LETTER

What about pollution from idling cars?

Posted

The article regarding what happens when you remove I-94 seems to be based on fiction. The pictures show I-94 in definitely a non-rush hour period with even fewer cars in the new reimagined eight -lane road plus a bus route in the center. A better picture would be to show the roads at rush hour.
The pollution from cars idling at the stops lights will be way worse than the pollution from the freeway, since the average speeds will be lower. This new road is still a “wasteland” of cars, because it has to carry 160,000 cars a day or the cars have to go to other neighborhoods polluting them. These cars are going to go somewhere, because the infrastructure for public transportation is sorely lacking. What we have (e.g., the Green Line) is abused (e.g., smoking, trash, disruptive behavior) by some of the riders making riding public transit a chore rather than a pleasure, like it is in Europe.
A much better and more practical option would be to cover sections of the freeway, as suggested for the Rondo neighborhood and promote better, safer and cleaner transit to get people out of their cars.
The article against replacing the Hamline Midway library called the process deceitful. Based on my reading of the article, the author simply doesn’t want to believe that old buildings have serious and expensive repair needs. A new library that is state-of-the-art and accessible to all should be embraced by the community.

Regards,
Chuck Bye
Como

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