City Councilman Who Proposed Light Rail Gets Death Threats From Both Supporters and Opponents

City councilman Robert Terminal has received death threats from both supporters and opponents of his proposed light rail line, making him what political analysts believe is the first elected official in the country to be simultaneously too pro-rail and too anti-rail. 'The transit advocates want 47 stations and full grade separation,' Terminal said from behind his desk, which is now positioned away from the window. 'The car people want zero stations and ideally for the concept of public transportation to be made illegal. I proposed twelve stations with mixed-grade running. Everybody hates me.' The proposal, a 14-mile light rail line connecting the downtown core to the suburbs, was intended as a moderate compromise. Instead, it has united the city's otherwise bitterly opposed transit factions in their shared contempt for Terminal. 'Twelve stations is an insult,' said transit advocate Gloria Headway at a public hearing. 'A real light rail system has a station every quarter mile. This is a train that skips neighborhoods. It's classist infrastructure.' 'Any number of stations above zero is an affront to personal liberty,' countered anti-rail activist Hank Freeway at the same hearing. 'Trains are for socialists. Roads are for Americans. This is a fundamental values question.' Terminal noted that the two factions, which have spent years opposing each other, now coordinate their protest schedules to ensure continuous picketing outside his office. 'Monday through Wednesday is the transit people,' he said. 'Thursday and Friday is the car people. They share the weekend. I have accidentally brought them together. Just not in the way I intended.' The light rail proposal is currently tabled pending what Terminal describes as 'a period of reflection during which I seriously consider whether I want to remain in public office.'