Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

[angrysuburbanite]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alpJQlyldbk

New aerial footage of the corridor from the Met Council. The tunnel is looking nice and the railbed in the Minneapolis section is becoming more apparent. Pretty incredible how engineers were able to design a tunnel that fit given the design constraints.

To put into perspective just how long this project has taken, the 3A alignment was approved when I was two years old, construction began when I was in fourth grade, and it will be completed just in time for me to take it to and from college. That's pretty bonkers.

I hope that didn't make any of you feel too old

[Tom H.]

matt_damon_becoming_old.gif

[Oreos&Milk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alpJQlyldbk

New aerial footage of the corridor from the Met Council. The tunnel is looking nice and the railbed in the Minneapolis section is becoming more apparent. Pretty incredible how engineers were able to design a tunnel that fit given the design constraints.

To put into perspective just how long this project has taken, the 3A alignment was approved when I was two years old, construction began when I was in fourth grade, and it will be completed just in time for me to take it to and from college. That's pretty bonkers.

I hope that didn't make any of you feel too old

Hurry Up and get those grand-kids started! I still want a Green Line Extension - Extension! Flying Cloud Airport, Valley Fair (park and ride commuter ramp Weekdays, Weekends ramp for the park! ) Canterbury Park, and Mystic Lake! An even better park and ride location. Park and ride to work every day and then come back and BAM your right at a great spot for a dinner buffet or to de-stress with some slots before going home!

I figure by the time you have grand-kids it should easily be a reality right? ..

[angrysuburbanite]

Personally, I'd prefer MVTA to run a SWS-Shakopee shuttle to and from Canterbury, Mystic Lake, and Valley Fair, which would more than cover any transit demand those places have (which is to say not very much since they are so out of the way). By that point I'd hope for momentum on a Midtown Greenway, Central Avenue, or I-394 alignment instead since those would connect important year-round destinations. The last rail expansion the southwestern suburbs should see is SouthWest Station to MOA and route you propose would probably be quite expensive--mostly given the grade change from Valley Fair and Flying Cloud, though I'm detecting it is a bit tongue-in-cheek (?)

[Oreos&Milk]

Personally, I'd prefer MVTA to run a SWS-Shakopee shuttle to and from Canterbury, Mystic Lake, and Valley Fair, which would more than cover any transit demand those places have (which is to say not very much since they are so out of the way). By that point I'd hope for momentum on a Midtown Greenway, Central Avenue, or I-394 alignment instead since those would connect important year-round destinations. The last rail expansion the southwestern suburbs should see is SouthWest Station to MOA and route you propose would probably be quite expensive--mostly given the grade change from Valley Fair and Flying Cloud, though I'm detecting it is a bit tongue-in-cheek (?)

No, quite serious about the concept. Given downtown never got it's casino, and with the recent building of the 19,000 Shakopee amphitheater. Downtown residents and urban core residents would have public transit options to a NICE and a big casino and great entertainment options in the suburbs! Even if it's a "Red Line" bus extension vs a one seat LRT extension it would be a massive benefit, that could always be upgraded down the line if warranted.

BRT busses could leave Southwest station on Technology Drive and Stop on Mitchell and we would have that Mitchell station that was once part of the plan, then they would get on 212 and eventually cross the river south on 169.

Yes, Mystic Lake already has regular shuttles from MOA but this would add Canterbury park & the new amphitheater and Valley fair as stops as well. Provided they allowed a sizable park and ride ramp Either on site or near the area it would benefit a lot of people as well. Additional stations could be warranted as well, just some back of the napkin ideas I guess.

Also I agree with you on the other routes. I think its realistic to think we should see about the Greenway being a streetcar line, Nicollet Ave, and Connecting in the West End as well. If that could all somehow be combined into one streetcar system would be ideal. Past West end another BRT line would do just fine.

Not saying everything should be train lines but we can still build it under the METRO system as extensions that are low cost but help make life fun. I've lived downtown for to many years, and many of those years without a car. There is a reason why people are "addicted" to cars, when we can't build a decent quality of life without have a car then why bother not having one?

[BikesOnFilm]

I could see a Green Line Extension-Extension (to be clear: in a fantasy world where this costs nothing) that adds two stations - Chanhassen and Chaska. Each would provide more room for transit oriented development, and connecting the Chanhassen Dinner Theater, while not exactly the biggest entertainment draw, would be something.

I think the position of the tracks into the current terminus would make it really difficult to aim south to Shakopee. And while I think service to Canterbury, Mystic, and the future outdoor amphitheater they're building over there would give the GLE a much needed entertainment destination to add to the commuter destinations it's built around, I think that would be a very hard sell.

As for Valleyfair, they're already in the bottom echelon of Cedar Fair parks by attendance, and once the Six Flags merger goes through, it will sink even further down the list of priority parks for the brand. I think building a train here would be a very risky move to put it delicately.

[Mdcastle]

Valleyfair's not going anywhere. Unlike Six Flags America there's no real competition with either another Six Flags Park or another company's park. So people come without requiring much capital investment. And the land it sits on isn't especially valuable, if you want to build a datacenter there's empty land literally a mile or two away. It's more valuable as a theme park than empty land so if Six Flags wants to cash out to reduce their debt, Herschend (who already own Noah's Ark and Adventureland in the region) will want to buy it and run it.

Having said that I don't see much transit demand to the park . They don't even sell season passes that don't included parking anymore and from my observation if it's not a family in an SUV, a bunch of kids get together and carpool. But the parking lot is half empty except for Saturdays and holidays in the summer and Friday and Saturday nights for Valleyscare in the fall so I could see it being used as a park and right lot for US 169 BRT to downtown or something.

[BigIdeasGuy]

Thinking more about an extension to Shakopee, it's about 30 minutes from Eden Prairie Town Center to Target Field. Roughly you are looking another 4.5 miles to Valley Fair, 6.5 miles to Canterbury & 10.5 miles to Mystic Lake. Absolute best case is like 38 minutes to VF, 41 to CD and 45 minutes to ML. That's going to be minimal time savings to begin with and then you still have 5-10 minutes from the P&R to your house.

I still think it's worth digging deeper into but I think transit advocates should be clear eyed on the potential results