Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

[HuskyGrad]

Seems the discussion of station area "betterments" is getting put off and off, with the costs rising with delays fewer and fewer betterments are seen as being implemented. The shocker was that around the Shady Oak Station the SPO isn't budgeting connecting 17th to the OMF, connecting 17th from Excelsior is the only budgeted connection. 17th from the station to the OMF is considered a "betterment", and one that might not happen. On opening day, OMF workers won't be able to walk to the station ... they'll have to drive to work or take a really really long walk.

Huh

There's a walk from 5th St S directly to the station. See sheet 49.

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/ ... est-3.aspx

Mod note: all Municipal Consent docs available here http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/ ... ments.aspx

[Archiapolis]

The plan has the concrete crushing facility and the impound lot going away. Have a look at the Bassett Creek Valley Master Plan on the city's website.

There were/are some great plans for the Franklin and Lake stations too on the Blue Line, and here we are ten years later ...

Certainly it won't happen without work but Harrison at least is deeply engaged in this. They aren't going to just walk away.

This site does have advantages over the Franklin and Lake stations, primarily that there is no freeway viaduct overhead. Yes, there's a freeway but that's on the other side of the LRT tracks. The land here will be wide open for whatever someone wants to put there. There is no built environment to contend with. Linden Yard has some geometric challenges but the impound lot is literally acres of nothing.

Before I launch into a rant, is there a master plan for the area bounded by:
Olson Mem. Hwy
N 7th St.
394
94

???

If there is I'd love to see it.

I see very little opportunity for residential development here. If you drew a centroid for the whole shape then looked at where you could develop multi-family housing, there are challenges everywhere - too far west and you are in highway hell, too far south - same problem, too far east and the HERC starts to become a problem (along with the highway), too far north and you have the very pedestrian unfriendly Olson Mem. Hwy.

The "Bassett Creek Valley" opportunities aren't as bad as I thought but there are challenges.

[fehler]

You can check out the 2020 Partners: http://the2020partners.com, they have some stuff about the development around Target Field.

Here's a link to the Multi-Modal Station Master Plan from February 2002:
http://www.twinsballpark.org/vertical/S ... 174%7D.PDF

[lordmoke]

^ The image preference study comments on that 2002 plan are beautiful.

[mattaudio]

Doug Trumm posted another article on SWLRT (and transit planning on the whole) over at StreetsMN: https://streets.mn/2014/04/17/denseidea/

[acs]

Doug Trumm posted another article on SWLRT (and transit planning on the whole) over at StreetsMN: https://streets.mn/2014/04/17/denseidea/

Wow, and I thought they were on a nice little streak. Nearly a whole week without a 3C post! I wonder how many comments this one will get? I'll take a stab and say 25.

[downfall]

This website looks to have lots of information, including station area action plans:

http://www.swlrtcommunityworks.org/stations

[twincitizen]

The Royalston plan (for new streets and blocks) is pretty much exactly what I pictured in my brain, and it is perfect. RIP stupid frontage road.

If there's one Minneapolis station to get really excited about, it's this one. The City/County should be working hard on finding new homes for the current industrial tenants. It would be great to retain them within Minneapolis (or at least a 1st ring suburb). Some of them could even stay in the neighborhood, just not in their current buildings. Under current conditions, I think the location for the Farmer's Market is really terrible , but perhaps it would be a critical asset to developing this area. It's unlikely anything else would be built right up against the freeway viaducts, certainly not residential.

[sad panda]

Any clue what the Minneapolis Public Works buildings there are used for? They all show as staying in that graphic (although their parking lots are shown to be redevelopment).

[mulad]

I'm not liking those potential development parcels southwest of Target Field next to the railroad trench. There should be space left for train station there. It can be okay if those are air rights developments, and I'm not sure how big of a space there should be, but there should be something.

[Anondson]

Do we need that many train stations that close to each other. Why another?

[lordmoke]

I'm not liking those potential development parcels southwest of Target Field next to the railroad trench. There should be space left for train station there. It can be okay if those are air rights developments, and I'm not sure how big of a space there should be, but there should be something.

Those are all owned by United Properties already, and if I'm remembering this correctly were part of the Target Field deal/ will be developed (probably into some kind of large buildings) by them in the future.

[mattaudio]

I'm not liking those potential development parcels southwest of Target Field next to the railroad trench. There should be space left for train station there. It can be okay if those are air rights developments, and I'm not sure how big of a space there should be, but there should be something.

Those are all owned by United Properties already, and if I'm remembering this correctly were part of the Target Field deal/ will be developed (probably into some kind of large buildings) by them in the future.

It would probably help if we started bridging over the 394 trench.

[Silophant]

I'm assuming mulad is talking more about an expansion of the Target Field Northstar station to accomadate various future services (NLX, Ziprail, Chicago HSR, maybe eventually something to Mankato, etc) than another separate station.

I am wondering why it's necessary to have Royalston station here, so close to our big new Target Field Station. It's ridiculous that American Boulevard and Bloomington Central stations are so close together, and it's ridiculous that Hennepin and Nicollet Mall stations are so close together. I realize there were at least semi-legit reasons for both of those, but that's no reason to triple down on close station spacing here.

[mulad]

Yeah, I put some some thoughts over on the Target Field thread.

[mattaudio]

Great to see this Royalston superblock getting some more gridding, but I hope we have a vision for improving Olson/7th... especially with the intersection at a skew, it's a very inhospitable place. Similar to New Brighton Blvd and Stinson Blvd... inhospitable.

[froggie]

Anondson/Silophant:

The Royalston station is the only way you're going to get the redevelopment that's suggested in the graphic twincitizen posted. It'll be a huge catalyst for the area. The existing Target Field station has distance, a major street (7th) and the garbage incinerator in the way, and putting the station on the south end would limit the appeal of redeveloping the parcels closer to 7th.

[Anondson]

Oh, I'm not disputing the value in Royalston. I was responding to what I thought was the implied idea for a third train station. After mulad further explained I see mulad wasn't thinking of a third train station but simply asking for room to be left for the commuter station to expand.

About the Royalston Station map, I believe that map is of what they believe could be developed in the very long term. Can someone post the map for what they believe will be developed by opening day around Royalston?

Most of these long term development maps around the stations are the consultants version of a fantasy map. The opening day maps feel like the "realist" map. If anyone likes to invent fantasy maps, it feels like a perfect project for this forum to take the opening day maps as starting points for UrbanMSP station area fantasy maps to offer alternatives to the consultants long term fantasy maps.

[Silophant]

That makes sense. I guess I was just responding to the frustration I feel when taking the Blue Line to MOA, and the train stops at American Boulevard, no one gets on our off, then stops 25 seconds later at Bloomington Central.

[seanrichardryan]

Oh dear, Minneapolis is getting tunnels AND berms. Another reason to drop the northern tunnel and restore 21st St Station.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/256227061.html