Nicollet Mall

Downtown - North Loop - Mill District - Elliot Park - Loring Park
mullen
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mullen » December 12th, 2014, 8:34 am

thanks for posting that link. bocce ball and curling on the mall.. actually that's kind of a cool idea.

MotorCity2TwinCities
Nicollet Mall
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby MotorCity2TwinCities » December 12th, 2014, 9:27 am

the staircases were a central component of this redesign. to have them removed is disappointing. i wish we would have uniform wayfinding, logos and hours for our skyway system.
Agreed. The light and art walk, and really the entire mall/mile, will be something nice for people to look at from the skyway.

John
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby John » December 12th, 2014, 9:34 am

I like the "light walk" element as it's unique and refers to our state's geographic location. It's still going to be called "Nicollet Mall" which was a good decision. The area around the Library is beautiful. The staircases were great until they eliminated the retail kiosks etc. underneath, so I'm happy they're gone. Overall I think its going to be a nice improvement with a cleaner, updated look. Now, If we could only get some of the vacant retail spaces filled, City Center renovated, and the north end of Nicollet Mall lined with truly pedestrian friendly retail frontage, it will be a great destination again.

mullen
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mullen » December 12th, 2014, 9:46 am

people have been asking for city center's mall frontage to be revamped for 30 years and only minimal tweaks have happened and then coupled with a lively bus stop makes for an uninviting pedestrian experience.

i have no idea what's behind that pinkish concrete city center facade but it's continued existence partially negates any improvement to the sidewalk through better pavers, bus stops and seating.

EOst
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby EOst » December 12th, 2014, 10:14 am

Overall, the project will be a well designed attraction, and I'm looking forward to seeing it come together, but it's hard to get too excited when downtown is riddled with ugly streetscapes, and the current state of the Mall is already one of downtown's greatest public spaces.
Exactly.

Speaking of, I heard somewhere a few months back that the city was doing a study on improving the streetscape for the main east/west corridors. Has anyone heard anything about that?

grant1simons2
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby grant1simons2 » December 12th, 2014, 10:26 am

I've said it in previous posts and I'll say it again, 5th St N would be a wonderful for a streetscape or a pedestrian way. There's already minimal car traffic and there's a lot of potential for retail that could extend all the way to the commons!

lordmoke
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby lordmoke » December 12th, 2014, 10:31 am

I like these changes a lot. It's a lot less cluttered. Leaner and more functional while still interesting.

Is this the first time that streetcars have actually showed up in a render as well? I remember them being weirdly absent for such a major feature of the space.

mattaudio
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mattaudio » December 12th, 2014, 10:38 am

I wonder how much more it would cost to put in the tracks from the start. Heck, H Street NE in DC has had tracks for 5+ years but still no streetcars. Now that's because of bad planning, not good planning, but still...

EOst
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby EOst » December 12th, 2014, 11:10 am

I wonder how much more it would cost to put in the tracks from the start. Heck, H Street NE in DC has had tracks for 5+ years but still no streetcars. Now that's because of bad planning, not good planning, but still...
Probably a fair bit. For the ca. 200mil starter line, the vehicles are only 48mil of the cost, according to this (p. 9) and stations are only an additional 5mil; even if there were some significant savings to be had in doing the two together, there's no way it would add less than 100mil.

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mister.shoes
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mister.shoes » December 12th, 2014, 11:19 am

But this is only one mile of the entire line.
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

EOst
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby EOst » December 12th, 2014, 11:22 am

But this is only one mile of the entire line.
Good point. Somehow, that never occurred to me.

I guess it'd be 1/3.4 of 100mil, then.

mattaudio
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mattaudio » December 12th, 2014, 11:35 am

My guess is that it would add somewhere between 5 and 15 million to put the tracks down.

Keep in mind much of the streetcar project cost is non-vehicle and non-track. Planning, engineering, design, technical infrastructure, catenary and power distribution, station infrastructure, and on and on.

This would just be putting in the track at the same time the street is already ripped up. It would save money and construction headache in the long run.

Anondson
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby Anondson » December 12th, 2014, 11:40 am

At the least, they need to engineer the subterranean infrastructure in ways that future tracks won't require extra costs to relocate when the tracks are installed.

web

Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby web » December 12th, 2014, 11:22 pm

dont do a seattle tunnel with tracks........cost a fortune to rip them out and put in real tracks

Record Machine
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby Record Machine » December 14th, 2014, 4:57 pm

Not to be overly negative, but this scenario seems so unlikely I chuckled.

Image

Wedgeguy
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby Wedgeguy » December 14th, 2014, 5:28 pm

Not to be overly negative, but this scenario seems so unlikely I chuckled.

Image
Are you saying that it is highly unlikely that there will be that many white middle to upper class white people on the mall. When I saw that picture that was the first thing that came to mind for me. This from a middle aged white man that would actually sit on the mall.

uptowncarag

Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby uptowncarag » December 14th, 2014, 7:05 pm

I must be on the wrong street as I only see white middle class people on the mall.

Wedgeguy
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby Wedgeguy » December 14th, 2014, 7:12 pm

I see half of a black man and one Somali women walking away. I see no bicyclists or homeless so this is a delusional portrait of the mall in Never Neverland. Also not a bus or taxi in sight or the DID people picking up after those white folk!

EOst
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby EOst » December 14th, 2014, 7:41 pm

I'm really just interested to know where that white dude got a polo coat.

mattaudio
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Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

Postby mattaudio » December 14th, 2014, 9:37 pm

#igotapolocoatforfree #butineedtolosetwentypoundstofitinit


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