Mall of America - Bloomington

[HiawathaGuy]

I meant to say East not West. Also they said "phase 3" which they must have meant some segment of Phase 2 now being called Phase 3. As from my understanding everything North of the existing MOA is ALL phase 2 but was separated into segments of phase 2 which would mean talk of phase 3 would be a different project. They do own that block to the east of the MOA now but I guess I'm looking into it to much.

Other than that is there chance some of these segments north of Lindau lane will be built by the 2018 super bowl? I'm sure that might make a bit of an incentive to get the ball rolling on these projects right?

Ah, well the Phase numbering has always been confusing... 1B, 1C, 2A... I can fully see that the woman quoted in the article just misspoke. MOA didn't make anyone available to comment on the story - so it's possible it was simply a mistake.

I think if the economics are there, things will happen in time for 2018's Super Bowl. However, they have to make economic sense. The Super Bowl alone doesn't necessarily make for good sense.

[FISHMANPET]

Also I don't like the LRT stop being so far away from Ikea. Doubly so now that it's just not possible to walk to Ikea anymore, legally.

I'm sure a move could have happened if it had been planned along with the Lindau reconstruction and the northward expansion of the mall, it probably would have been a lot cheaper. But that ship has sailed and already reached its next port of call, leaving me to complain impotently on internet message boards.

[mattaudio]

If the mall was an organic human-centered node and not a faux place, it would be naturally centered on important hubs of mobility and commerce, such as a train station. Alas, one more fragment of evidence proving the MOA is not a legitimate public place.

[MNdible]

I'm not in the business of defending the MOA, but in my experience in major cities around the world, the train station is almost never in the dead-middle of the action. Almost universally, it's off to one side or the other and you need to hike some distance to get there.

Also, the reality is that the "hubs of mobility" in most of this country today are freeway interchanges, and there happens to be a big one of those right next door.

[go4guy]

I would argue that having the transit center at the middle of the mall would be a waste of valuable retail space. Not to mention that the mall would want transit riders to walk thru the most amount of mall space as possible. Also, the job of the transit center is to get people to the mall, not to get people closer to their favorite store within the mall. Even if it would have only cost a few million to move the transit center to the Lindau area during that reconstruction, I still dont think it would have been a wise use of public money or a wise use of the mall's money.

[mattaudio]

I only assume we get to use the same logic when discussing parking and how far one must walk from a parking space to a store? Personally, I don't know why the MOA lets me park so darn close to Ikea... if only I had to park on the other side, I'd shop so much more.

[go4guy]

Not sure what you mean. The only parking that MOA has near Ikea is the old over flow parking across the street. Not too many people park there that go to Ikea. They tend to use Ikea's parking ramp right next to their store. Why wouldnt Ikea have their parking ramp right next to their store for their customers? Not sure what you are getting at.

[EOst]

Also I don't like the LRT stop being so far away from Ikea. Doubly so now that it's just not possible to walk to Ikea anymore, legally.

There's a shuttle bus that works alright between the Mall and the parking lot next to Ikea. I don't know how frequent it is, but it saved me a long walk with an armful of junk the other day.

[Snelbian]

Infrequent enough that I've waited during a weekday at that thing for more than 15 minutes with no sign of it. It's effectively useless unless you are very lucky. The entire setup is a giant middle finger to pedestrians, especially given that it's not even anywhere near Ikea. So kind of them to run a shuttle to the middle of an enormous skating rink.

[EOst]

Maybe I'm misremembering the sign, but I thought it only ran on weekends.

[Snelbian]

Perhaps it does now. Back around early December the sign definitely said there was mid-day service on weekdays. How frequent that was wasn't specified. In any event, weekend-only service really only further worsens the situation.

[min-chi-cbus]

Infrequent enough that I've waited during a weekday at that thing for more than 15 minutes with no sign of it. It's effectively useless unless you are very lucky. The entire setup is a giant middle finger to pedestrians, especially given that it's not even anywhere near Ikea. So kind of them to run a shuttle to the middle of an enormous skating rink.

