Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-05-18
at traffic separation points.

at traffic separation points.
For a mere layman to raise an eyebrow in this
direction of highway engineer is great deal
worse than effrontery. At the risk of committing
something approaching blasphemy we again point
out that what is going in the Twin Cities through
way is engineering folly which we shall regret for
all time to come.
The candidates in the ST. Paul election who were
vocal about this problem defeated. This makes
it no less responsibility Of the elected officials in
the St Paul city government and in the Minneapolis
government no less a responsibility of the Twin
City Rapid Company and no less responsibility Of
the Railroad and Warehouse Commission. Indeed
after the highway department. the responsibility
begins with the Commission.
Things have been pretty bad for many, many
years, with respect to mass transportation in the
cities, and the Commission scarcely dodge its
responsibility for this The commission stood by dur
ing the dismantlng of the old street railway system
and the thevery for which various persons are now
serving or facing Jail terms. The commission has
neglected the need for integrated metropolitan
system of transportation, allowing the Twin Cities
Rapid Transit to discontinue and curtail service so
that the establishment of a hit-and-miss group of
independent carriers, serving some communities and
negecting others, became inevitable 1t has allowed
the local carrier to abdcate the job of express trans
portaton between Minneapolis and st. Paul to a
regional carrier, the Greyhound lines, which now
provides 80 to 40minute service with about 10 to 25
minute Roadway during weekdays between down.
town Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. 1t has
allowed the progressive reduction and deterioration
of service and increase of fares to the point where
it is both prohibitivey time-consuming and prohibit
lively expensive for the ordinary rider to make any
but minimal use of the service
1t may be that all of this is an inevitable result
of assigning a responsibility of major Importance
to agency that is already overburdened with re-
sponsiblities If such is the case, the plan for a
metropolitan transit authority which has been ad-
vanced by many thoughtful persons may be the
answer.
An authority with adequate power could change
the transportation picture in the Adequate
power would include the authority to regulate taxi
cabs, for example, and do away with the ridiculous
and costly multiplicity of regulating authorities
that limit and restrict ta1dcab services between
municipalities Adequate power would include the
right of the authority to provide transportation
service its own, in the Chicago area, when
private agencies prove unwilling unable to give
service Adequate power would include the resources
to carry on long-range studies and planning-an
area now left to agencies lacking either the power
or the function to order changes and improvements
in service.
The two political parties now engaged in
creating their platforms for the coming elections
The transportation problem is Twin Cities area
problem, but it is also legislative ISSUE since the
State Legislature holds the ultimate authority In
deed it the legislature that took the regulating
power away from the cities in the first place. and
gave it to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission
Any realistic political platform in the coming
election will have something to say about this mat.
ter. strong, effective plank will propose some.
thing along the lines outlined in this editorial. A
weak plank will recognize the problem and temper.
ze about solutions.
We hope that both parties will adopt strong
planks this most vital issue which affects the
daily lives of many urban residents