Dear Representatives:

We reviewed the transit options, and as local residents, have serious concerns.

Our large subdivision of Powers Lake will be located just south of the planned bus station at Woodbury Dr. and Hudson Rd. The second location for centralized transit at Manning Ave, along the “Hudson Rd. alignment”, is another location that will impact us.  Our family travels these roads frequently.  We travel Woodbury Dr. every day  and cross the intersection of Woodbury Dr. and Hudson Rd. multiple times per day.

Below are local concerns that we will share with our immediate neighbors and neighboring communities (HOAs); these bus stations will have a direct negative impact on our area’s living standards.

• Traffic Safety                     Both intersections have histories of serious accidents.  We have witnessed them often, and their frequency             is increasing.   Police Officers (friends)have told us that these intersections are considered dangerous/deadly in Woodbury.
• Congestion                         Increased car and bus traffic will follow the new bus stations.  The bus schedule will dictate when congestion is worse, but with cars and buses entering and leaving the park & ride lot, the intersection will be overcrowded.  This will impact our ability to access HWY                                                                94, Lake Elmo Park, communities north, and local businesses- grocery stores, gas stations, banks, eateries, etc.
• Pedestrian/Bike Safety Our family walks and bike rides Woodbury Dr. nearly every day during the warm months.   The intersection at Woodbury Dr. & Hudson Rd. are already a nightmare to cross.  The increased traffic, especially the large buses, will obstruct views and encourage

impatient drivers to take risks.  Our son was almost hit last summer with current traffic. Add outside drivers who don’t know Woodbury, have no investment in Woodbury, and there is an increased risk of incidents.

• Road Repairs                      Increased traffic means increased damage to roads.  Continuous road construction will follow the bus stations.
• Commute                            Given family needs, we are unable to use the bus/rail transit options, yet our commute time to work and activities will increase with the added concentrated congestion.  Increase in time and inconvenience is not good for property value or quality of life.
• Traffic Patterns                 Local residents will start avoiding Woodbury Dr. and Hudson Rd. by using residential roads and parking lots to miss congestion (think Valley Creek bus routes). Speeding will increase and safety issues in neighborhoods may follow.
• Pollution                              More cars-more buses-more concentrated pollution.  The emissions will be worse in our area with more cars and buses.  The buses will be “visual” pollution—slow moving eyesores.

We live in Woodbury to escape these traffic issues.  We also value the natural beauty of open space in Washington County and respect its local priorities.   Outsiders push unwelcomed changes to Woodbury to serve special interest needs and offer no concern for local residents.  I know this after participating on the County HRA Board and hearing plans for increased transient housing or multi-unit housing, all of which, encourages mass transit.

The transit plans are a self-fulfilling prophecy, they will increase traffic in this area through its invitation to outside commuters.  We know; we have experienced this type of planning in Illinois where I served on traffic committees in both Naperville and Chicago.  I also researched and fought similar initiatives as President of our Homeowners Association.  These plans MUST consider the impact on Woodbury’s local residents first and foremost.  Please address each of these concerns with your neighbors and taxpayers.  Give us a pledge that these problems won’t follow the proposed transit options.

Regards,

Paul and Marisa Novak

Woodbury, MN 55129

With the expansion of light rail, will crime follow the tracks?

KSTP Channel 5 reported:

St.Paul police say the number of people getting robbed on the street is up along the light rail route, typically at bus stops and on street corners.
In the past month, more than half ofall the robberies in St Paul were on University Avenue.

Minneapolis Star Tribune reported:

Police reports provide terse summaries of some of the more serious incidents.

“Gang-relatedbrawl on light-rail platform,” reads a report on an incident in May.Minneapolis police
reported in March that “transit officers were involved in a physical confrontation at the Lake Street LRT platform.”

On another occasion this year, police reported that a 34-year-old man was standing on the platform
“not bothering anyone when a group … jumped on him and kicked and punched him.”

Carol Ness, 71, sat on a bench on the platform last week waiting for a southbound train to visit a friend. She
occasionally sees troublemakers at the station and still remembers a day a few years ago when a teen repeatedly
demanded money from her.

Ness said better security cameras could make a difference if they trigger quicker police response.

“Sometimesthere’s people making trouble and no police, no nothing,” she said. “Something needs to be done.”

“Something needs to be done!” as quoted above,

HOW ABOUT ABANDONING THE EXPANSION OF LIGHT RAIL!?

It will save the citizens of Minnesota a lot of headaches and finances.

STOP LIGHT RAIL EXPANSION!!!

The definition of Governor Dayton’s South West model railroad folly is:

1.the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.

2.a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity: the folly of creating without purpose.

3.a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure.

Why are we sacrificing the following community projects for a model railroad which will cost billions to create and millions to maintain and only benefit a few in the metro area?

