 2004

Monorail a big hit in Vegas, but here? (Houston Chronicle) - Back then, Houston would have been the first city to construct monorail for public transportation. But now, as Metropolitan Transit Authority officials re-examine how to extend the Bayou City's new rail system, there is a shiny new monorail line in Nevada's desert playground that supporters insist will prove to be the mass-transit mode of the future.

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Monorail News, 25 Jul 2004

Las Vegas Monorail Rolls Above Strip Traffic (The New York Times) - It's been called a Disneyland for adults, and now Las Vegas has one more attraction to make that analogy fit: a monorail. Faced with perpetual traffic jams on the Strip, Las Vegas opened a monorail line on July 15 that can whisk passengers to any of seven stations that serve nine resorts and the city's convention center.

Monorail Debate: No-bid deal fuels skeptics
(Las Vegas Review-Journal) - Perception about whether the monorail is a monument to community good will or a patronage operation might depend upon whom you trust. Skeptics say it's hard to know what's going on. They fret that no-bid contracting with minimal disclosure leaves the system -- and millions of dollars in cash flowing downstream -- woefully unaccountable.

Monorail recall effort certified (The Seattle Times) - Unless the Seattle Monorail Project is able to derail it, a ballot measure that could kill the proposed 14-mile elevated train project will go before Seattle voters in November. King County Elections yesterday certified that Initiative 83, sponsored by Monorail Recall, had gathered the required 17,229 signatures to put the measure on the ballot. County officials said they verified 17,250 signatures before certifying it for the ballot.