Fantasy maps

[thespeedmccool]

Great map! Seeing it like this makes be wonder why the Hwy 36 BRT is not on the mid term plan. Copy route 270 but make it an all day service with a stop at Rosedale and maybe Rice St.

Honestly, I think it's because Ramsey County can't justify juggling another BRT route. Washington County studied a 36 BRT last year to Stillwater and basically found that it doesn't and won't make sense in terms of demand until like 2035 or later.

They did find, however, that a Maplewood Mall-to-35-to-280-to-U of M-to-downtown line would be feasible, but for obvious reasons, it seems like Washington County isn't really interested in carrying that forward on their own. It's up to Ramsey County to get this done, but between Riverview, Purple, and half of the Gold Line, I think they have their hands full.

[Hero]

I thought D line was going to add a stop between 43rd and 51st. Did that not make it in?

Why does our transit planning have an east side bias? If the population center of the metro is near downtown Minneapolis shouldn't that be in the center of the map?

[thespeedmccool]

Why does our transit planning have an east side bias? If the population center of the metro is near downtown Minneapolis shouldn't that be in the center of the map?

1. I'm not sure there's an "east side bias" at all. Woodbury, for example, has one express bus and just got its first local route this year. Stillwater has one express route. Cottage Grove has one express route.

2. I think there's a perceived difference mostly because of the lack of a westward transitway on 394. The center of the map isn't getting "pushed" west by a 394 line like the east is with Gold.

3. If your looking for a more meta reason, it's probably because Ramsey County has pursued a more ambitious program of cheaper, less controversial BRT where Hennepin is mostly focused on LRT. While we all prefer trains to buses, Ramsey's approach is undoubtedly going to make east metro transit better, faster than Hennepin's.

4. Also, the east metro has two counties (Ramsey and Washington) where the west really has one (assuming Dakota is "south metro," Anoka "north metro," and that Carver and Scott are a "southwest metro" that's too far from downtown for transitways yet.) When counties drive transit development, the sheer volume of counties matters (I doubt, for example, the Gold Line would get the nod if Washington (Lisa Weik) didn't want a transitway for themselves.)

[MNdible]

There's also the constant screaming of East Metro politicians for regional parity that tends to drive investment in projects that otherwise wouldn't rise to the top of the list.

[Bakken2016]

I thought D line was going to add a stop between 43rd and 51st. Did that not make it in?

Yes it did, but it will be apart of the reconstruction of the road in that area. So I think it is set for a 2023 opening for the infill station.

[Trademark]

I thought D line was going to add a stop between 43rd and 51st. Did that not make it in?

Yes it did, but it will be apart of the reconstruction of the road in that area. So I think it is set for a 2023 opening for the infill station.

I wonder if this reconstruction be similar to the Webber 44 reconstruction where it completely closed down the road. Construction is planned from 2023-2025. It would be pretty disappointing to just finish the D line only for it to have a major detour due to bridge reconstruction for a few years. (And it would affect the C line even more).

[DanPatchToget]

The discussion about the "Can of Worms" in the roads thread got me thinking about how it could be simplified, so I made this:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FWKUkRzU8McTBiGp8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oPoEZrbxKnGJNjHh8

The I-35 to I-535 and vice versa ramps are the same except the ramp from southbound I-35 to southbound I-535 is moved to the right side of I-35. Also the ramp from northbound I-535 to southbound I-35 has a ramp split off to local streets for connections to Highway 53.

The elevated portion of Highway 53 is removed and replaced with an at-grade 3-lane road. The pictures don't show it but an off-ramp would be built from northbound I-535 to Garfield Avenue. An on-ramp would be added where Superior Street and Michigan Street merge together to southbound I-35. While for motorists it's not as ideal as a direct connection from Highway 53 to the interstates and vice versa, there would be a few routes available for motorists to take.

[DanPatchToget]

Today I did some exploring of the various apartment complexes just west of Highway 169 and north of Minnehaha Creek in Minnetonka. I wasn't too surprised by the amount of desire paths going to the BNSF tracks and the footprints and bike tracks that parallel the train tracks on the service road (until the late 1980s it was a second mainline track). I was surprised by these desire paths going across the tracks into the large marsh area around Minnehaha Creek. I'll have to go back sometime since I don't know where these paths end up. It got me thinking about how we could connect the North Cedar Lake Trail with the Dakota Rail Trail, so I made this simple map showing a possible route that would very likely include boardwalk segments in the marshy areas:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

[DanPatchToget]

