I have noticed that some of the Pioneer Press letter writers who interestingly enough most often seem to reside in the outlying suburbs seem to think that mass transit either should be non-existent or as no-frills as possible.

I firmly believe that a high quality, multi-modal mass transit system including attractive light-rail lines and bus rapid transit is very important in improving air quality, reducing congestion and providing the amenities that people of various ages want to see in the region where they choose to reside.

As a daily rider of the Green Line to work and also for leisure, I am increasingly distressed at the trend of smoking by passengers on the train that I have observed on an almost daily basis over the past year or so. This is a true turnoff for other riders, and I do not understand why Metro Transit doesn’t seem to have any strategy in place to combat it.

I was on a train last weekend where the driver announced he had called police in response to smoking. The police never showed up and the train continued on its way as did the smoking in my train car all the way to downtown St. Paul.

I have ridden on light rail and subway trains all over the U.S. and Canada and I have yet to observe this level of prevalence of smoking on passenger trains.

I strongly urge Metro Transit to initiate a no-tolerance policy of heavy fines and active enforcement to stamp it out. The continuing non-enforcement of this and other rules that affect the quality of the riding experience for other patrons will lead to an increasingly poor image of a resource that should ideally be considered a true asset of our metropolitan area.

Mark Pfeifer, St. Paul

Individual liability

It seems that too often we read about some settlement of money paid out by universities, state and local governments, etc., for some wrongdoing or perceived wrongdoing by an employee of the entity.

The fact of the matter is that such “entities” are you and me, the taxpayer or person who floats the bill for a college or university education, or who pays the salary of a government employee.

One suggestion to assuage the situation is that the employees of the particular educational institution or government entity be required to purchase individual liability insurance. This would undoubtedly influence their thought processes, and subsequent vocal communications or wrong actions that might lead to a legal dispute.

John Winslow, South St. Paul

Thinking about death

Many thanks for the Dec. 30 front-page article, “To them, the best way to go.” It did much to counter the cultural taboo inhibiting discussion of end-of-life issues and challenges.

A 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 69 percent of the public say that death is a subject that is generally avoided. This silence prevents us from educating ourselves, or sharing with others, options for having a good death on our own terms. It even discourages us from thinking about our mortality: A CBS News survey reported that a majority of Americans – 54 percent – say they don’t spend much or any time thinking about their own death. Being so ill-prepared very often leads to tragic, but avoidable, death scenes.

Our deaths have been increasingly become medicalized, monetized and controlled by others who don’t necessarily have our interests or wishes at heart. Twenty years of feedback from people surveyed in Oregon consistently lists loss of personal autonomy as the most negative aspect of dying. To have the power to avoid this outcome, we need to explore all of our options and make effective plans and preparations.

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Tainted: A night full of noise and a recycling bin full of wine boxes at the state park An excellent resource is the Good Death Society blog, which has an online archive full of short informative articles on all aspects of end-of-life choice. Final Exit Network, a successor of Hemlock Society, the original right-to-die organization, is the sponsor of this website. Its vision is that “Any competent person unbearably suffering an intractable medical condition has the option to die legally and peacefully.”

Gary Wederspahn, South St. Paul