Green Line / Central Corridor construction thread (archive)

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Lancestar2

Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby Lancestar2 » July 18th, 2012, 11:16 pm

hmmm very interesting discussion. Maybe because they already have the Riverview LRT segment in the plan for 2030 they don't see a demand to change the metrodome station during game days a center station would be insane to have everyone trying to line up on the platform after the game to catch the train. I wonder when they will start to focus on developing the Riverview segment, perhaps after the Bott. and SW. segments are completed!

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby mulad » July 19th, 2012, 8:04 am

I did get pretty confused at the suggestion that the area would become a significant bus terminal. The only service that really terminates at the Metrodome is Megabus's route to Chicago via Madison/Milwaukee. There are some other local bus routes which pass within a few blocks of the Dome which I suppose could be rerouted, but I'm not so sure about that idea.

I have had some thoughts that Minneapolis should consider having 4 or 5 major bus terminals ringing the downtown, like how big European cities have multiple train terminals. The Metrodome seems like it would be a decent spot to put one. Unfortunately, the city has tried that before with pretty poor outcomes -- though it's not hard to see why they failed. The ABC Ramps complex, the Gateway Ramp, and the Leamington Ramp were all built partly on the concept. Too bad they all have pretty crappy waiting areas, no retail to speak of, and their primary functions are as parking ramps rather than transit centers. They might have worked if they'd been designed as spaces for people rather than for vehicles.

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby min-chi-cbus » July 19th, 2012, 8:09 am

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the "Riverview Corridor"? Between MOA and DT StP?

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby mulad » July 19th, 2012, 8:27 am

Yep, that's the one.

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby min-chi-cbus » July 19th, 2012, 8:44 am

Yep, that's the one.
Would that be in lieu of SW or Bottineau or in addition to them?

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby mulad » July 19th, 2012, 9:22 am

The Riverview Corridor is mostly dead, though West 7th is a near-term contender for ATCS/"rapid bus" service. LRT and true BRT options never really got off the ground in the old Riverview Corridor study, but Metro Transit did upgrade the route 54 bus to have completely limited-stop service (unlike the weird split local/limited service with the 16/50, 21/53, and a couple other routes). If the rapid bus plans move forward, it would be enhanced further with traffic signal priority, better stations, and all-door boarding.

I personally think it should be re-evaluated as a rail line, given what we've learned from Hiawatha's ridership, and the policy changes that have been made in recent years (which allowed the inclusion of those 3 extra stations along the Central Corridor). I think the City of Saint Paul has been looking at the corridor for streetcar service, but I don't know if there's anything official about that.

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Re: New Vikings LRT Station

Postby mattaudio » July 19th, 2012, 10:04 am

I see a huge opportunity here to hopefully scoop up the old CP Ford Spur alignment. That ROW could really be valuable since West 7th between Davern and Lexington is high traffic and constrained ROW.

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby mulad » July 19th, 2012, 1:43 pm

Yet another video, this time from Irrigate Arts/Springboard for the Arts, who ran some bus tours a couple months ago, using an old Twin City Lines bus operated by the Minnesota Transportation Museum (it has somewhere north of 2 million miles on the odometer). There weren't many technical details on the tour or in this video -- the tour was more focused on the history of buildings along the CCLRT route.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1hwdgyYKls[/youtube]

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby seanrichardryan » July 22nd, 2012, 10:09 pm

Drove down University this afternoon (94 was closed!) And the stations are getting colors. Green, blue etc. There is also some bizarre glass going in , like a squiggly 90s Greek key design with a train incorporated. The same glass has gone into all of the bus shelters too, except with a bus logo. I prefer the striped glass on the other bus shelters in the rest of town, but the new design certainly is 'distinctive'. Should have snapped a photo, but it was a traffic cone nightmare.
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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby mulad » July 22nd, 2012, 11:43 pm

Blech, I hate that striped glass. Makes it way too hard to see in, out, or through the bus shelters. The newer style with spiral patterns and transit logos isn't quite as bad.

I think the striped glass was an anti-graffiti measure. It kind of works for that, but it blocks my view so bad that it makes shelters useless to me -- if I can't see, I have to stand outside.

Of course, lots of shelters have crappy visibility anyway...

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby UptownSport » July 23rd, 2012, 12:11 am

Didn't read entire thread, so perhaps it's been mentioned;

There's turning two streets north of university into what I understand to be a thoroughfare- Guess theres a meeting about it.

Anyone heard any thing about this?

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby mulad » July 23rd, 2012, 8:54 am

There are a few roads planned in the industrial area between the UMN transitway and Elm/Kasota as part of the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial/University Research Park plan. I don't know of a specific site covering the whole project -- Google mostly only returns links to PDF files.

One piece of the overall plan was constructed last year -- the 25th Ave SE extension.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/all/ci ... semi_index

The red/gray lines in this map show where things are planned to go, but I suspect plans may shift as time goes on...
semi-25th-ave.gif

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Nathan
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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby Nathan » July 23rd, 2012, 11:03 am

The whole Granary Corridor has a study including different amounts of parkway and greenway. a really interesting project. There are site plans and proposals on this page.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/all/cip_semi_index

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby mplser » July 23rd, 2012, 11:39 pm

I'm just hoping it won't look anything like van white mem blvd

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby pfreyre » July 25th, 2012, 1:34 pm

Does anybody know if the plants growing between the tracks and the road in multiple locations are intentional? I've seen them in many places including near the Westgate Station. This site has a photo: http://lettherebelightrail.blogspot.com ... h-you.html

Are they there simply due to all the rainfall we have had this year, or are they intentional and they just haven't grown yet? If not, what is the purpose for those separators between the tracks and the road?

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby moda253 » July 25th, 2012, 2:36 pm

It says right above the pic....

"And as long as we're stuck in the middle, er, median, I'd like to point out what happens when you get 800 inches of rain in a month. What used to be a gravel placeholder for our median planting area has become a lush forest of volunteers."

It's weeds.

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby pfreyre » July 25th, 2012, 2:56 pm

I should have worded my question a little better... I understand, but are those medians supposed to be used for plants in the future?

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby min-chi-cbus » July 25th, 2012, 4:07 pm

Does anybody know if the plants growing between the tracks and the road in multiple locations are intentional? I've seen them in many places including near the Westgate Station. This site has a photo: http://lettherebelightrail.blogspot.com ... h-you.html

Are they there simply due to all the rainfall we have had this year, or are they intentional and they just haven't grown yet? If not, what is the purpose for those separators between the tracks and the road?
I think the purpose of the space it to keep the train from even coming CLOSE to vehicles or other traffic, including the rocks and gravel a train can kick up while whizzing by. That'd be my guess...

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby min-chi-cbus » July 25th, 2012, 4:09 pm

I should have worded my question a little better... I understand, but are those medians supposed to be used for plants in the future?
The medians in Cleveland here are just filled with weeds too, and eventually become places for displaced rocks/gravel to accumulate (keeping vegetation at bay, mostly).

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Re: Central Corridor LRT

Postby seanrichardryan » July 25th, 2012, 4:17 pm

Rewatching the animations on you tube, it appears it will all be paved in concrete, except for areas on the east bank of the campus.
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