Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

[kellonathan]

Feels like I'm beating a dead horse---but I am still having a really hard time justifying the north tunnel......

but is it safe to consider that pretty much everything's a done deal now?

[David Greene]

but is it safe to consider that pretty much everything's a done deal now?

No. There's lots in play.

[seanrichardryan]

Sure, I'll beat my dead horse. Down with northern tunnel. Long live 21st St!

[David Greene]

Sure, I'll beat my dead horse. Down with northern tunnel. Long live 21st St!

I wouldn't say it's dead. If you care about it, call your CM and the mayor.

Seriously. This isn't dead yet.

[mattaudio]

Can we cancel the northern tunnel without building 21st St?

[MNdible]

Aside from spite, why would we want to do that?

An at-grade tunnel in an area with minimal utility work and no need to interact with signals, etc., will be (in the grand scheme of the line) very inexpensive. It adds utility and flexibility to the line, and gives the option to extend the 2, which seems appealing.

[talindsay]

Aside from spite, why would we want to do that?

An at-grade tunnel in an area with minimal utility work and no need to interact with signals, etc., will be (in the grand scheme of the line) very inexpensive. It adds utility and flexibility to the line, and gives the option to extend the 2, which seems appealing.

I'm going to assume you mean an at-grade station, not an at-grade tunnel. An at-grade tunnel would be a pretty funny way to piss away money, however.

[MNdible]

Right you are. Not enough coffee yet this morning.

[mplsjaromir]

Those of us with beach bods look forward to a 21st Street station and the convenient transit access to prime sun worship real estate.

[Scott Wood]

Aside from spite, why would we want to do that?

An at-grade tunnel in an area with minimal utility work and no need to interact with signals, etc., will be (in the grand scheme of the line) very inexpensive. It adds utility and flexibility to the line, and gives the option to extend the 2, which seems appealing.

Extending the 2 seems like the only thing justifying the 21st St station, given the current land use and total lack of willingness to accept TOD there. How about extending the 2 to West Lake instead? That would also provide additional service between Uptown and the University, and would provide direct service between that stretch of Hennepin Ave and West Lake Station, and between Uptown and East Franklin. It would also increase the frequency of service between West Lake and Uptown.

Keeping the 21st St station doesn't just add expense (even if relatively minor) to a project that's already seen lots of cost increases -- it also adds to travel time.

[FISHMANPET]

I like the idea of the 2 connecting to the SWLRT. That would give the 2 connection to 3 LRT branches: Southwest, Hiawatha, and Central (oh my beloved 2, I've ridden you literally thousands of times).

[Uptown46]

One reason to keep the 21st St Station as the connection for the #2 bus, is that it is a substantially shorter distance than West Lake. A quick google maps search shows the distance from Franklin/Hennepin to the West Lake Station is about 3 miles versus 1.3 miles to 21st St Station. Many of us complain about slow bus operating speeds on Hennepin that this extension of the #2 would have to contend with. And the #12 bus already makes this connection from Hennepin/Franklin down Hennepin to West Lake, so this would be somewhat redundant with that route.

[seanrichardryan]

The park board could and should sell of some of it lands to the North. 21st once served a neighborhood of rail worker housing in the triangle of tracks adjacent to Cedar Lake.

[Tcmetro]

My personal idea is to get rid of the 2, and extend the 67 from Hiawatha/Franklin over to 21st St Station at 10 min frequencies. Service on other streets would be replaced by higher frequencies on the 22 (Cedar), 7 (Riverside), 3 (U of M/Dinkytown), 6 (Univ/4th), and perhaps a new route to better connect NE/SE to the U of M. I also add a new Van White Bl bus from Lowry & Fremont to Uptown.

More realistically, the 2 should be routed down Hennepin to Uptown TC considering it would only be a 6 block extension. Transfers could be made to Midtown LRT or the Lake St Arterial BRT or the 12 or 17 over to West Lake Station.

[xandrex]

My personal idea is to get rid of the 2, and extend the 67 from Hiawatha/Franklin over to 21st St Station at 10 min frequencies. Service on other streets would be replaced by higher frequencies on the 22 (Cedar), 7 (Riverside), 3 (U of M/Dinkytown), 6 (Univ/4th), and perhaps a new route to better connect NE/SE to the U of M. I also add a new Van White Bl bus from Lowry & Fremont to Uptown.

More realistically, the 2 should be routed down Hennepin to Uptown TC considering it would only be a 6 block extension. Transfers could be made to Midtown LRT or the Lake St Arterial BRT or the 12 or 17 over to West Lake Station.

The 2 currently serves it's NE/SE terminus pretty well. So if the plan is to get rid of it, then chop it off after the U, but leave the part that runs in SE alone (maybe increase service). I live about 2 blocks away from the 2 and 3 blocks away from the 6, and when I went to the U, the 2 was infinitely more useful.

[Silophant]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to get rid of that service entirely. I'd like to see your plan. If Metro Transit doesn't want to run that as a separate route, maybe the trips of the 6 that currently terminate downtown could instead run over the river and up to 8th, either following the 2s route through SE exactly, or continuing on 8th St. all the way to 15th, then on to Stadium Village Station. Students would lose the convenience of a one-seat ride from Marcy-Holmes to classes on West Bank, but, given how slow buses move on the WATM now, it's probably faster to transfer to a 3 or the Bridge Circulator in Dinkytown anyway.

[FISHMANPET]

Having taken the 2 from Dinkytown to my apartment in Seward around 6PM on Thursday and being stuck in traffic on University Ave, I wouldn't call the WATM slow. And once the 16 and 50 aren't running on there, things should move a bit faster.

[twincitizen]

Municipal Consent public hearing on Thursday May 29:

A joint public hearing with the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority will occur May 29 at the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis at 6 p.m. An open house will be held on the Public Service Level of the Hennepin County Government Center beginning at 5 p.m.

http://metrocouncil.org/News-Events/Tra ... -Rail.aspx

[Sara Bergen]

Collaborations-in-Place:
Creating Opportunities along the
Southwest LRT Corridor


Wednesday May 28th, 7:30am-9:30am
Hopkins Center for the Arts
John Ireland Community Room
1111 Main Street
Hopkins, MN


In partnership with Hennepin County Community Works and Twin Cities LISC, MCCD will host a Community Development Conversation that will focus on a wide-range of innovative practices that cities, neighborhoods, and community organizations are using to create places and opportunities along the Southwest LRT corridor, including Hopkins and Eden Prairie.

Please contact Greg Gramza at 612-789-7337 x815 or [email protected] with any questions.

[Sara Bergen]

Not a ton of new information on here, but it will likely add pressure on Hodges, esp. given her liberal use of the term equity during her campaign:

http://peoplestransit.org/#say-youre-in ... es-transit


The coalition organizations listed on the website are ISAIAH, Take Action MN, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Harrison Neighborhood Association, Sierra Club, and Alliance for Metropolitan Stability.