Search found 605 matches

by Tom H.
October 23rd, 2013, 10:29 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
Replies: 2909
Views: 701549

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Hmm... The first time I rode the Megabus in 2005, that's near where I got picked up (basically on the on-ramp to 394).

The bus was supposed to depart at 6am, so (being young and naive) I arrived 5:30am. Bus showed up at 7:30.
by Tom H.
October 23rd, 2013, 9:04 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Downtown Minneapolis Restaurant News
Replies: 1261
Views: 524180

Re: Downtown Restaurant News

Yes, I agree. They've 'failed' in that there is a higher and better use for the space than what McDonalds could provide. Nobody said that the surface parking lot at 5th & Nicollet 'failed' when it got replaced by the Nic on Fifth.
by Tom H.
October 23rd, 2013, 8:36 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Southwest Corridor Bus Route Changes
Replies: 15
Views: 6619

Re: Southwest Corridor (Green Line Extension)

Of course, it remains to be seen if SWT will keep running express buses at current frequencies (~5 minute headways to downtown in the AM and PM rush hours, ~20 minutes for U of M express) once SWLRT is completed. I think its likely that those frequencies will be reduced (since they'll be somewhat re...
by Tom H.
October 23rd, 2013, 8:25 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Southwest Corridor Bus Route Changes
Replies: 15
Views: 6619

Southwest Corridor Bus Route Changes

This may or may not be of interest to some, but here are the results from the 2013 Southwest Transit rider survey: http://www.swtransit.org/2013-rider-survey Nothing too earth-shattering, but this may give some indication of ridership patterns for people coming from the suburbs into Mpls. Interestin...
by Tom H.
October 23rd, 2013, 8:09 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

They are jackhammering out some concrete in the westbound outside travel lane of Washington Avenue at Church Street this morning. Not sure what's prompting the repair work, but it will probably put a stop to the bus training (at least westbound) on the WATM for a few days at least.
by Tom H.
October 22nd, 2013, 11:28 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5265
Views: 1247028

Re: Southwest Corridor (Green Line Extension)

As RBY mentioned, a lot of the argument (one way or the other) depends on how real you think the development potential at Van White is.
by Tom H.
October 21st, 2013, 10:38 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

I guess the good news is that fixing this operational debacle will only require some paint and some signs, and not any jackhammers or cement trucks.
by Tom H.
October 21st, 2013, 8:33 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

I noticed only MetroTransit buses in that video above - I wonder when opt-out operators will be trained? It looks like express buses will only have the one stop (at Coffman) to drop off and pick up passengers. That seems like a real pain for people working over near the Oak & Washington area. So...
by Tom H.
October 17th, 2013, 10:38 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

If there aren't any stops between Coffman and Oak, then... hmm, I don't know. Before the LRT came through, I think there were at least 3 or 4 tops between the Mississippi River and where Washington merges into University, so downgrading that number to 1 or 2 seems to defeat the purpose of a Transit ...
by Tom H.
October 17th, 2013, 10:34 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
Replies: 2909
Views: 701549

Re: Transit News and Happenings

Hmm... I wonder if they gave any thought to a merger with SouthWest Transit instead. Geographically, it seems to make a little more sense (since most trips are to/from the Minneapolis CBD) than MVTA.
by Tom H.
October 16th, 2013, 6:03 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

The outside paved lanes have bike markings (not sharrows), and have been labelled as 'Bike / Emergency Vehicle' lanes on a lot of the official documentation I've seen, while the guideway is always labelled 'LRT / Bus'. I don't see why emergency vehicles couldn't go up on the tracks to get around bus...
by Tom H.
October 16th, 2013, 10:03 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: The 700 on Washington - (700 Washington Avenue Southeast)
Replies: 151
Views: 33569

Re: 301 Walnut (Sally's Building)

2.5 out of the 4 foundation walls appear to be complete, the south wall starting to rise above ground level. Interestingly, they're using cinder blocks filled with concrete for most (not all) of the foundation, rather than straight poured concrete (only on the south wall so far).
by Tom H.
October 16th, 2013, 10:00 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

Yes, I agree, that seems like the best solution. I still don't know where the buses are going to stop on the Transportation Building / Moos Tower block. There aren't any Bus Stop signs (or spots for them), and trees are planted continuously on both sides right next to the curb. They wouldn't serious...
by Tom H.
October 14th, 2013, 6:26 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)
Replies: 1597
Views: 355078

Re: Green Line (Central)

Excellent - I'm going to have to keep an eye open to figure out how the heck those buses are going to serve stops along the WATM. That is, as soon as I find out where the stops are. The only one I've found so far are the big bus pull-outs across from Coffman.
by Tom H.
October 11th, 2013, 6:37 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Vikings Stadium Miscellaneous Discussion
Replies: 1660
Views: 222155

Re: Vikings Stadium

Has anyone else noticed that economics is absolutely a mystical crapshoot, though?
Winner! I guess we can shut down this topic, then.
by Tom H.
October 11th, 2013, 6:33 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Type II LRVs - Siemens S70
Replies: 153
Views: 31732

Re: Type II LRVs - Siemens S70

Yeah - in my experience (around the University), you can expect an average headway of about 5 minutes for westbound 16s and 50s... meaning a 15 minute wait, then 2 16s and a 50 show up all at the same time.
by Tom H.
October 11th, 2013, 8:20 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Type II LRVs - Siemens S70
Replies: 153
Views: 31732

Re: Type II LRVs - Siemens S70

I see that the final (59th) LRV is expected in April 2014. Is it possible to start Green Line operations without the full complement of LRVs? Or is delivery of all the LRVs a hard deadline (lifeline?) for when operations can begin?
by Tom H.
October 11th, 2013, 8:16 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Vikings Stadium Miscellaneous Discussion
Replies: 1660
Views: 222155

Re: Vikings Stadium

I guess the standard response to that is this: All the money that the Vikings pay in taxes comes, ultimately, from the fans buying the tickets or watching the games on TV. If you remove the Vikings, those fungible entertainment dollars just get spent elsewhere, and end up in the State's coffers anyw...
by Tom H.
October 10th, 2013, 11:04 am
Forum: Minneapolis - North, Northeast, and Southeast / University of Minnesota
Topic: Northrop Auditorium Renovation
Replies: 39
Views: 9069

Re: Northrop Auditorium Renovation

Does anyone know what the layout on the west side of Northrop is going to be? Many of the walks and paths there are all torn up; a new curb cut was installed along Pleasant near the rear of Northrop, and the old curb cut is being removed. I seem to recall plans for some sort of transit layover facil...
by Tom H.
October 10th, 2013, 9:01 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Bicycle Infrastructure
Replies: 1800
Views: 1034579

Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

I just hope the signage is good. My first attempt through this area involved a lot of guessing, which is not fun on a bike amidst fast-moving automobiles.