by Timothy Rose, media relations director, Fresh Energy

Many of us can recall growing up in a Twin Cities where elders reminisced about a streetcar system that was the best in the country. A 21st-century energy system for Minnesota and its largest metropolitan area must include a comprehensive transit system. Since the tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge, much has been made of this. What some have referred to as an unseemly haste to address this challenge has given way to a more reasoned dialog. Check out Almanac, Friday August 17, 2007.

In the first segment, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) eloquently and rationally explains the need for a bridge that will serve our communities’ needs for the next 100 years. Even Met Council Chair Peter Bell has a dignified air of acceptance regarding the concept. On the political panel, former state senators Jane Ranum and Wes Skogland ganging up on Phil Krinkie can surely only be described as, well, delightful. Fritz Knaak smiled benignly, wisely recognizing when to keep mum.

To create the best public policy we must change the public dialog…sometimes, rather aggressively.

Make your voice heard!

The Senate Transit Subdivision and the House Transportation Policy and Transit Subcommittee will be holding a joint public hearing on the reconstruction of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River on Wednesday, August 22, 2007. [Note: a full recording of the hearing is now available courtesy of the Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library.]
Officials from MnDOT will provide a brief presentation. The balance of the hearing is reserved for citizen testimony on their ideas, views, and suggestions for a new bridge. Public testimony will be heard on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Committee Chairs: Senator Scott Dibble and Representative Frank Hornstein

35W Bridge Legislative Hearing
Wednesday, Aug. 22
5:30-9:00 p.m.
Pohlad Hall S-280 (2nd Floor)
Minneapolis Central Library
300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

This entry was posted on Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 9:36 am by Fresh Energy and is filed under Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.