Search found 42 matches
- June 15th, 2018, 2:14 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
- Replies: 887
- Views: 139964
Re: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
I think it's really frustrating that the US seems bent on creating this whole class of useless rail lines. As nordeast homer wrote a while back, the beauty of streetcar vehicles (at least ones like the Skodas Portland uses) is that they're much lighter so the track can be constructed much more cheap...
- June 15th, 2018, 1:45 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
- Replies: 887
- Views: 139964
Re: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
Agreed. Having used it, I don't think the Tucson streetcar is quite as bad as some of the others. It could definitely have higher ridership and be better connected to a regional transportation system (like Portland), but it basically makes it possible to easily get from all of the older parts of the...
- June 12th, 2018, 8:47 am
- Forum: Minneapolis - South, Southwest, and Uptown
- Topic: Nicollet Ave / Eat Street - Whittier, Stevens, Loring Park
- Replies: 225
- Views: 137513
Re: Southside - General Topics
Thanks for the updates. These both look great! I understand the neighbors wanting a grocery store, though. I always thought that something like Good Grocer would be ideal for that area too. It's very high density, low car ownership, and there are a ton of low income folks who don't have particularly...
- June 11th, 2018, 10:41 am
- Forum: Minneapolis - South, Southwest, and Uptown
- Topic: Nicollet Ave / Eat Street - Whittier, Stevens, Loring Park
- Replies: 225
- Views: 137513
Re: Southside - General Topics
There's a couple development proposals for Stevens Square . One is across Franklin from the Electric Fetus (currently a three-story building), and the other is at 18th and Nicollet, presumably the vacant lot between 18th and the freeway trench. It mentions that the 18th and Nicollet might need vari...
- June 9th, 2018, 7:38 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
The 539 can't be run with anything longer than a 30' bus due to all of the tight turns so it wouldn't have helped much unfortunately. Metro doesn't have any 30' or cutaway buses.
- June 9th, 2018, 7:36 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project
- Replies: 1125
- Views: 249492
Re: Orange Line (35W BRT) & Lake St Transit Access Project
Hope this is the right spot since this is technically related to this project... Anyone else gotten a chance to check out the 35W express bus detour route that starts Monday? They finally put up the bus lane signs on Park and Portland and it's bad. Half of the signs are behind trees, they're not at ...
- May 29th, 2018, 3:34 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but has anyone tried to ride the 21/53 since they closed Lake St due to the fire? Today it's taken slightly longer than forever to get around the detour. Seems like this would be an ideal time for the city to try some temporary traffic control techniques ...
- April 29th, 2018, 5:57 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Pedestrian Safety and Infrastructure Improvements
- Replies: 323
- Views: 96840
Re: Pedestrian Safety and Infrastructure Improvements
This year St. Paul will step up warnings to drivers who stop on crosswalks starting Monday. Then in June will be handing out tickets. Later in August they will mark whether the blocking driver was endangering and thus hit with a fine and court date. http://www.startribune.com/the-drive-drivers-need...
- March 29th, 2018, 1:02 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
They have to study it? Seems like we all know the reasons: 1. FTA/federal regulations like Buy America and the whole convoluted, drawn out planning and funding process. 2. See above 3. The inability of most places in the US to look outside the country for new ideas. (For example the streetcar vs lig...
- March 26th, 2018, 7:41 am
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
First Transit drives both of the routes you rode under a contract with the Met Council. As a former driver, I can tell you that the Gilligs are also a lot more pleasant to drive. The Ford cutaways are basically U-Hauls with seats in the back. Fun fact about the 29' Gilligs, though: they aren't weigh...
- March 26th, 2018, 7:35 am
- Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
- Topic: 1410 Loring - 1400 Nicollet Ave. (Market BBQ redevelopment)
- Replies: 52
- Views: 18057
Re: Market Bar-B-Que Apartment project - 1400 Nicollet
Just read about this in the Strib article about new housing in the south end of downtown: http://www.startribune.com/two-new-towers-bring-apartment-boom-to-south-end-of-nicollet-mall/477805193/. Am I the only person that's a little disappointed that they're currently demolishing almost the entire hi...
- January 26th, 2018, 5:56 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
In case it isn't obvious, rail bias is real. Its pretty easy to know where a train is and where it stops by finding the rails and the station. Buses on the other hand could be anywhere and just because there is a bus stop sign doesn't guarantee your route stops there or that the driver will see you...
- January 26th, 2018, 10:57 am
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
"These three rail lines now constitute 31 percent of all rides on Metro Transit," said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. "This is another piece of strong evidence that rail investment is good for the Twin Cities." As strong as rail ridership was, it was not enough t...
- January 2nd, 2018, 5:40 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: D Line - Chicago-Fremont/Emerson Rapid Bus
- Replies: 225
- Views: 80388
Re: D Line - Fremont/Emerson/Chicago Rapid Bus
It seems that the Metropolitan Council is considering removing the D line from the current revenue scenario of the Transport Policy Plan and placing it instead in the increased revenue scenario. https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/RCA/1727 https://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meetings/Committees/Transportat...
- December 11th, 2017, 6:21 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
- Replies: 887
- Views: 139964
Re: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
That might make sense from a purely utilitarian viewpoint, but for an equity-minded city council, it's terrible politics. Even with the aBRT lines, there's still a gap along the Northside's most important commercial corridor, particularly when one considers connections to the larger network and reg...
- December 11th, 2017, 11:56 am
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
- Replies: 887
- Views: 139964
Re: Nicollet-Central Streetcar
As far as the corridor goes, I can see the arguments against this particular project, but it's still pretty staggering to me that there's now zero rail service, existing or planned, serving Southwest, Central, Uptown, or Northeast. A north-south corridor seems like the biggest no-brainer in the sta...
- November 17th, 2017, 10:45 am
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
If buses can be rerouted and the travel time is less or the same as Nicollet Mall then I fully support a pedestrian-only Nicollet Mall (as long as people can still bike through there). Considering buses go 15 miles per hour maximum on that stretch it probably wouldn't be too difficult. I wonder how...
- November 16th, 2017, 8:57 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
Whether it's the city forcing MT to do it without input or some sort of agreement between MT and the city, it's a problem. Part of being a city that cares about stuff like equity is not treating transit riders as inconsequential. Shutting down our downtown transit mall for a month for a party is doi...
- November 16th, 2017, 5:34 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
- Replies: 2953
- Views: 728548
Re: Public Transit News and Current Happenings
So, while we thought that the light rail closure was bad... Metro Transit buses will return to the Nicollet Mall on Dec. 2 only to be rerouted back to Hennepin for a month for the Super Bowl http://www.startribune.com/metro-transit-buses-to-return-to-nicollet-mall-dec-2-for-a-bit/458052503/ This is ...
- November 16th, 2017, 5:16 pm
- Forum: Transportation
- Topic: Bicycle Infrastructure
- Replies: 1803
- Views: 1062819
Re: Bicycle Infrastructure
Got a chance to ride down Washington downtown again today and the lights are still screwey. I got a red bike light while straight/right turn traffic got a green then it started flashing yellow. This is like the opposite of best practices, which would make traffic yield to the most vulnerable (bikes ...