Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

[angrysuburbanite]

"Light rail project encounters new obstacle in Minneapolis' North Loop: Major utility lines "
https://m.startribune.com/light-rail-pr ... lmob=y&c=n

"We look at it as just normal coordination [with utilities], although this one takes a little more work," said Nick Landwer, Metro Transit's director of transit system design and engineering. "We're working with the Xcel team to simplify how to get the work done. It doesn't pose an issue at all."

Project opponents were not appeased: "It's just another example of the Met Council not doing their due diligence on these projects," said Matt Bruns, who lives in the 918 Lofts along 10th Avenue, now part of the Blue Line extension route in the North Loop.

I still cannot believe some people are looking at SWLRT and BLRT as apples to apples. They are so much different from each other.

Sort of tangential, but do people really think that abolishing the Metropolitan Council is going to do anything to make LRT projects cheaper? They do realize it is a countrywide issue, right? (also, doesn't MnDOT have appointed leadership as well? How is it any different than the Met Council?)

[Tom H.]

This is the second LRT article in a few weeks with a sensationalized headline, in which actual experts or project managers literally say "it's not a problem", "there's no concern", but continues to just credulously quote and both-sides the NIMBYs.

[angrysuburbanite]

As icing on the cake, they even mention the other "tracks in wrong location" one in this article!

Also, obligatory Star Tribune comment section sucks remark. That was worse than usual, though.

[MNdible]

Sort of tangential, but do people really think that abolishing the Metropolitan Council is going to do anything to make LRT projects cheaper? They do realize it is a countrywide issue, right? (also, doesn't MnDOT have appointed leadership as well? How is it any different than the Met Council?)

The primary purpose of abolishing the Met Council is to make Scott Dibble feel important.

[Nick]

Yes, it is odd, given how many thousands of words have been spilled on this topic in the press, that no one has really scratched the surface on what's going on there.

[Silophant]

I'm not going to hate not having both the House and Senate transportation leaders be completely beholden to the whiniest neighborhood in Minneapolis.

[thespeedmccool]

The Met Council is a nationwide model and that means it's very hard to convince DFLers to neuter or significantly change it. The GOP just wants it dead, so Dibble and Co. have to convince their fellow partisans of any changes and that's hard.

Shifting LRT construction management to MNDOT as is currently proposed is hardly a concession at all. Shifting ADA costs to Met Council and stripping their ability to spend sales tax dollars on LRT are huge concessions and should get killed.

Met Council estimated the H Line will cost over $100 million if Dibble gets his way. This anti-Met Council tirade needs to be stopped.

Afield of the topic at hand, but I can't help myself.

[StandishGuy]

Meh. More than $3 billion for a route anticipated to have fewer than 15,000 daily riders? Crystal and Brooklyn Park just don't have the density and people-oriented land uses to warrant LRT. Plus, Botineau Blvd is truly awful for humans walking to proposed station locations with abismal car-oriented land uses. Things have changed so dramatically after the pandemic related to commuting and travel. patterns and planners should have recognized this fact. Geez. Target doesn't even require their workers to go intoo their offices on either end of the line. Why should we run a train all the way to a corn field in Brooklyn Park?

I'm transit dependant and live in the heart of south Minneapolis. However, bus service has been cut back so much that I can't rely on it any more as it only comes once an hour for way too much of the time. Metro Transit and area counties just need to invest in more ABRT in the short term until, hopefully, ridership returns. Too much money is being wasted on expensive rail and BRT that serves unwalkable, transit-hostile place. The Orange and Red lines suck. Northstar sucks. The Gold and Green Lines will suck because they go to low-density, auto-oriented places, and nothing about those places is going to change.

I am a transit dependent person who is very supportive of investing in