Don't Want a Stadium?

Never fear -- there are plenty of people who have other ideas for how to spend your money. So if you like big spending, but can't stomach a stadium, get a load of what might be coming if the train guys get their way:

Local officials from the southwest, northwest and east could be converging simultaneously at the Capitol seeking $100 million or more in state funding for each of three possible light-rail transit (LRT) lines – in the Southwest, Bottineau and Gateway corridors.

That could be mission impossible if Republicans retain control of the Legislature in this fall’s election. In the current legislative session, both houses have resisted providing even a $25 million down payment on the state’s share of the cost for the proposed $1.25 billion line in the Southwest Corridor between downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie.

And that's not all -- check out what it all might look like. Click on the image if you'd like a closer look:

Just to put this in perspective -- the blue line is the Hiawatha line that Jesse Ventura rammed through. The green line between "The Interchange" and Union Depot represents the Central Corridor project that is currently underway. The other green line down to Eden Prairie is the proposed Southwest Line that supposedly will cost $1.25 billion, but in truth will be a lot more than that. All the pea soup green lines represent the wish lists of the choo-choo enthusiasts.

Steven Dornfeld at MinnPost has been writing about these subjects for many years and also worked for the Met Council, so he understands it all well. There's a lot more at the link and you should familiarize yourself with it. The train people aren't going away any time soon and if all of this were built, we'll be looking at numbers with a vapor trail of zeros. And while the tracks might not lead to your house, they will lead to your wallet.

And, by the by, if you'd prefer that transportation money go to fixing existing roads, well, here's your wakeup call.