8th Street Corridor, Infrastructure Replacement & Street Reconstruction, Solid Waste Facility & Recycling Program, Geriatric Nursing Facility for Veterans, Industrial Park Infrastructure, Redevelopment & Parking, Bloomington Central Station Public Improvements, Sewer & Water Infrastructure, Industrial Park Infrastructure, Soil Correction, Utility and Street Improvements, Infrastructure for Apartments in Waconia, Infrastructure for Housing in the City of Carver, Redevelop School & Auditorium into Performance/Exhibit Space, Infrastructure for Housing & Industrial Park, Terminal Enhancement, Expand Industrial Park, Construct a new Public Works Facility, Water Tower Construction, Replacement of Public Library & City Facilities, Fire Hall/Ambulance Garage, Trails & Visitor Centers, Wastewater Treatment Pond, Renovation of Pavilion & Construction of a Trail, Downtown Development & Parking Ramp, Wade Stadium Repair and Upgrades, Wastewater Treatment Improvements, Edina Promenade Greenway Expansion. Second Street South Improvements, Downtown Improvement, Wastewater System Improvements, Curling Club Upgrades, Renovate Police, Fire, & Ambulance Services Building, Small Business Incubator, Giants Ridge Events Center, Malone Island Bridge & Sewer Replacement, Incubator Building/Industrial Park, Wastewater Treatment Improvements, Sanitary Sewer Collection System along Rainy Lake, Expand Public Library, Extending Municipal Infrastructure along La Prairie Ave, Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements, Street & Utilities Improvements for New Business Park, Renovate & Expand Mankato Civic Center, Rebuild Law Enforcement Training Facility, Streets, Sewer & Water Line Improvements, East Metro Public Safety Training Center, Public Safety Training Center Expansion, Regional Amateur Sports Center, Public Infrastructure, Redesign Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Update Athletic Facilities, New 115kV Electric Transmission Line, Redevelop Riverside Center, Gneiss River Valley Development Project, Infrastructure along proposed County Highway, Infrastructure Improvements, STH 36 & Osgood Ave. – Redevelopment Area, Construct Police Building, Drinking Water Improvements, Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements, Community Center Improvements, Business Incubator Construction, Welcome Avenue Industrial Park Improvements, Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant Site Acquisition & Remediation, Levee Road Area and Riverfront Improvements, TB Sheldon Theater Renovations, Design & Construct West Fire Station Training Facility, Material Recovery Facility, Road Reconstruction for Industrial Park Expansion, Mayo Civic Center – Convention Center Addition, New Grade School, Construct Public Safety Facility, Street Improvements , Fiber Optics Installation, Water main Improvements, River’s Edge Convention Center Expansion, Saint Paul Regional Ballpark, Fire Hall Renovation, Greenwood Street Underpass & Construction, Cross-Country Trail Improvements in Bloomington, Senior Citizens Healthy Living Center in Long Prairie, Improvements for Mixed-Use Development, Flood Mitigation-Storm Sewer Improvement, Infrastructure Development for Industrial Park, Public Health & Wellness Facility, Sports Dome Construction, Street Improvements, Expand Sports Center.

Demand Governor Dayton provide for your communities project(s) and not give all the DEED money to another overpriced unneeded model railroad.

ExposetheTruth.info

Below was sent to Minnesota’s  Representatives and Senators.

MNDOT would like you to believe:

There is nothing more important than creating toll roads to relieve congestion and
decrease drive times!

Nothing is further from the truth!

Adding a toll road to highway 35E between highway 694 and highway 94 is only to
continue subsidizing public transportation at the expense of expanding roads to
accommodate the majority of Minnesota Citizens who choose to use their automobiles.

AND

According to the National Bridge Inventory Database, Minnesota has 1,158 “structurally
deficient bridges” and 397 “functionally obsolete bridges”.  Who will be responsible for the
next 13 we lose because we are dumping our money into a transportation system that isn’t
needed or required?  ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT THIS CATASTROPHE!

VOTE NO to stop MNPass Lanes!!!!

VOTE YES to create/expand/repair Minnesota’s roads and fix Minnesota’s bridges!!!

Light rail interview of Rep Mike Beard, Transportation Committee Chair, on KTALK 1-18-12 Tweets from MinnesotaLAS:

• Proposed #train cost in South West metro has $1.2BILLION PLUS price tag. The Governor’s bonding request for the SW light rail line is JUST a small down payment of future matching dollars expected from MN taxpayers.
• Operating subsidies of $17MILLION for #trains are not accounted for or funded in future.
• #trains are being sold as a development tool for certain businesses, but development has not happened on Hiawatha line as predicted.
• Minnesota central corridor #train is expected to be ridden by current bus riders in violation of Federal law. #boondoggle

An article floating around Facebook and Twiiter from MinnPost discusses some of the hurdles to bringing lightrail to the Southwest line which would run from Eden Prairie to Minneapolis. It’s titled: ”Southwest LRT could still be derailed” – you can read the entire article here: http://tinyurl.com/6944ll6.

Many of us are opposing the expansion of light rail primarily due to cost. Even during prosperous economic times, riders are unwilling to pay the price that would actually defray the cost of running the train.  House Majority leader, Matt Dean, recently described how they would have to charge about $35. for a sandwich to bring in enough revenue to cover the cost of running a train. Even the trains that run along the East Coast run at a loss and being part of the East Coast urban sprawl, you would think there would be a demand for rail transportation.

But the fact is that the government ends up subsidizing rail lines, so even the southwest line, were it to go through, would end up increasing my taxes here in Woodbury because the state and/or federal government will have to continue subsidizing it. Not to mention, the hidden, unexplained costs of running a train with federal money and federal accounting, planning and other inefficient, costly practices and regulations that are never discussed when the State is discussing how it can jump through hoops to get the money in the first place.

Besides the fact that many of us need our cars for our work! Riding a train would be a hugely inefficient way for most of us to get to where we need to go on a daily basis. I acknowledge that commuter traffic is an issue along I-94 going to and from the Metro cities, but locals are able to find ‘short cuts’ on back streets and roads that others don’t seem to know about. In addition, the requirements of work and daily life require that I have a vehicle to use.

So, please write or call your legislators and ask them to STOP the LIGHT RAIL! We cannot afford it!