Editor, The Transcript:
The Transcript's excellent Sept. 17 article "Rail resolution steaming ahead" should be a call to action for Norman citizens.
The Norman Sustainability Network strongly supports the resolution to protect the Union Station rail yard and encourages all Normanites to come to the city council meeting Tuesday to show their support. We have collected signatures from more than 500 Oklahomans who agree that mass transit infrastructure is vital to our state's future.
We realize that I-40 is in dire need of repair, but there are several alternative routes for the Expressway that would not encroach on the rail yard.
We need tracks for freight, passenger rail and eventually light rail as well as ample space for bus routes up to Union Station. If the facility is protected and expanded, we could have trains serving Norman, Tulsa and many other Oklahoma cities. Combined train and bus service could reach the state capitol, OU Health Sciences Center, Will Rogers Airport, Remington Park, Tinker, Altus and Ft. Sill military bases.
There is no good replacement for the Union Terminal, which was purchased in 1989 for an announced purpose as a rail hub. If the hub is destroyed, Oklahoma will lose population and economic opportunities to those states that have better planned for the future.
On the other hand, a revitalized passenger rail system would further the goals of both MAPS and Core to Shore. A study by the University of North Texas found that the DART metro system in Dallas led to $4.26 billion in economic development. Office properties near DART rail stations increased in value 53 percent more than comparable properties not served by rail.
With rising gas prices and environmental damage from ozone and greenhouse gas emissions, alternatives to driving will only become more important. But if we make the right choices now, we can protect and enhance our economy, environment and quality of life.
We ask all Oklahomans to take notice and contact our leaders in state and local government. It is not too late to make our voices heard.
GENE PERRY
THE NORMAN SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK
Norman
Letters
Expansion idea on the right track
- Letters
-
-
Sykes trying to secure seat
Editor, The Transcript: By the time this reaches you, the issues surrounding HB 2440 may have been laid to rest. Based on your article of this date, let me make these observations....
-
Corporate deception rules
Editor, The Transcript: Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase’s chief executive, said he does not know how the bank lost $3 billion (originally estimated at $2 billion) in a trading scheme. He called the trades “sloppy” and “stupid” but could not ...
-
Bike racks should be available
Editor, The Transcript: Biking to shop doesn’t need to be difficult, either. Yet so many merchants fail to provide bicycle racks and water fountains. And a bench to repack your purchases so you can carry them easily on your bike would be ...
-
Bold reform needed in DHS
Editor, The Transcript: Serenity Deal, a five-year-old girl, was brutally beaten and died at the hands of her father while in the custody of DHS. Serenity is only one of the nearly 50 children who have died while in foster care over the ...
-
Milbank’s partisan attack
Editor, The Transcript: The column on your editorial page on Monday, May 14, by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post Writers Group calling Mitt Romney “the cowardly candidate” must be answered....
-
Biking to work doesn’t need to be difficult
Editor, The Transcript: I am disappointed that the Norman Transcript chose to focus on an extreme for the Bike to Work article. While I don’t discredit Stephen Swanson and his cycle commute, I feel that highlighting a 22-mile bike commute ...
-
Life as a paranoid schizophrenic
Editor, The Transcript The Rheudasil family would like to respond to some of the negative comments made about Barry Rheudasil in the three-hour stand-off that took place on March 29, 2012. Here are some facts about Barry that people might ...
-
Simplifying taxes
Editors, The Transcript: As I do my Oklahoma taxes on Turbo Tax, I stare blankly at the entry asking for the sum of internet purchases that I owe State taxes on. I don’t mind paying this tax, I just I don’t know how. Is my kindle download ...
-
Rolling Thunder: a force worth joining
Editor, The Transcript: Since 1988, a group called Rolling Thunder has been involved in a demonstration through the streets of our nation’s capitol. This year is no different. On the Sunday before Memorial Day, hundreds of thousands of ...
-
Cleveland County needs another judge
Editor, Norman Transcript, Pease let me be heard briefly as a 68-year resident of Cleveland County; I’m a 16 plus year servant on the Bench, a 12- year member of the District Attorney’s staff, a practicing lawyer and proud parent....
- More Letters Headlines
-
Sykes trying to secure seat
