Please read it and have a look at the comments.
The govenor, he bails out Danny's pet train, Northstar, in past years with slush fund millions, when it is not as needed and not as logical a piece in building a sound transit system. Then he slams a veto on something he appears to have given his word on, a veto on something that makes sense ridership-wise in ways Northstar cannot be justified.
Northstar will lose money. It will not be used enough to service the debt and turn a profit.
It will be a highly subsidized sop to developers along the route, who will want to tout it in building density once the market rebounds.
It will not have the ridership the Central Corridor would have.
When built, you can go downtown and then get a quick trip to Mall of America or the Airport. Zippo elsewhere, except by bus in traffic. You need more.
Build the key metropolitan spurs. Have a system started. THEN service the exurbs.
The man is a disaster.
_________UPDATE________
I see there was a comment about fiscal responsibility - clearly aimed at criticizing Pawlenty's Northstar slush-fund bailout thing a few years back. The link for that is here. Pawlenty did not do that alone, but his support was the sparkplug. See, also: here, here, here, here, where the ill-fated Anoka County Vikings Stadium mess also is tied-in, and here, where they let the cat out of the bag - Pawlenty dumps on the central corridor because it's already in a built up region, but Northstar presents a clear opportunity for less built up cordial areas to be raped by land speculators with a seat on city councils, developers, and such; the last link stating:
Rail, however, will do more for communities than just move passengers back and forth. It is clear that the station sites themselves are spawning plans for multi-million-dollar residential and commercial development. In Minneapolis, hundreds of houses are being built along the Hiawatha line, and a $600 million housing and entertainment complex is being planned for the south end of the line. Elk River, Ramsey, Anoka and Coon Rapids have imaginative development plans around their proposed station sites.
A good example of this development is Anoka's planned Commuter Rail Transit Village at the tracks and Fourth Avenue North where there are three 50-acre tracts. One already has residential, another 50 acres is slated for redevelopment along the tracks and the third tract is owned by the city, Anoka County and Minnesota. The city has purchased 19 acres from the state, of which 13 are developable. There are plans to have commercial and small stores around the station, a potential of 800 new dwelling units of all types and redevelopment for small businesses with good jobs.
Without the commuter rail stopping and going from this station, chances are development in that area would have been mainly industrial.
Elk River also has plans for residential and commercial development around its proposed station site, including 298 townhouse units, Pullman Place, a day care, a 60-unit apartment and retail and office space.
The city also has land for industries with jobs where workers can live near by in new residential units. At the same time, older residents will be encouraged to live near the station, shop in nearby stores and take the train into the city for entertainment.
One of the more creative plans is coming from Ramsey where the proposed station will be part of an ambitious Town Center between Armstrong and Ramsey boulevards [indeed, hubris and ambition were never lacking from the start, Kuraks on council and owning the land and beating the drums, Haas-Steffen, Feges, self-confessed felon Nedegaard, Elvig, and all].
While the Town Center will have many attractions, the rail station will make it more glitzy. On the drawing boards for the Town Center are a business conference hotel, a winter garden with 2 1/2 acres under roof, retail shops, a performing arts center, ponds separating the commercial use from the residential, a business sector anchored by a medical campus and a senior complex with a range of services.
Make the Ramsey Town Center more "glitzy"? Who in creation wants Ramsey to be "glitzy"? Town Center Tom Gamec? Who? The idea is repulsive. It is a John Feges legacy, and John's gone.
Again, Central Corridor makes sense, Northstar is a sop to Crabgrass prospering. Its time would have come, in due time, but pushing it as it was had more to do with land speculation and Crabgrass than good sense. And, where there's a lack of good sense there's Tim Pawlenty. Dan Erhart's name is mentioned a lot too, in the linked items.