In Search Of A Problem

Construction  starts on the Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul today:

Construction crews are starting a $243 million renovation that will turn St. Paul’s historic Union Depot back into a hub for trains and buses.

Demolition begins Tuesday after a groundbreaking ceremony with elected officials including U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. Crews will start clearing space for train tracks and bus lanes.

The renovation will transform the building into a station connecting future light rail and high-speed trains with buses and bicycles.

So we’re spending money we don’t have to build a depot for transportation that nobody uses to get to a place nobody goes.

Do I have that right?

23 thoughts on “In Search Of A Problem

  1. The most risible thing is the “bicycles” part. Why would a bicyclist park his bicycle at the Union Depot and then walk several blocks to his ultimate destination? Would you do that with your bike, Mitch?

  2. Would I do it? Well, if I worked across from Union Depot and there was no space to park at work, maybe.

    Would some bikers do it? I’ve seen people do the most convoluted combinations of riding/busing/trains to get around, I never say never.

    But I think the “bicycle” reference is just a sop to keep the hardcore greenies on board.

  3. Coleman is never so happy as when he’s blowing a few million; especially when it’s “free” money from the magic money tree in D.C.

    I blame all those RINO weenies out there peddling to work.

  4. The bicycle part is for tourists who will ride the high-speed trains up from Gary, Indiana, then bicycle around St. Paul and Minneapolis taking in the sights.

    Shoot, I thought everybody vacationed that way.

    .

  5. Not just in St. Paul…

    Here it is again – on a grander scale:

    http://www.sacramentorailyards.com
    http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/projects/railyards

    The original idea was to move the entire train depot to line up with the re-aligned tracks. When they determined how many hundreds of millions of dollars that would take, and the time frame they made that determination (circa, fall-apart 2008) they elected to leave the historic train depot where it was and use it as the gateway to a new and bigger depot building. Hey, its only (other people’s) money!

  6. Perhaps they are hoping for retail to go in the building. Some big city stations that have minimal rail service are basically shopping malls with a train station tucked into a corner.

  7. “There are no tourists in Gary, Indiana.”

    That’s not true. They just go into Gary…but never come out. Think: Roach Motel.

    Are we really going to build a terminal for “high speed rail” now that Wisconsin is not doing it? Great. We’ll have high speed rail to Rochester. What boondoggle number is this? I’ve lost count.

  8. But, wait! Isn’t it all about the jobs? That’s all the lamestream propaganda machine harped on this morning, yet, didn’t say where the money to pay the union goons that will do the work, will come from!

    It took swiftee to put some perspective on it. 😉

  9. # Kermit Says:
    January 18th, 2011 at 9:43 am

    There are no tourists in Gary, Indiana.

    I think the term is “Victims”, “Future Escapees”, or “Survivors”.

  10. This just in: The GOP projects to cut $461 million in LGA. DFL and media howling to commence in 3…2…1…

  11. You guys are so cynical. Look on the bright side: when this is finished, a person living on Mississippi River Blvd near the U will be able to bike to the University Avenue light rail station, take that to downtown St Paul to buy three tomatoes, a zucchini and some organic eggs at the Farmer’s market, in season, of course, in the blistering time of two and a half hours. So it supports green transportation AND locally grown foods!

  12. We were coming into Chicago off the Indiana Toll Road this past summer and took the wrong turn into Gary. The slag heaps were lovely. Two things to know:

    1) Unless you want the full tour, take the sign that says “Des Moines” on it — I-80, to be precise.

    2) If you forget and get caught on the Chicago Skyway, the escape route is Cline Avenue South.

  13. “So we’re spending money we don’t have to build a depot for transportation that nobody uses to get to a place nobody goes.”

    Money thrown into the toilet, followed by the sound of water flushing.

  14. This whole green thing is like a dog chasing its’ tail, or, in layman’s terms, a grand liberat plan.

    The electricity to power all of these electric cars isn’t going to come solely from green sources. Hell, I dare say that green sources won’t even account for 10% of it.

  15. green sources won’t even account for 10% of it.

    Well, nukes WILL provide a fair amount of that…

    …but not only do the “greens” not consider it “green”, but Mark Dayton is reportedly going to work against, and maybe veto, lifting the state’s nuke moratorium,

  16. Mark Dayton is reportedly going to work against, and maybe veto, lifting the state’s nuke moratorium
    Seriously?
    Look, the way you get rich — or at least prosperous — is you leverage your assets. This works for muni’s, counties, states, and the Federal government as well as for individuals.
    The US has vast reserves of coal we can get out of the ground, transport, and burn it for energy cheaply.
    We won’t do it
    The US has access to vast oilfields. We won’t touch most of it.
    The US can grow immense amounts of food. We turn food into ethanol because we won’t burn coal or explore for oil.
    The US has a strong, highly educated middle class. They all want to be lawyers.
    You may have noticed that the left does not talk about “prosperity” anymore. Instead they talk about “justice” and “income inequality”. I think that I know why.

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