Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Aug. 15

THE NEW BRIDGE

Slow down, build right

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's idea of considering light-rail options in the design of the new Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge rebuild has encountered "stiff opposition."

No evidence of opposition among the general public is presented. Our first light-rail line, planned and mostly completed in the pre-Pawlenty era, is considered wildly popular.

The only stiff opposition to considering it for the I-35W bridge seems to be from those leaders who are perhaps embarrassed and ashamed of what transpired in Minneapolis on Aug. 1, so they want the bridge rebuilt "super-fast" -- despite what the public may want and what might be best for Minnesota.

RAY OLSON, ST. PAUL

Leave off LRT

Mayor R.T. Rybak now demands that light-rail options be considered in designing the new bridge.

What a shame. It's too bad that we have to subsidize the Hiawatha line at more than $6 million per year while it loses money. Now he wants to hold up the reopening of one of the most important stretches of road in this entire state.

I think he needs to think of what is best for the state.

BOB PETERSEN, BLAINE

Plan for the future

Gov. Tim Pawlenty now says that light rail is off the table because it would take too long to rebuild the I-35W bridge. Taxpayers should know that adding light-rail provisions would save taxpayers millions on the Central Corridor project by eliminating the need to build a tunnel and upgrade the Washington Avenue Bridge. I am tired of hearing about building the bridge fast. I want it done right!

CATHY HARRISON, CIRCLE PINES

A rail convert

Mayor R.T. Rybak deserves thanks for keeping light rail at the forefront of the bridge reconstruction project.

As someone who originally felt that light rail was a waste, I've changed my tune after using it several times -- to visit the Mall of America, to get to the airport and even to get from the Warehouse District to the Metrodome for a Twins game.

I don't think the new bridge needs to have light rail from the beginning. But it should be designed to accommodate a light-rail line. This is not too much ask.

MICHAEL BARR, MINNEAPOLIS

HOW TO PAY FOR TRANSIT

A tab fee redesign

There appears to be some support for the idea that boosting the gasoline tax is both sensible and overdue. But there is another automobile-related tax that urgently needs adjustment: the annual state vehicle-license, or tab, fee.

First, the amount of the tax should be based on three relevant and vehicle-specific criteria: weight and horsepower, which have a strong bearing on road-surface wear and tear; current value, related to ability to pay, and gross length and width, which determine the "footprint" of the vehicle. (The last factor determines the highway surface area that the vehicle covers -- very important during our increasingly frequent periods of congestion.)

Second, the tax should be based on these numbers on a steeply progressive scale. This would have two constructive consequences. It would maximize badly needed revenue, and it would discourage the use of gas-guzzling vehicles.

RAY WARNER, EDINA

Don't use stall tactics

In politics, when the facts are against you -- stall. That's the strategy used by Rep. Mark Buesgens and his conservative allies after the bridge collapse ("Let's be wary of raising taxes during a period of high emotion," Aug. 10). We shouldn't raise the gas tax, they argue, until we've totally reworked the formula by which such taxes are allocated statewide.

But the Star Tribune's chart of "Minnesota's Worst Bridges" (Aug. 5) shows five metro bridges and 33 bridges in greater Minnesota that are as bad or worse than the collapsed I-35W bridge. It appears that the pie is too small, not that it's being carved up unfairly.

TOM NELSON, MINNEAPOLIS

MOLNAU'S PROFILE

News or fashion story?

It was interesting to read in the Aug. 12 article about criticism of Carol Molnau's position at the Minnesota Department of Transportation that, at the news conference after the bridge collapse, she was "wearing white Capri pants and a nautical theme T-shirt."

This is just what your readers need to evaluate her work. Why did the article not include similarly newsworthy information about the governor and mayor?

DONN SATROM, ROSEVILLE

ROVE RESIGNS

Impeccable timing

As it turns out, Karl Rove really is a genius. He knew precisely when to abandon the sinking ship of state. His timing guarantees that he'll be on safe, dry land and no longer have to contend with a roiling sea and a perfect storm. Be aware, however, that he may return, like Karen Hughes, in another incarnation.

JOANNE BERGMAN, ANGORA, MINN.

TOYS FROM CHINA RECALLED

Boon to U.S. econony

Thanks, China, for boosting the U.S. economy, at least in the interim. From now on when I shop for toys, the first thing I will look for is a "Made in the USA" label. If it means I have to pay a little more to ensure my kids are safe from lead and other banned chemicals that are used in Chinese toys, then buying "regulated" U.S. toys is a bargain at any price.

L.H. MATHIS, CHAMPLIN

PASSING A FARM BILL

Coleman understands

When the dust cleared from the political grandstanding demonstrated at the Farmfest forum in Redwood Falls, Minn., it seemed like only one Minnesota politician took an approach that cut to the core of the dispute over the new farm bill.

I was very impressed by Sen. Norm Coleman's ability to articulate the challenges of passing the $250 million bill that the administration has threatened to veto. Coleman was right to question where the money would come from. And hopefully the rest of the Senate will give equal consideration before hastily slapping a bill together that will only be vetoed down the line.

BOB QUASIUS, MARSHALL, MINN.

SMOOT HATED MINNESOTA

Back at you, Fred

Fred Smoot says he hated his time in Minnesota. So did we.

DAN SIGNORELLI, CHAMPLIN