urbanMSP

Nick wrote: April 24th, 2025, 12:41 pm Do people call it "the" Northstar?

Blue Line was called THE Hiawatha Line for its first decade of its existence...

3. A Line extension west on 46th. It could still "layover" and swap operators/buses at 46th Street Station. Branded as a single route but effectively operated as two separate routes to preserve service reliability, etc.
I always thought an A Line extension west to Orange Line/46th could work, but ...

Among other corridors, I've thought Mpls or St. Paul - (Farmington via UP? Lakeville via Dan Patch?) - Northfield - Faribault - Owatonna - (Kasson? Dodge Center?) - Rochester would be a great route on existing tracks, but with some potential trackwork needed in Owatonna.

He still does know how to dream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajfroggie/

I’d describe our LRT system as being more in line with the interurban railways that TCRT once operated.


To this end, I long-ago suggested a future Green Line extension (likely lower service pattern) to Shakopee and Chaska. It could continue west on the 212/5 corridor to the River Bluffs LRT ...

But why do we even need commuter rail, with a handful at best of trains running from park and rides to downtown weekdays in peak direction? Much of that commuter demand has dried up since covid and everyone working from home, and express buses are fine for the demand that remains.
If anything, this ...

I agree with @twincitizen about looking at legacy commuter rail to rail-suburbs vs Northstar-style commuter rail to park-and-rides and unrealistic TOD aspirations. We probably can't have Metra or Caltrain or East Coast urbanism around commuter rail stations, but I do think we could do a better job ...

It took a half century, but it's interesting to see how many old pre-WWII industrial buildings became hotspots despite decades of underuse or disuse. Is there any way to adapt these old buildings for the small-scale industrial, studio spaces, breweries, and other destinations similar to those areas ...

So, possibly lots of public expense improving and refurbishing this 25 year old arena. And likely some public expense / site prep / tax breaks on a nominally privately funded Target Center replacement for the Wolves. Is it not an option to just move the Wolves to a shared arena if we're ...

I can think of a few underutilized bi-levels sitting in Minneapolis or Big Lake...

Ahhh, my "C is for Cedar" call to extend the C Line down Cedar Ave to Mall of America never took off.

@twincitizen brought up the prospects of this shutting down due to continued underperformance and legislative bargaining this year. Has anyone seen any good info on the following?
* What is the state or Met Council on the hook for regarding Federal grants or other funding sources? Those often have ...

Brings new meaning to the old Denny Hecker ads on the sides of buses:

Presumably, that's the reason. Which is unfortunate because the area between 35E and Sibley Plaza is the area with the least likelihood for traffic congestion for buses.

But, to be less cynical, one large benefit is that it better serves the neighborhood south of W 7th which hugs the bluff on the ...

The proposed bus access changes around the 34th/494 interchange are interesting.


Interesting that the reconfiguration of this interchange to a DDI with LRT in the middle not only made LRT service less reliable than before, apparently it failed to create positive conditions for the 54 as well ...

Hey that's not as much as Wells Fargo sunk into the old Honeywell HQ / WF HMMC campus in the last 25 years, and now that's a sunk cost with much of the site likely to get redeveloped.

I hope someday once again the train will be safe enough for me to take my kids on a ride. They'd love it. I used transit all the time in the Before [2020] Times, and a few times since. At this point I'm not comfortable taking my family on the train.

MSP to DEN via Sioux Falls or Omaha - mostly a boring drive across prairie - sounds perfect for a night train if it could make the trip in 12-14 hours.

South Dakota Senate votes down Amtrak resolution
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... esolution/

We never marked the completion of this one.
https://www.sherman-associates.com/news/reimagined-city-block-delivers-330-apartment-homes-to-downtown-minneapolis-through-public-private-partnership/
https://images1.apartments.com/i2/isQ6bBaSlwN_vOUwLYyQdzEtrWWEhX9gvR0HQQ8gSXE/111/o2-minneapolis-mn ...