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' http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/83682617.html?page=l&c=y Page 1 of 2 <br /> ���.� �. :� �,; <br /> �_.�, <br /> ���-c �� <br /> � f`}�4FCit:'�Ot3r <br /> St�rTri�u ne���� " `� mobilebrorvserto <br /> �'• http://staetribune,com <br /> Editorial: Deeentralization dulls there a mention of the Met Council's <br /> Ill@tt'O�S edge fundainental flaw, one that predates the <br /> Pawlenty years The council has been <br /> powerless to stop the steady and destructive <br /> Despite lnvestments, Met CounCil decentralization of the metro rebio��. Despite <br /> falls the Central Cltles. its natioi�al reputation for pla��nii�g and its <br /> mission of"orderly and economical <br /> Last update: February 7, 2010-6:23 PM development," the council continues to <br /> encourabe arowth at the suburban edge at <br /> If Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell's the eapense of redirecting development and <br /> final State of the Regio�� speech last week vitality back toward the center. <br /> contained a subliminal message, it was <br /> probably this: Sevei� years of conservative That kind of planning is neither orderly nor <br /> leadership has not destroyed the Twin Cities' econo�nical. And it moves the Twi�1 Cities <br /> four-decade experiment in metro �netro "in the wrong direction," according to <br /> goveri�ance. The sky has not fallen. The clock Bruce Katz, the metropolitan policy director <br /> has not been turned back. Even the most at the Brookings Institution. Brookings <br /> eaalted liberal element of inetro planning-- follows closely the comparative strengths <br /> rail transit--has pushed ahead to the point and weaknesses of the nation's largest metro <br /> that the Twin Cities is no longer decades areas. It classifies the Twin Cities as "rapidly° <br /> bel�ii�d its competitors. decentralizing" at a time when conditions <br /> deinand just the opposite. <br /> Indeed Bell, who expects to leave his post <br /> when Gov. Tim Pawlenty steps aside next y Katz and other a��alysts worry, and rightly <br /> ear, has done a stellar job on ma»y fronts. so, that this metro area is out of step with <br /> Under his guidance, Republican catcalls of profound global chan��es that demand more <br /> "train to nowhere" have given way to an efficient development patterns, smaller <br /> acceptance of transit as a worthy partner and carbon footprints and a wedding of <br /> a�� expectation (tha��ks to a veto override)of transpor�atioi� and land-use policies. The <br /> more train lines in the years ahead. future, they believe, deina��ds more Pilates (a <br /> strengthening of core muscles) and less <br /> But nowhere in Bell's thoughtful recountin� expa��sion of the metro ���aistline. <br /> � <br /> _ _ ----- __. <br /> _ .__-�--_ �-��- � , . ;,; <br /> �� � _.. ... . s#-�t <br /> � <br /> ;�� � TH E <br /> -�.��g# AL�JMI1VtJlV�' �H�V�I <br /> FatDAY, MAACH 5 - S!1'tUt�LIY, Nl!AR�1M 7 <br /> ON SALE NaiN rt�rcFr�nasr�R.can� M�'��'i� �A�E' <br /> CnSitvO-rtOi'EL <br /> oMuab+uocov��oa�srawx�ua�w��o+s;.,,.:M.�wn, mystic�ake.corra <br /> Print Powered By t� .��,�"���s4^s <br /> http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp?1265653116690 2/8/2010 <br />