urbanMSP

Most other US streetcars suck because they implement little or no priority measures, operate in cities that have weak transit systems, and circulate low-population downtown areas. The Nicollet-Central streetcar as currently envisionsed is too short to be successful, but a longer one would take the ...

Is it not obvious that the reason for this route would be to encourage new development in the undeveloped area surrounding Stillwater? This is why it’s funded by Washington County, right? If it would make this new development into a car-light, pedestrian-friendly area, it sounds like a good idea. M...

I would prefer working from home and going to the office when needed, but I'm not sure that'll happen. In my current situation I think it would be pretty easy to do work from home, but the only issue would be getting easily distracted. Once this pandemic is over I wonder how many people will stick w...

In a perfect world they would leave enough width for two tracks, a trail, and a station platform. I won't hold my breath on that, but at the very least it would be nice to have enough room for two tracks.

I prefer our transit ridership increased from improved service instead of a recession or any kind of meltdown.

The optimist in me likes to see progress being made on the St. Cloud extension, but the pessimist side of me is disappointed this study will take 2 years and even after that's done (if it's done) it doesn't mean trains will start serving St. Cloud right away. Also I'm not hopeful that service to St....

If we really want rail along Nicollet there's a good spot just a few blocks away; I-35W. If you've seen the construction going on you'll notice the west side of the freeway trench has been dug up and it kind of looks like light rail construction (and I wish it was).

From what I've seen around the country there have been only a few successful modern streetcar lines in terms of ridership. When it doesn't have signal preemption or priority and has to share the road with cars it's no faster than a bus besides easier boarding and off-fare payment; in the latter case...

The rail focus for transit advocates in the city should be getting the Midtown corridor off the ground, and making sure that it is not a rinky dink one-car train stopping frequently at small platforms, when the density of activity in the corridor and dedicated ROW is suitable for light rail on par ...

http://m.startribune.com/student-hit-by-car-while-getting-on-school-bus-on-st-paul-s-west-side/568242042/ Boy hit by pickup truck crossing Robert Street despite school bus having lights flashing and stop arm extended. Based on looking at the location on Street View it looks pretty dangerous for anyo...

I found a 2016 document showing 950 daily eastbound boardings are projected at 21st Street Station (for comparison, they projected 1,040 daily eastbound boardings at Wooddale). Is this projection up to date? For 21st Street that seems extremely high.

Kind of crazy idea although maybe it has some merit; extend the Blue Line west on 55 to Golden Valley instead of Bottineau.

From an engineering perspective anything is possible. The question is can we get the funding for a North Minneapolis subway and should we do it?

Also, if this were a deep bore tunnel would there even be construction impacts on the surface besides building station entrances?

Locked MSPBJ article, but it sounds like Hennepin is quietly investigating other options. I imagine they'd have been better off doing this years ago, but better late than never? https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2020/02/13/memo-says-hennepin-county-is-seeking-a-plan-b-for.html Quite unfor...

Very interested to see what happens with their express routes and the ridership between the two if/when they keep them. Not something I would use much anymore, but I’m still annoyed Metro Transit nerfed the off peak 94 to put people on the slower train. If urban users were forced into that, southwe...

Well off-peak express service between downtown and Southwest Station is already pretty much non-existent besides a few trips operated by the 698, so I'm sure most people wouldn't bat an eye over that being cut and replaced with a frequent, all-day light rail service even if it makes several stops.

Does anyone know the service plan for existing and new bus routes that will be our in operation once light rail service begins in 2023? I may have asked this before, but I don’t remember if I did. Materials I have read, discuss how the light rail will help Golden The Golden triangle area. I underst...

I didn’t know the MVTA had an Alexander Dennis bus (specifically the Enviro 200, which I think was produced jointly with New Flyer). Do they have several or just one? I saw one operating Route 444 by the Mall of America.

If we had a regional rail system in the Twin Cities I would expect something to connect out to Stillwater. Given financial realities we are obviously building a regional rapid bus network instead. I'm curious how many stops they would plan for this line, but if it makes a quick ride to Stillwater i...

IMO there should be something like 3-4 trains PDEW CHI-MSP in addition to the Empire Builder. At current speeds I can't imagine there is nearly enough demand for 3-4 trains per day to Chicago from Minneapolis-St.Paul. 9-10 hours by train or 1.75 hours by plane. Even with 2 hours for airport securit...