Postby mattaudio » November 18th, 2012, 5:52 pm
I like it! Especially the routing via Northeast Industrial and Rosedale. A few ideas:
1. Separate it into two projects... first segment to Rosedale, second segment to WBL... I'd be interested to see the CBA split this way.
2. Enter downtown via a new LRT alignment shared with three other possible lines interlined as two new services (in addition to Green and Blue that cross downtown on 5th Street)...
- This line goes underground at Central, joining a Central Ave LRT... they continue under Hennepin to the main channel of the Mississippi River, where they cross using space by removing a lane in each direction and using the median.
- At the other end of the bridge, a portal in the middle of Hennepin... with some minor approach rework this could begin immediately west of W River Pkwy. There would be a station underneath the old Triangle Park at Hennepin/Nicollet/Washington... then the train would proceed under Nicollet Mall with stations between 5th/6th and down the mall near 10th/11th.
- On the south end there would be tunnel to 29th St... The Central Ave LRT would interline to South LRT via Nicollet Ave, 35W, or the MN&S Richfield Spur south of the Crosstown. The Rosedale/WBL line would interline to Southwest LRT via Nicollet Ave, splitting at the Greenway and heading west to match up with the West Lake LRT station...
How would this work?
1. Of course the proposed 21st St LRT station should be shelved as it is a waste of money.
2. The Green Line would exist as proposed west to Penn/394, where service would proceed west along the BNSF ROW to West End (where it could then proceed westward roughly in the 394 corridor out to Minnetonka).
3. The planned Kenilworth segment of the Green Line between Penn and West Lake would become a non-revenue connector between the two operational districts which cross downtown at Nicollet and 5th but may otherwise have no junction for LRVs to get between the two for maintenance, etc. There would be no wasted station infrastructure unless 21st St is built with the Southwest Corridor project (which is wasted station infrastructure to begin with)