Gracious Loser? Not!
The Twin Cities recently inaugurated its first rail transit system in decades with the opening of the Hiawatha line, currently connecting downtown Minneapolis and Ft. Snelling, and soon to connect Downtown with the airport and the Mall of America. By any measure, the line is a hit. They've been far exceeding daily traffic projections for 2005 despite the fact that a quarter of the line and several high traffic stations have yet to open.
Apparently Rep. Phil Krinkie, a state legislator from the western suburbs, hasn't gotten the memo yet, since he continues to fight a quixotic battle against the light rail system despite having lost in the legislature five years ago. On opening weekend, Krinkie posed for a photo-op with a luxury SUV, claiming that the cost of the line would have bought a fancy new truck for every new transit rider. The "truth" of this claim depended on a somewhat creative interpretation of a "new transit rider," on ridership being at the low end of projections (already far exceeded), and ignoring the fact that the rail line can be expected to last 20+ years whereas a new car would need to be replaced much sooner. Whatever.
The latest from Krinkie is that the state government conspired to hide data from 1999 showing that the rail line would cause congestion on cross streets. It is true that the first couple weeks saw complaints about cross-street congestion, but apparently the problem has been largely solved since then, as complaints have dropped to almost nothing according to Minneapolis' traffic operations engineer.
The deeper question, however, is what in the world is Krinkie trying to accomplish? The rail line is built, and is proving to be far more popular than anyone believed it would be. It's not like we're going to un-build it.
Furthermore, traffic congestion in and around the Twin Cities is rapidly approaching Seattle-like levels. Even mid-day, major arteries are clogged all over the place, and rush hour is snarled up pretty much everywhere. Adding enough new traffic lanes to accommodate all of today's traffic would be far more expensive than mass transit, and that's not even considering the fact that some of the worst chokepoints (like the Lowry Hill tunnel) are physically impossible to expand.
A gracious politician is one who is willing to admit mistakes, take defeat in stride, and work to forward his agenda on future issues. Someone needs to send Krinkie a ticket for the cluetrain:
Dear Rep. Krinkie,
As much as I admire your willingness to fight for the issues you believe in, I feel obligated to point out that you are wasting your time. The Hiawatha Line has been built, the money is spent, and furthermore, Twin Cities residents are voting with their feet in favor of light rail. Perhaps it is time to focus on a different issue.
Respectfully Yours,
The Cluemaster