I did!Anyone make it to the open house last night? Any major new updates?
So they are down to 3 routings between UTS and Southdale.
See here: https://www.metrotransit.org/e-line-project
I did!Anyone make it to the open house last night? Any major new updates?
I’m on the pedestrian committee. As far as I know, they haven’t made any determinations about where their will and won’t be stops yetNot excited to see that there won't be a stop on the riverfront (e.g. Hennenpin/1st and 2nd or Main) not great for access to those destinations or transfer options in NE. Central & University/4th are both pretty hostile intersections and I don't trust MNDOT to improve them anytime soon (even with ABRT).
I think the new protected bike lanes on 4th/University make this very unlikely. You would need to reduce parts of the newly-reconfigured streets down to one lane at peak hours. Realistically that's a non-starter.Will they make transit only lanes for this line? I could see a big benefit of true transit only lanes on University/4th and Henn. Not only for the E Line but all of the other local and express routes using the same L shape route.
I agree about France & Xerxes both needing BRT, but a France line going north of 44th St. is basically going where there is zero density or demand. You’re basically going along & through a large private country club. If that ever got redeveloped, I could see the point, but otherwise, no.It's a bit of a complex route, but the rationale does make sense and it hopefully will still be fairly straightforward to navigate with the exception of the segment between France and Hennepin. Hopefully they have a concrete plan to keep the buses moving through that section smoothly, because that's a lot of turns and intersections.
One thought I had following this process is that, someday in the semi-distant future, it may make sense to have rapid lines on both France and Xerxes. Both have destinations and density, enough so that they are keeping the 6 with ok-ish frequency. In that scenario, I think it would make a ton of sense to have the France line rerouted slightly to go down Excelsior towards Uptown, and the Xerxes line follow this route from 44th to Hennepin.
"Zero density or demand"? Along France north of 44th perhaps, but when you get to Excelsior it picks up again, especially where Excelsior meets Lake Street.I agree about France & Xerxes both needing BRT, but a France line going north of 44th St. is basically going where there is zero density or demand. You’re basically going along & through a large private country club. If that ever got redeveloped, I could see the point, but otherwise, no.It's a bit of a complex route, but the rationale does make sense and it hopefully will still be fairly straightforward to navigate with the exception of the segment between France and Hennepin. Hopefully they have a concrete plan to keep the buses moving through that section smoothly, because that's a lot of turns and intersections.
One thought I had following this process is that, someday in the semi-distant future, it may make sense to have rapid lines on both France and Xerxes. Both have destinations and density, enough so that they are keeping the 6 with ok-ish frequency. In that scenario, I think it would make a ton of sense to have the France line rerouted slightly to go down Excelsior towards Uptown, and the Xerxes line follow this route from 44th to Hennepin.
Historically, streetcars went along 44th (hence its density), westward past France to Hopkins & Excelsior. If we ever got a grid-based transit network, rather than our spoke-and-hub system, then a France BRT line going north past 44th might make sense.
So there’s 2 strikes against it, in my mind.
SWLRT will serve that area just fine. Maybe some people at Lake & Excelsior will go to points south and vice-versa but does it justify a major bus route?"Zero density or demand"? Along France north of 44th perhaps, but when you get to Excelsior it picks up again, especially where Excelsior meets Lake Street.
Would this routing (in addition to E-Line draft LPA via France/44th/Hennepin) meet that need?Route the 6 up Xerxes, then west of Bde Maka Ska via West Lake Station and Uptown Transit Station like this https://goo.gl/maps/LdrByqo3yBcL1aJX6
Provides additional benefits vs keeping the route east of Bde Maka Ska colocated with the E Line:
- 1/2 mi walk to West End
- Allows for Southdale/Xerxes > Green Line > SW burbs reverse commute via transfer at West Lake
- Allows for Uptown > Green Line > SW burbs reverse commute via transfer at West Lake
Well, this is the problem with our hub-and-spoke system. From Hopkins, you have to get to Uptown to get to Southdale.I’ll put in that a line going along France to the West Lake Station would make transit from Hopkins to Southdale worth considering.
Maybe in the future a SWLRT to (whatever transit we get from West Lake to Uptown) to E-Line is faster than the 70-90 minutes a Hopkins to Southdale transit option is today.
So what you're saying is: a hub and spoke system is good, so long as it's a grid.Grids are inherently inefficient. You want a hub and spoke system. What we're missing is a couple radial lines to allow moving from one spoke to another spoke without going all the way in to the hub.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest