Today is the 18th anniversary of the opening of the Metro Transit Blue Line – the beginning, or re-beginning, of light rail transit in the Twin Cities.
So on this anniversary, let us remember the people who gave their lives – unwillingly and in most cases unwittingly – to further Minnesota’s political class’s obsession with feeling like a Big City.
It was a relatively quiet year on the rail lines – if you leave out crime at the train stations and on board the trains, of course. But the trains didn’t run over anyone new.
Still:
- The Blue Line has mowed down 15 so far – eight pedestrians, three bikers, a man in a wheelchair, and three people in cars. There was also a stabbing death in the winter of 2021 on the Blue Line, and three more murders at stations along the line. That’s an average of almost one death per year.
- The Green Line has harvested ten victims in nine years – the first just six weeks after the train started operating, mostly pedestrians trying to navigate the badly-designed street-level crossings. The most recent was last July 4. A shooting last month on the Central Avenue platform claimed another, although that wasn’t directly transit-related.
- The Northstar line has five fatalities so far. The last was in 2019 – which, to be fair, was about the last time anyone rode the Northstar.
That’s 30 dead, so far. 30 lives snuffed out so that the Met Council, the various governments, and other people who love to play with the dials and levers of government can feel like they’re “running” a big city with all the trimmings.
Let’s take a moment today to remember these innocent victims of government narcissism and megalomania.
I think if it’s any consolation, many fewer people take the lite rail (or train) because so many of the stops are so dangerous. See? You just have to look on the bright side. I expect an improvement in those death numbers in the future.
In that same time, how many people with carry permits blasted away other drivers after fender benders? How many victims’ blood painted the streets and grocery store aisles after being shot by people who took training, filled out the damned forms, and paid $100 for a permit? I was promised these things would happen if Minnesota became a shall-issue state.
If you’re wondering how Lefties reconcile mass transit (& high density housing) with the world of covid and other potential air borne viruses, the answer is – – wait for it – – mandatory vaccinations and vax passports.
You literally cannot convince them that is stupid. Actual, rational thought cannot penetrate their skulls. I use SITD’s troll as an example.
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Well, they have a change in those numbers after this weekend. It’s a trifecta of debauchery, entertainment and conventioneers, with city boosters crowing that an estimated 500,000 people will descend on the city. Taylor Swift, the Pervert event and the Kiwanis Club convention, are all taking place starting today.
Let’s not forget that around the time the light rail started getting built, Minnesota also became a Shall-Issue state. Weren’t there predictions of blood running in the streets from all the registered concealed-carry holders engaging in Wild West shootouts of innocents? How many CC-permit holders have fulfilled that particular “prophecy”? About the time I left Minnesota, I think it was 1. Light-rail continues to hold a sizable lead on the body-count.
Per what others have noted, it strikes me that one likely reason that there are fewer people being killed by light rail is because a lot of people are no longer going where light rail goes, and because the absence of a street in front of businesses along the path of light rail has killed off a lot of businesses that previously would have brought people into contact with the Death Train.
I remember thinking when they were planning/building the Hiawatha line “gosh, they’re going to send 50 ton carriages on a metal/metal brake system that becomes a bearing when it’s wet or oily through a bar district…..what could possibly go wrong?” I’m sorry that I was prescient in that regard.