Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 26

MetroState PACE B2 STAR TRIBUNE THURSDAY. OCTOBER 22 1998 Do slower drivers know thpir nlarp9 i Laurie Blake Getting There Sgns teZwg tfzem to to? rgtf aren't necessary, officials say tensive HOV lanes, tlie lanes are mostly separated by a double set of yellow lines. In areas approaching freeway exits, these lines turn to while dashed lines, where drivers can then enter or exit the lane. A violation of the set of double yellow lines is the same as having only one person in the vehicle, wh ich is a MINIMUM fine of $271. A fine this high will make most people think about the rules, instead of a Minnesota fine of $70.

Dana Cain, Shoreview Comments are welcome. Calk 612-673-9016; e-mail: Gettingtherestartribune.com; fax: 612-673-4359, or send mail to Getting There, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av. Minneapolis, MN 55488. In order to be published, comments must include your full name, community, and day and evening phone numbers. The column runs on Thursday.

Join the Getting There discussion online at startribune.comgettingthere. Keep the lanes am continually amazed by people who argue thai MnDOT is misappropriating highway resources by designating sane lanes for car-pool drivers. Tlie intention is to encourage people to cooperate in their commute: trading off a bit of personal freedom in excliange for a much faster and more pleasant drive to work. Tlie problem with empty diamond lanes and fidl highways is not with MnDOT, but with the drivers who refuse to consider tliemselves within the larger context of traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Gabriel Keller, Minneapolis Raise the fine Having lived in Orange County, Calif, for six years before returning to live in the Twin Cities, I am amazed at the high rate of car-pool violators in Minnesota.

I read that the 35W car-pool lane has about a 45 percenf violation rate! Part of the problem I see about these lanes is that there are no restrictions on where you can enter and exit the lanes. In Orange County, where there are ex then you are obligated to pull over to the right as far as you can." As a practical matter, the left lane rarely can be used for passing in the metro area during rush hours. "That's really not a passing lane when you hit the metro area freeways," Gieseke said. "In the metro area, all of the lanes were built for capacity during heavy traffic demands. During peak times people can't go to the right even if they are driving slower." When the highway is not packed, it is a courtesy to move over for cars behind that want to pass, Gieseke said.

"There are motorists who get into the left lane and drive at the speed limit to make people slow down and comply with the law, and they become a hindrance," he said. Reader mail Out of our way live in Shakopee and travel to Roseville to work. Sure, I obey the law going in, and I get frustrated by the people that use the sane lane as individuals. So I've got a thought. Let's get all the people who have two or more people in their car to get the heck into the sane lane and get out of our way.

Tommy Johnson, Shakopee Why are there no slow traffic keep right signs on Minnesota freeways? Annoyed by slow drivers who hug the left lane and block faster traffic behind them, Jim Tegan of Plymouth wonders why Minnesota doesn't post signs telling them to move over. "There has to be a reason why every single state that I can think of has those signs except Minnesota," Tegan said. "What do these other states know that Minnesota doesn't?" Mike Weiss, state sign engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said 15 or 20 years ago Minnesota did have slow-traffic signs. "As the signs started to age In any case the "slow traffic keep right" signs were not intended to discourage the behavior Tegan has in mind. State law says any vehicle driving at less than the normal speed of traffic should be in the right lane or as close to the right as possible, Gieseke said.

"If you get out on the freeway and if you don't want to go 55, you should be over on the right," he said. "But if someone is exceeding the normal speed of traffic, you don't have any obligation to move over for them. Most traffic is driving at 65 if you want to go 75, 1 don't think the 65 traffic has an obligation to move over for you," Gieseke said. "But if you want to go 45 say you are moving a trailer I30's Survey finds discrimination in St. Cloud rental market ART SHOW FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 25 ceded Andreotti as head of the Minnesota National Guard, will pin the stars on Sieben's shoulders today.

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CLOUD, MINN. Families and the mentally ill receive biased treatment in St. Cloud's apartment-rental market, a survey found. The Minnesota Fair Housing Center's survey was a follow-up to an earlier audit that found race-discrimination. "Did I expect these results? Yes, 1 did," said Bonnie Klitzke, chairwoman of the city's Human Rights Commission.

"Although the results are sad, they were predictable." The report indicated bias against the mentally ill in 50 percent of the test cases 10 out of 20) and bias against families in 40 percent of the cases (eight out of 20). The Human Rights Commission, which reviewed the survey Monday, hopes to educate landlords who may not know they broke the law. It also is considering civil and criminal action against some. The study used two testers with identical profiles, but one person was single and the other was trying to rent an apartment for a family or a person with a mental illness. In one case, the single renter was told the deposit would be $775, but the person trying to rent for a disabled relative was told it would be $1,700.

In another, a woman with children was told she couldn't see an apartment until other people with appointments had seen it. But when the single tester called 45 minutes later, she was allowed to make an appointment. Pine River-area schools facing employee strike PINE RIVER, MINN. Custodians and teaching assistants in the Pine River-Backus School District, Cass County, went on strike Wednesday after failing to reach a contract agreement with school TRf AO UGKTLV ORIVf RESPONSE OFF FKMO PI and need replacement, the decision was made to just remove them," he said. The Transportation Department and the Department of Public Safety agreed that it was a rule of the road that didn't need to be spelled out anymore, Weiss said.

The only places such signs are posted today are on hills where there is a truck lane. Mark Gieseke, traffic standards engineer for the Transportation Department, said, "We felt that the law was pretty evident and we didn't need to tell people that. We've taken down a number of signs like that like 'don't drive on the People are supposed to know that they don't drive on the shoulder," he said. Briefs officials. About 60 employees had worked without a contract for the past year and a half and agreed to strike in September, union representative Barb Thaler said.

She said the employees want higher wages and better health coverage and are concerned about the district's layoff recall policy. State mediators met with union representatives and school officials for several hours Monday without reaching an agreement. Superintendent Randal Eckart did not return a phone call seeking comment. Associated Press Air National Guard makes Sieben one-star general Harry Sieben Jr. recalls giving legal advice to Minnesota Air National Guard members ordered to active duty during the Gulf War eight years ago.

Not one of them had any misgivings" despite the unknowns they faced, he said Wednesday of his colleagues. It's that dedication, willingness and tradition that have impressed him the most during his 30 years in the military and 23 in the Air Guard, he said. The Guard will bestow some of its own tradition on Sieben, 54, of Hastings, when he is promoted to a brigadier or one-star general during a ceremony today at the National Guard state headquarters in St. Paul. The former 14-year DFL legislator and House speaker now serves as assistant to Maj.

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