Editor, The Transcript:
An open letter to Gov. Brad Henry:
The League of Women Voters of Norman sincerely urges you to take the initiative as Governor to issue a moratorium on relocation of the Interstate 40 Crosstown Expressway through the state-owned Oklahoma City Union Station rail yard. We further believe that the Santa Fe Station, whose terminal building is privately owned and whose narrow, elevated yard already handles in excess of 40 fast freight trains each day, is clearly not a candidate to become our regional transit hub.
This issue affects every community in Oklahoma that has rail service to and thorough Oklahoma City, and it is pivotal to the future of passenger and freight transportation statewide. The development of modern multi-modal transportation systems is central in the effort to reduce the harmful emissions of fossil fuels and to increase economic opportunities.
Oklahomans for New Transportation Alternatives Coalition (OnTrac) has consulted transportation experts and engineers about the possibility of realigning a segment of the Crosstown Expressway so that it would fall 200-300 feet south of the Union Station rail yard on right-of-way owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). It appears that realignment is definitely feasible. To date five communities - Norman, Chickasha, El Reno, Shawnee, and Lawton -- have passed resolutions petitioning you to convene a special commission to consider realignment proposals. ODOT is vigorously opposing any effort to consider an alternative plan which would save the Oklahoma City rail yard.
This is not a choice between the Crosstown or Union Station rail yard. The Crosstown can be relocated, but once the rail yard is destroyed, the cost of acquiring land and rebuilding a station with space for multiple rail lines would be astronomical. We believe that this lost opportunity would adversely affect the future of Oklahoma indefinitely.
BARBARA ROBINSON
President, League of Women Voters, Norman
Letters
It's not a choice
- Letters
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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....
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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....
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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....
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Sykes trying to secure seat