Why does being near Ikea make it most effective? I hate that [&$&*] store!

[Snelbian]

Because the walking connection that's been severed primarily serves the Mall-Ikea route, whether you hate that store or not. There is next to no activity in the parking lot itself, so why run a shuttle there?

[mattaudio]

Not sure what you mean. The only parking that MOA has near Ikea is the old over flow parking across the street. Not too many people park there that go to Ikea. They tend to use Ikea's parking ramp right next to their store. Why wouldnt Ikea have their parking ramp right next to their store for their customers? Not sure what you are getting at.

That's exactly my point. We expect parking at all corners of all places. But then when we expect good placement of transit stations, and good walking connectivity between places like the Mall and Ikea or its southern neighbors, then suddenly distance becomes a virtue.... it will get more eyeballs past more stores as people are frustrated on their 30 minute walk from the transit station to Ikea.

[Snelbian]

30 minute might be an understatement, in fact. Last time I walked back from Ikea, in early December, the detour told people emphatically to enter the mall via the eastern parking ramp and the transit station. Which makes some sense because there is NO SIDEWALK CONNECTION from the Sears entrances to the other side of Lindau. I jumped three snow banks and disobeyed multiple signs because I didn't feel like walking through a parking ramp without any sort of pedestrian facilities.

[VAStationDude]

I would take the 5 from the transit station, personally.

[TommyT]

I guess I don't understand why we expect to be dropped off at the most central location, when the point of going to the mall is to walk around to different stores. Surely, no matter where the transit center is, it's going to be a trek for SOMEONE to get where they are going. It's the same concept that I don't understand with trying to find the closest parking lot at the mall. Likely, you're going to be walking around for hours anyway, what's the big deal with taking a spot at the back of the lot? IKEA is understandable, but I don't think it was ever meant to be convenient to IKEA. Was the transit center there pre IKEA?

[fehler]

My continued opinion is that the MOA needs two transit stations, the current one on the east, and a smaller one on the north/American Blvd/IKEA side, once phase 2 is complete and LRT is extended along American Blvd to Eden Prairie.

[twincitizen]

I think you can justify a relocated (or additional) LRT stop for the MOA district without indulging in any fantasy of actually extending LRT westward beyond Ikea. MOA, as the busiest transit station in the metro area, is a natural terminus for the Blue Line, with multitudes of bus routes ending and connecting there.

[Hindsight] That said, I wish the entire alignment were different through Bloomington. Same number of stations, but with two of them allocated to either side of Mall of America instead of the wasteful American Blvd Station and Bloomington Central. 28th Ave Station should be closer to the Mall, as "MOA East Station" and encompass the park & ride, as well as the bus transfer station. It could have been pulled closer to the corner of 24th Ave & Lindau and connected to the mall by skyway. This would be faster for all buses and trains, and only add a slightly longer walk into the mall itself. It would have been an enormous benefit to transit users who aren't actually heading to the mall. LRT could have then continued westward on Lindau (or American) to then terminate at a "MOA West Station" that would more directly serve Ikea and other future development in the NW corner of the MOA district. Those hotels/offices just to the west of MN-77 would be within stroadwalking distance of that "MOA West Station". [/Hindsight]

Seeing as how that all won't happen, I still wish they would have considered some alternatives to rebuilding the station in its current location. Anything to avoid trains having to do that ridiculous loop around the block and super-slow 5MPH entry into the station.

[HiawathaGuy]

Famous Dave's, Kokomo Island closing at Mall of America
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/m ... ll-of.html

..."Mall officials say that another operator has a deal to open two new restaurants — both undisclosed, one new to the area — by the summer."

Interesting. I'll be curious to see what two new restaurants fill these spots.
As a side - I always wondered how Kokomo Island stayed open!