Didn't spend a ton of time on this one, but I figured I'd share. It shows what is known as Shoreham Hill on Canadian Pacific's Withrow Subdivision in Northeast Minneapolis, but the grade has been flattened with a cut like what the Milwaukee Road did through South Minneapolis and what is now the Midtown Greenway. In this case however the cut is covered to allow an at-grade greenway between Central Avenue and 37th Avenue. This would eliminate six at-grade railroad crossings, which would be very beneficial for foot and vehicle traffic including the future F Line on Central Avenue. The rail corridor has one track for freight trains and two tracks for a potential regional rail service that would have a station under Central Avenue. The regional rail tracks and freight tracks would be in separate tunnels so passengers wouldn't have to worry about diesel fumes from freight trains.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HaEYnueXxWiZqaYU7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VZdYEqrQ12ysxGWD8

[mattaudio]

I can't imagine a greenway above a tunneled rail line, but Minneapolis should definitely be figuring out how to extract a Central Ave grade separation as part of the CP-KCS merger talks. Lots more traffic will go through this corridor in a few years.

[DanPatchToget]

I guess it depends on the definition of greenway, but the Kenilworth Trail will be above the tunnel for the Green Line Extension, whenever that's finished anyway.

[DanPatchToget]

Here's a major overhaul of the I-94/I-694/Highway 252/Highway 100 cluster plus the area just east of the river crossing. Includes the following:
-two of the three cloverleafs are replaced with flyover ramps
-the intersections for the on-/off-ramps at East River Road are rebuilt with roundabouts
-University Avenue is road-dieted with a busway (shown in red) and light rail (shown in light blue)
-a short section of University Avenue is removed, northbound traffic is rerouted to Central Avenue/Highway 65, Main Street, etc.
-57th Avenue is connected to East River Road with a bridge over the BNSF tracks, includes a trail
-new trail along University Avenue and the busway
-the busway and University Avenue Trail are grade-separated at the ramps leading to I-694
-Highway 252 is converted to a 4-lane freeway

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NsASzR5KngBxj78JA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uiv2DGuAi35Z56gb6

[thespeedmccool]

Made this. I hope someone here will like it:https://www.reddit.com/r/TransitDiagram ... y_bostons/

[Bakken2016]

Made this. I hope someone here will like it:https://www.reddit.com/r/TransitDiagram ... y_bostons/

Gorgeous!

[DanPatchToget]

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

This map shows track capacity improvements for my proposed regional rail network. Most track segments would be mixed-traffic (freight and passenger trains sharing track), but there's a decent amount of track that's only for passenger trains. This map doesn't include locations of track switches, bridges, tunnels, etc. While not 100% accurate, it shows the general track improvements needed for fast, safe, and reliable rail transportation for the freight railroads, Amtrak, and regional rail services.

Improvements include:
-rebuilding the second mainline track on BNSF's Wayzata Subdivision between Minneapolis and Long Lake
-adding a third mainline track on BNSF's Staples Subdivision between Minneapolis and Ramsey
-adding a second mainline track on BNSF's Staples Subdivision northwest of St. Cloud where it's currently a single mainline track with sidings
-rebuilding the second mainline track on CP's River Subdivision between Hastings and La Crescent
-rebuilding the second mainline track on the Twin Cities & Western between Hopkins and Chaska
-adding a bypass route on UP's Mankato Subdivision around Shakopee so freight trains can operate at higher speeds with little to no grade crossings, plus allows more capacity for local freight trains and regional passenger trains on the existing alignment through downtown Shakopee
-extending BNSF's Monticello Subdivision from Monticello to Becker, which would connect with the Staples Subdivision
-adding a bypass route for regional passenger trains around most of BNSF's Northtown Yard

[DanPatchToget]

My proposed transit improvements for Duluth. I included a separate layer that shows Duluth Transit Authority's bus system overhaul they're doing this summer.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

[DanPatchToget]

These fantasy maps are more focused on development, but transportation does have a part in it including modification of roads. These show the Hyland Greens Golf Course and Normandale Village area in Bloomington with some medium density mixed-use development. One map shows converting the golf course into a forested area with trails while the other keeps the golf course and focuses development only on the old driving range along Normandale Boulevard.

Developments with golf course conversion:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oXRyUdhzjmfUgeUo6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1KD2uyUcB4k4AAo66

Developments with golf course retained:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/q3mvFxFjtoS4Qfpw5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nhgkm3fVbZGmXMZU7

[BillsLeaves]

If anyone is interested, I made a timelapse map of the Twin Cities' rapid transit evolution!

https://gfycat.com/freebrokencaudata

I'm not sure this fully counts as 'fantasy', but eh, close enough.

[Hero]

If anyone is interested, I made a timelapse map of the Twin Cities' rapid transit evolution!

https://gfycat.com/freebrokencaudata

I'm not sure this fully counts as 'fantasy', but eh, close enough.

Now this is a fantasy map I can get behind. Specifically the 1930s era maps. The newer maps look like sprawl inducing transit.

[MNdible]

I mean, the streetcar system was literally a mechanism to sell house lots in undeveloped farmland.