Then Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, whose district includes the university, introduced a pre-vetted resolution calling on the panel to adopt the Washington Avenue route and end any further discussion or study of the Dinkytown detour. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak seconded it. Everyone except O’Brien said they supported it, including Bob McFarlin, Pawlenty’s assistant transportation commissioner.
Then Bell told the story of Bruininks’ call to Pawlenty and the request from the governor’s office. Bell said the extra week was “in deference to the university.”
O’Brien thanked everyone and after the meeting said, “Right now, the university needs to take a step back and say, ‘What are the benefits and risks involved?’ “
You are fucking it all up. Please stop messing with the Central Corridor. You had every opportunity to talk about your folly of a suggestion before messing with the time table. Hennipen County, Ramsey County, and the Met Council are all against you. They have worked together. They have made concessions. You? You a want a train to go through that shithole known as Dinkytown.
The University of Minnesota’s preference for a northern alignment through campus and a memo that the U sent to the Federal Transit Administration in March are jeopardizing the project’s application for federal funding, according to Council Chairman Peter Bell and others involved in planning the line.
By going over our heads and crying to the Fed you let them know that we have no interest in $500 Million dollars of grant money on the table. Quit being selfish and withdraw your objections now!
Sincerely,
Sveden
*Click play while reading this post to listen to Nancy Drew Crew’s scathing commentary of the University system. This and many other songs are available for listening and download on their myspace page.
I live in a house with 3 other cyclists. We affectionately call ourselves “A Bike House”. Not the bike house.
We have a little thing we call Patrol. Which is a call to action to ride.
I came home from a pub quiz and found all my roommates at home. The night air was calling to me so I rallied the troops. 4 bikes, a few full beer tubes, and one dog rolled out of the house into a damp yet warm Spring night.
We hit up a few parks, creeks, and waterfalls. Minnehaha Parkway trail was deep in fog. My headlight looked like a laser beam as it tried to predict the hills, turns, and curbcuts we had to navigate. I felt like I was playing Mariokart.
When Pete and I got home we made a frozen pizza and a jug of purple stuff. Then we played some Super Adventure Island for the SNES.
Biking around the Minneapolis area with my friends is one of the best things in my life. North America rules!
When you arrive at that moist square of turf in which you choose to sit down and drink a beer with your comrades you will, in fact, need a beer to drink. Barring some vastly superior technology such as a rack and panniers its kind of sucks carrying beer cans around in a messenger bag or backpack.
Solution: Beer Tubes.
I had been thinking about making something like this for a while now. I believe Bjorn was talking about sewing something similar a while back. Stumped but determined I recently crowdsourced it on Minneapolis Bike Love.
When I attended the recent Ecowatch panel discussion on the topic I almost felt sorry for the University Reps on the panel. The two of them stated their case during their short presentation and then basically shut up during the Q & A.
I didn’t envy it at all. The Northern Alignment was clearly shown to be a waste of resources. Bottom line - no one wants to go to fucking Dinkytown.
