Keep in mind, they have said they will be considering a hybrid LRT/streetcar (also known as a tram outside of North America) that could run in mixed traffic on West 7th. So I think Froggie is onto something there. You're probably in the right ballpark of where to make the transition from rail ROW to street-running as well, in the general vicinity of the Schmidt brewery.
Politically, I doubt that St. Paul would give up lanes (or on street parking), let alone MNDOT (it still carries MN-5 after all...which is dumb). Not to mention, a long section of the roadway in question has already gone on a road diet, and is now 3 lanes. It only goes back up to 4 lanes east of Goodhue (more or less, at Mancini's).
While running on-street from Randolph all the way into downtown would obviously be slower than staying in the rail ROW, keep in mind that St. Paul also studied streetcar on W 7th out to Randolph. This could be a two birds with one stone situation. While it would make for a significantly slower transit line, it would have much higher ridership by running through a dense area, even in mixed traffic. It would prevent St. Paul from building a separate streetcar line, which is certainly a regional benefit.
God I love being right:
http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy ... ust-dont-m
Some committee members said the solution might come via some sort of hybrid system. [Wagenius] said there are streetcars that can run on the same tracks as current light rail trains and at greater speeds. “There’s a difference between the tool and what you choose to do with it,” Wagenius said. McLaughlin said a streetcar-type vehicle could run amidst traffic on West 7th and therefore not require removal of parking. It could then move to separated tracks and run at higher speed once it reaches the river. The Blue Line, for example, makes frequent stops downtown and then picks up speed and stops less frequently as it gets closer to the airport.
Big props to Wagenius and McLaughlin for seemingly being on the same page here, though ultimately their opinions won't matter as much as Ramsey County's CTIB reps. Interesting that Callaghan pulled two quotes from prominent Minneapolis/Hennepin folks, not Ramsey/St. Paul.
One aspect that I'm skeptical of is staying on West 7th the entire route instead of switching over to the RR corridor between Randolph and Davern (as seen on Froggie's maps upthread). Please correct me if I'm interpreting that incorrectly, but it kinda sounds like all considerations of using the RR corridor are pretty close to being dropped, largely for economic development reasons. Not the end of the world though - speed-wise, I'm not sure that using the RR corridor between Randolph & Davern would be THAT much faster than W 7th anyways. Over that 3.1 mile stretch, I doubt the running times would diverge by too much, especially since the RR corridor alternative would need to exit and re-enter 7th Street at those endpoints.
