SOUTHWEST LRT

To tunnel or not to tunnel?

The Nov. 15 editorial convincingly made the case for the potential value of the Southwest Corridor light-rail line to the city of Minneapolis. However, it is most disappointing that the editorial never mentioned the best option for getting this done without further controversy: a deep tunnel between Lake Street and Penn Avenue. This option was, in the minds of many, prematurely removed from further consideration by the Metropolitan Council due to concerns about cost, but the actual difference in cost to state and local government between this option and the currently unacceptable ones under review is less than $100 million. Even with this added cost, the project is highly competitive with others under review for matching funds by federal funding agencies.

The shallow-tunnel option will never be an aesthetically and environmentally acceptable solution regardless of its safety to the Chain of Lakes. It is most unlikely a new solution will be found for relocating freight, and even if it were, it would leave an at-grade line through the entire corridor between Lake and Penn, with all of the problems that would pose. However, a deep tunnel would satisfy all stakeholders by eliminating the threats to both St. Louis Park and the Kenilworth Corridor while permitting the lines as planned, minus one station of questionable value at 21st Street.

Steven R. Goldsmith, Minneapolis

• • •

The one sure way to eliminate environmental risks to the Minneapolis lakes is to avoid light-rail tunnels entirely and run the line at grade through Kenilworth. The money saved could then be applied to the connecting Midtown streetcar line or to higher and better county and suburban transit needs. The fact that colocation can be done at-grade for $35 million — or even less — without taking any Minneapolis homes, and the fact that the four additional freights will be hardly noticed in Kenilworth once light rail is implemented, should be sufficient to avoid the tunnels, independent of the latest round of consultant opinions.

Meanwhile, there is nothing petty (as the Nov. 15 editorial suggests) about the concerns voiced by St. Louis Park officials over rerouted freights. It is one thing for the four daily freights to roll quietly through Kenwood on a flat, relatively straight track profile, and quite another thing for those same freights to scream and grind up a half-mile grade in central St. Louis Park and then around one or two modestly sharp curves. Even Kenwood folks, a couple miles away, will hear and feel that, so you can imagine what it will be like in the transit-oriented, mixed-use development zone planned for the Louisiana Station area.

The Star Tribune Editorial Board made a compelling and articulate case for the benefits of the Southwest LRT endeavor. Let's hope Minneapolis officials and Gov. Mark Dayton are buying it and not the $160 million shallow tunnel mea culpa offered by Met Council to Minneapolis.

JEROME JOHNSON, St. Paul
CHARITY AND IDEOLOGY

Some problems are too big for donors

I thought it interesting that Friday's Letter of the Day ("Dayton's giving reflects the ideology of compassion") was immediately rebutted by a following letter regarding the Affordable Care Act. That writer noted that having "fundraisers to aid families stuck with multi-thousand-dollar medical bills and no savings to cover it … apparently alleviates … [our] responsibilities to the poor."

My wife has noted that everywhere she goes recently, there are requests for donations for things that can't really be resolved through this nickel-and-dime approach — things that need a full societal effort such as the ACA.

It was also interesting that the letter writer quoted his 18-year-old son as saying (paraphrasing here) that people don't work hard because the government will provide for them. That seemed rather odd coming from his generation, since a headline on Page A3 of the Star Tribune that same day read: "20-somethings broke, waiting for a break, census shows." Heaven forbid that government should ever get involved to provide aid in that situation.

I sincerely hope that the writer never loses his job (none are permanent; all businesses eventually fail) and has a pre-existing medical condition. Charitable giving by conservatives will not resolve the economic issues he could face in such circumstances.

TOM OBERT, Alexandria, Minn.
WINTER BIKING

We need a reliable way to find storage

With the coming onset of winter weather conditions, I am weighing my options on where to store my main mode of transportation: my bicycle. A friend mentioned that Metro Transit manages a system of bike locker rental units throughout its Twin Cities system. I went to the website to investigate and finally have given up trying to work with those responsible for this program.

The process is not user-friendly in the least, and needs to be improved immediately. The cost for low-income bus patrons also should be revised.

TIM MCDEVITT, St. Paul
SPACE VISITORS

Listen up: They aren't using useless rockets

Rockets and missiles are useless for space exploration. The world wastes trillions of dollars developing them and from my perspective not only has given up on space but sees it as a failure.

UFOs and space aliens are as common as night and day (Readers Write, Nov. 7 and 11), but they are not arriving in rockets. Give up on your center-of-the-universe theories. People are stupid in thinking the "rocket" has anything at all to do with space.

JOHN MUSIELEWICZ, Zumbrota, Minn.