Blue Line LRT

[Tcmetro]

I guess the main problem is the geometry of the line in the area. Hiawatha was already a pedestrian nightmare before light rail went in, and LRT made it even more of a tangle for walkers. There probably could be some improvements for everyone (cars, bikes, peds, LRT, etc), but I have to agree with Mndible that what we already have should be enough to warn someone of an oncoming train. After all, if someone walked right into traffic this wouldn't have been such a big story.

[RailBaronYarr]

I'm in agreement that pedestrian gate arms aren't necessary. I think the fact that so few fatalities (10 fatal accidents in 10 years) is proof of this. My point was that we already installed a system of arms to keep cars back, was there a reason that a short arm at low cost couldn't have been added where counterweights aren't present. The same question could be asked of drivers as pedestrians - flashing lights, bells, etc prior the tracks - why do we need arms? Stop lights alone keep cars from entering other intersections, and do so at interfaces with LRT all over downtown. I was simply curious if there was a reason (like they're not effective, too costly, etc).

[mister.shoes]

My guess: downtown it's nearly impossible to wait for a red stoplight with your car sitting on the LRT tracks. Along here there's enough distance between the tracks and Hiawatha Ave that it's quite easy to stop outside the auto lanes and on top of the tracks.

[widin007]

Yeah pedestrian gate arms seems pretty silly, if the person isn't deterred from crossing by the flashing lights and blaring noise, I doubt a little gate would convince them.

[web]

a whole encompassing fence is probably the solution. But it does seem to be overkill. The blue line in LA/Long Beach uses this. Pedestrian arms and continuous fences along its entire length making crossing impossible except where sidewalks and roads cross.

[mattaudio]

Full grade separation and platform screen doors. Easy.

[MNdible]

Full grade separation and platform screen doors. Easy.

And affordable.

[fehler]

Don't put up a pedestrian gate arm, unless you can put up the arms on both directions of the sidewalk. The natural tendency in seeing a gate arm is that it is safe right up to it, so people may not realize they are on the "wrong" side of a gate arm and walk right into the path.

[Silophant]

Saw a train of Bombardiers roll through downtown today, the first vehicle of which had been retrofitted with the new destination signs. The blue square was a darker blue that more closely matches the blue on the signs, not the eye-searing bright blue that the Siemens vehicles have.

[John21]

Pulling into the Metrodome station last night I noticed the interior sign scrolled the bus connection then Green Line.

[Silophant]

The bike trail reopened today.

[mulad]

Bustitution in downtown on Sunday due to Metrodome demolition work. https://twitter.com/MetroTransitMN/stat ... 4920901632

[PhilmerPhil]

The Blue Line is consistently 2-6 minutes behind schedule.

[NickP]

Phil, today or in general?

[PhilmerPhil]

Every day my SB train is scheduled to leave Franklin at 7:50 and it almost always gets there between 7:52 & 7:56. NB at 38th is scheduled to leave at 4:40 and usually leaves at around 4:44.

Also, I wish the LRT stations had warmer places to wait. Those heat lamps are ineffective under a certain temp.

[Tcmetro]

I've found peak hour trains to be late as well. I suppose downtown cross-traffic is the main culprit. Problems have probably been compounded since service frequency was reduced from 7.5 min to 10 min.

As for the waiting areas on the platform not being accommodating of winter weather, that is a problem that is rampant across the transit system. The bus and train stops are poorly suited for passengers in winter weather.

[mulad]

I've been annoyed by the Hiawatha shelters ever since the line opened, back when 1- and 2-car trains were standard. Trains pull all the way into the platform, but the shelters at that end tend to be facing away from the right-hand track, such as at Lake Street.

As for timing, there have been a number of changes in the last decade which have slowed trains down bit by bit. I'm sure 3-car trains are a bit slower than 1- and 2-car trains, there are extra stations at American Boulevard and at Target Field. The new diverging diamond interchange at I-494 and 34th Ave seems to have slowed travel in that area a bit. And there's the new interchange with the Green Line between the stadium and Cedar-Riverside, which used to be a pretty fast section.

I hope some signal preemption in downtown Minneapolis or better timing/coordination is being studied as the Green Line gets ready to start running. That's probably the cheapest/easiest way to get trains sped up again. Presumably the DDI is also being watched by MnDOT since it's the first DDI ever built with rail running down the middle (at least in the U.S.), but I haven't heard anything about that.

[PhilmerPhil]

Thanks for the info mulad. It's not the speed that bugs me, but the reliability. I try to get to the station with a couple minutes to spare, and it's really frustrating waiting almost 10 minutes for a train. Of course, I could plan accordingly and just leave a few minutes late, but then what if the train happens to be on time that day? Hopefully the schedules are adjusted in May.

Anyways, I'm more venting than anything right now...

[mulad]

Yeah, it underscores how the Blue Line has been an oddball in the Metro Transit system with its lack of NexTrip capability for so long. I use it every day when catching the bus. Hopefully that'll be activated soon, but we may have to wait until the Green Line is up and running.

[Nick]

I have many, many complaints about the CTA system (why are there TWO Harlem stops on the same line??) but I really like the way their timetables have ranges on them:

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ ... s/Lake.pdf

I think MetroTransit would benefit from this in certain cases. The Blue Line comes to mind if they're not going to get it together and get NexTrip fixed up. And the idea of "a bus comes every 5-10 minutes" might be scary for some people, but it's better than pretending that, say, a westbound 16 is actually going to arrive at 4:57 on the West Bank during evening rush hour--nah, it's just going to come every five minutes or so.