Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)

[UptownSport]

Don't know where I saw it- Here, MS or other- University was originally planned as a grand avenue - a showcase.

Not to be a killjoy, but it'd look a lot nicer without the guard walls

[Didier]

I disagree.

[UptownSport]

I disagree.

Disagree that it was supposed to be a 'grand avenue' or that a wall(s) down middle of of the road is unattractive or both?

[cowboyjones]

I hope (and I'm sure) you're right-
My hope is that it doesn't get too gentrified-

Could someone explain to me why gentrification is such a bad thing? I've never been able to understand that...

[Tcmetro]

It's mainly a social justice issue for the poor people who currently inhabiting the neighborhoods to be gentrified. Mainly because poor people then have to move to lower cost areas (mainly the inner suburbs) or subsidized housing distributed throughout the suburbs. So basically, the poor people have less job access and need to own a car, substantially increasing the costs of opportunity and introducing instability in their families and communities.

That being said, the government can't do too much about gentrification. How do you stop landlords from increasing rents in areas that are becoming fashionable? The only way to prevent it would be to disinvest in the community, by reducing policing, allowing schools to degrade, and to quit investing in infrastructure.

Of course few cities will actually try to stop gentrification, because the monetary rewards are too great, and provide new funds and stability to the city government.

[Snelbian]

A good example of that catch-22 is Rondo. They complained for years that the City was ignoring their infrastructure, and now they're complaining that the Green Line will mean higher property taxes.

[UptownSport]

I'm more worried that mom and pops go and we have five miles of Starbucks, Olive Gardens and Apple stores under bland new condos (made of wood).
Nothing at all wrong with these stores but there's tons of it in the burbs already; people do say variety is the spice of life.

Uptown is just becoming- YUK- The North Face and Victoria's Secret?

[Wedgeguy]

I'm more worried that mom and pops go and we have five miles of Starbucks, Olive Gardens and Apple stores under bland new condos (made of wood).
Nothing at all wrong with these stores but there's tons of it in the burbs already; people do say variety is the spice of life.

Uptown is just becoming- YUK- The North Face and Victoria's Secret?

Many of the buildings are owned by the businesses, which are small businesses. There is such a large ethnic population that own homes in that area that I think for any business that did not cater to them would not last very long. University will not become Uptown East, They already have Grand Ave for that!

[UptownSport]

^^^


My preference is a personal thing, not something (easily) quantifiable.

[UptownSport]

And it's not upscale per se, it's the kind of upscale- East Selby is just wonderful

[David Greene]

That being said, the government can't do too much about gentrification. How do you stop landlords from increasing rents in areas that are becoming fashionable? The only way to prevent it would be to disinvest in the community, by reducing policing, allowing schools to degrade, and to quit investing in infrastructure.

That's just not true. Tools like inclusionary zoning can help a lot. Other places have rent control. I don't necessarily think that's a good idea here but it is something done in other parts of the country.

[the kid]

Rent Control? Good Lord, could you dredge up anything that offers a more harmful distortion of market forces than that? Talk about intentionally putting inefficiency into a system that works just fine. If someone can't afford to live in a neighborhood, they have two options: a) move to another neighborhood, or b) find a way to make more money.

[mattaudio]

Despite my admin superpowers in this forum, I can't move these gentrification posts over to the gentrification thread in the anything goes forum. So please just discuss over here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1439
Thanks!

[LRV Op Dude]

Informational presentation of Vikings Stadium Transit Plans to Transportation Committee on Monday, July 8, 2013.
Does not offer anything new.

[Tcmetro]

It does mention that they are looking into a new bus layover for the area, which would be something new for the east end of downtown. Maybe they can incorporate it into the new Vikings parking ramp?

[mattaudio]

What's the reason for bus layovers downtown? They seem so anti-urban.

[MNdible]

What's the reason for bus layovers downtown?

Many bus routes end in downtown. Bus drivers need to take a break. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

[twincitizen]

What's the reason for bus layovers downtown? They seem so anti-urban.

Also, drivers need breaks throughout the day, between route/trip assignments, etc. It's rare that a bus would pull out of the garage and immediately begin on-route. There are too many variables (like traffic) that would result in poor/late service. It's more typical that a bus would pull out of the bus garage and layover for a few minutes on the street or in a surface lot or parking ramp (A, B, Leamington & Gateway to name a few) in order to begin their run exactly on time.

On top of that, Metro Transit will continue to offer "express" post-game bus service after Vikings games to quickly dissipate the ten thousand or so folks looking to board the train. Currently Metro Transit uses about 20 buses that run express to the Ft. Snelling and 28th Av P&Rs to clear the crowds. Even with 3-car trains on the Green and Blue Lines, they can't handle 10-15k people at once. (Metro Transit and Minneapolis' goal is for the games to have a 40% transit mode split once the LRT system is built out, so you can figure 20% transit with the partial blue/green lines operating)

Both MVTA and Southwest are looking for places to keep their buses downtown during the work day. Southwest currently uses the parking lot behind the Dome, which will be lost. After the AM inbound shift, all of the drivers hop on a single bus and head back to EP for their mid-day shift split. Labor & fuel cost wise, this is by far the most efficient option. I don't believe MVTA is quite as efficient.

TLDR: Some buses gotta be stored downtown mid-day, somewhere. Unfortunately for MVTA and Southwest, that place ain't Metro Transit bus garages, which are at/over capacity anyways.

[twincitizen]

Prospect Park not wanting student development, but wanting development, they just don't know what kind, they just want more businesses, I think: http://www.mndaily.com/news/metro-state ... businesses

[UptownSport]

Notice from Hiawatha LRT train window there's electric cables being hooked to caternary support poles, and portable lighting units at the 35w flyover / Hiawatha / central junction. There's obviously intense (and final) work being done in that area.

Noticed lots of activity on West Bank station from passenger's window while NB 35W ...
Does anyone have actual caternary status on the WAB?

I think trains are going to run sooner than later