065e3bab   
   XPost: az.general, misc.misc   
   From: heaven@dead.net   
      
   On Mon, 1 Dec 2008 19:28:45 -0800 (PST), jjsargent@go.com wrote:   
      
   >Since Mr. Dolan is such a partisan of light   
   >rail, it seems odd that he didn't answer my   
   >objections to its side effects in my original   
   >article in this thread.  (Do I need to repost   
   >that?  It's available on Google archives.)   
   >   
   >On Nov 29, 6:53 pm, Kent Paul Dolan  wrote:   
   >>         The METRO system is designed to integrate   
   >>         seamlessly with Valley Metro bus service and   
   >>         will share the same fare structure. An   
   >>         all-day pass is good for local bus and rail   
   >>         service.   
   >   
   >This is the snag.  The side effect of light rail   
   >is that the bus service is, in a good many cases,   
   >being degraded!  I don't know why they don't   
   >realize that both the new Tempe Transit Center   
   >*and* the existing College Avenue stops could   
   >be used, thus *increasing*, not (as is the plan)   
   >decreasing the number of buses coming into   
   >downtown Tempe and thus increasing the   
   >convenience of public transit.  Instead, people   
   >who formerly boarded a bus (say, 56 or 81) in   
   >downtown Tempe will now have to take light rail   
   >(or Orbit, if appropriate) to where their bus will   
   >come through and then board the bus they really   
   >want -- requiring a transfer that was not required   
   >before and lowering the overal quality of Valley   
   >Metro service!   
   >   
   >And the death of the Red Line is a disaster!   
   >There was one woman at one of the comment   
   >sessions in Tempe who said that, with the Red   
   >Line as it now is, she had to make only one   
   >transfer each way to and from work; with the   
   >changes, she would have to make FOUR!   
   >Because some shortsighted fools think Light   
   >Rail will magically make everything in Valley   
   >transit right, they are in fact mucking it up   
   >severely -- and paying billions of taxpayer   
   >dollars to accomplish that!  THANKS A LOT,   
   >PHIL AND HUGH, YOU BOZOS!   
   >   
   >-- Jeffrey J. Sargent   
      
      
   You are correct that they are fools but they are not shortsighted.   
   They know that to ensure the "success" of LR they MUST kill all   
   competing transportation modes to whatever extent they can.  That is   
   why they ALWAYS degrade the bus service - to force those happy bus   
   users on to LR.  And they always fight the PEOPLE'S CHOICE of the more   
   cost effective expansion of highway lanes because congestion is teh   
   FRIEND of LR.  They WANT congestion.  As I have asked the LR   
   supporters MANY times, "Show me a city who said they had a congestion   
   problem and that solved it with LR." and the LR supporters always run   
   away, as X did, with their tails between their legs.  So they are not   
   shortsighted, they are looking out for their own interest and   
   correctly seeing that to ensure the long term survival of LR they MUST   
   prevent other, more cost effective solutions from succeeding,   
   particularly Rapid Bus Transit.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)