By H. Dan Ness, Guest Column

Throughout Minnesota, we have transportation needs that no longer can be ignored. Continuing to look at them with a &8220;blind eye&8221; will not make traffic congestion in the Twin Cities or unsafe highways in greater Minnesota disappear.

For too long, the needs of our transportation infrastructure have been pushed aside because of political shortsightedness.

Year after year, the governor and the Minnesota Legislature have wrung their hands in worry over the deterioration of our transportation infrastructure.

And year after year they have failed to act because of one political impediment or another.

It is time to end the gridlock and do what we should have done 10 years ago: Find the money that we need to properly fund mass transit programs and make dangerous Minnesota highways safe.

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities believes legislative leaders and the House-Senate Transportation Conference Committee must address our transportation problems in a meaningful way this session. We will all suffer if economic activity in the Twin Cities is choked off by traffic congestion. We must never accept the proposition that death and serious injury are acceptable alternatives to investing in safe roads in greater Minnesota.

In his April 27 letter to members of the Transportation Conference Committee, Gov. Tim Pawlenty made it clear that he was not willing to compromise on transportation funding. His attitude is unacceptable; it contributes to the gridlock that plagues transportation funding each year.

The governor&8217;s answer is to fund transportation through the issuance of bonds, a solution that is irresponsible. His approach to transportation funding would put a financial burden on our children for years to come.

We believe that a compromise is in order. The governor and legislators must look for the middle ground in transportation funding.

While we support some reasonable level of bonding for transportation, we also believe that it is reckless to rely almost exclusively on bond proceeds to upgrade our highways and increase support for our mass transit programs.

Gov. Pawlenty and the House-Senate Transportation Conference Committee must produce a compromise bill that provides Minnesota&8217;s transportation system with new revenue.

Given the tone of the governor&8217;s letter, however, it is apparent that he is unwilling to find a middle ground. The House-Senate compromise, therefore, must be able to withstand a gubernatorial veto. It is far better to approve a five-cent increase in the gas tax that may attract support from Republicans in the House and Senate than to insist on a 10-cent increase that may not have enough legislative support to withstand a veto.

The compromise that the transportation conferees reach may not be all that transportation advocates have been hoping for, but in today&8217;s environment something is better than nothing.

Continuing the transportation funding deadlock that dates back to 1988 is not acceptable.

Motorists in greater Minnesota should not be put at risk because we are unwilling to invest in upgrading dangerous rural roads. We cannot accept any proposition that suggests that reducing traffic congestion in the Twin Cities is too expensive. Traffic congestion in the metro area wastes time and money; it is counter-productive and undermines our future economic well being.

The time for a transportation solution is now. We cannot afford another year of gridlock.

H. Dan Ness is the mayor of Alexandria and the president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.