tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post8192250602263249415..comments2024-03-19T19:27:57.196-07:00Comments on Spokanarama: 45 minutes from Downtown - without a North-South Freeway...EvilElfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15752963689118990179noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-468524084496668232008-01-03T19:11:00.000-08:002008-01-03T19:11:00.000-08:00I like the idea of a user fee.Remember how much pe...I like the idea of a user fee.<BR/><BR/>Remember how much people seethed when they had to toss a dime to cross the Maple Street Bridge? When the price catapulted to a quarter, you could almost feel the collective tightening of arteries as people started stroking out. <BR/><BR/>Imagine the anger these tightwads are going to feel if they have to pony up. It might make the asphalt curdle. How much will curdled asphalt set us back!?!<BR/><BR/>Thanks, John, for giving us some real numbers that back up what many of us are thinking!EvilElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15752963689118990179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-39423730195674955522008-01-03T18:15:00.000-08:002008-01-03T18:15:00.000-08:00Some day I"m going to sit down and do a bunch of m...Some day I"m going to sit down and do a bunch of math. Here's what I know: the N/S freeway will cost us $120 million/year for 20 years. Nearly all of that money must come from the region; the US DOT has been pretty clear on that. <BR/>Now compare that to what other non-freeway transportation infrastructure costs, for example...<BR/> If I recall correctly, the light rail proposal from Spokane to Liberty Lake was in the neighborhood of $230 million. A bike blvd done real nice is about $10k/block. Striping bike lanes on a street is around $2k/block. Fish lake trail; paved from SPokane to Cheney with a bridge over the tracks: $6 million. Once you start looking at the cost of the N/S freeway and convert that to bike/ped/mass transit money, you can easily transform Spokane into a world-class city with light rail, bike/ped facilites out the ying-yang, and even some trollys and we'd still be able to heat our homes for a winter by burning the piles of cash left over from not doing the freeway. <BR/>Going to the <A HREF="http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com/2007/09/transportation-summit.html" REL="nofollow">state transportation summit</A> last year made it clear to me that the N/S freeway is all about moving goods through our region; there is no high volume N/S route this side of the cascades. If they build it and it's so important to have, it should be a toll road. The folks who use it should pay for it.John Spearehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07187638368645707099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-87870701229629265252008-01-03T09:51:00.000-08:002008-01-03T09:51:00.000-08:00Amen, bruthuh.Amen, bruthuh.EvilElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15752963689118990179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-75152179586822058612008-01-02T22:45:00.000-08:002008-01-02T22:45:00.000-08:00I wholeheartedly agree that rail is the better opt...I wholeheartedly agree that rail is the better option. Having experienced a real rail system (EuRail), I see just how good it can be, traveling across countries for pennies compared to the cost of driving. The cost of the infrastructure is less per travelled mile as well. <BR/><BR/>Its Cletus, Jethro, Bubba, and the like that cause the problem. Their "Christian" divined rights of free will state that they should be able to turn here if they choose, and a rail won't allow that. They want to be able to pull over at McDonalds and harden their arteries, pop into wal-mart and spend money they don't have on garbage they don't need. All the while, we dirty, unclean, pachouli oil reeking hippies are relegated to our infrastructure, take it or leave it. <BR/><BR/>Id love to see a Division line, a Sprague line, Argonne Line, Nine Mile line, Airport line, etc etc etc. A fairytale, though it is...<BR/><BR/>EEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392341094453383994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-48428042862092713772008-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:002008-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:00Thank you from one hippy to another!I can see your...Thank you from one hippy to another!<BR/><BR/>I can see your point of view. <BR/><BR/>I must admit that part of the allure of a train comes from experiencing the instant community that a train creates. I have always had great experiences of meeting people on trains. I've been really surprised by the helpfulness of people that I have met on trains. So, yes, there is a utopia dysfunction I possess.<BR/><BR/>Even if cars are powered by fuel cells or have fantastic batteries, there is still the factor of having to maintain a roadway for the cocooned individual to travel upon - not to mention the waste of owning a vehicle that will spend most of its life in a garage or carport - not doing anything but depreciating.<BR/><BR/>As for giving money to Sirti or tech schools - what kind of free market is that!?!!?EvilElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15752963689118990179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208202.post-73423691768031823762008-01-02T17:08:00.000-08:002008-01-02T17:08:00.000-08:00You smelly hippies, with your ridiculous notions o...You smelly hippies, with your ridiculous notions of "clean" living and "peace". BAH! Bush should nuke you too (whats the shortened vernacular for Nuke-you-leer?)<BR/><BR/>Seriously though, while the paper of rail sounds good, it will be another half-assed, underfunded program that the county feels is a burden, instead of a progressive movement. Let's look to changing the motion of people, keeping existing infrastructure. Could the dollars spend on the N-S freeway be taken over to SIRTI and given to the fuel cell or battery technology schools? Could we get the 60mph car that can travel 30 miles on a charge? This keeps our core cleaner, and keeps people from commuting from too far away. Couple that with free, electric-only parking with free charging stations....<BR/><BR/>EEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392341094453383994noreply@blogger.com