Search found 488 matches

by tmart
October 21st, 2021, 9:46 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Riverview Corridor Streetcar
Replies: 1194
Views: 545193

Re: Riverview Corridor Streetcar

The stated reason is more trains crossing 24th would degrade intersection operations too much. IRC the original concept was for the Blue Line to end in the MOA. The Mall originally said no because they were afraid of park and hiders using their ramps, so we got the skyway proposal, then they change...
by tmart
October 12th, 2021, 6:01 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Riverview Corridor Streetcar
Replies: 1194
Views: 545193

Re: Riverview Corridor Streetcar

I'm about as big a booster of rail as a mode as you'll find, but this project has so systematically eliminated all the advantages, other than aesthetics and comfort, that it really does feel like we're just getting aBRT at 20x the cost. The capacity being limited to single-car trains in particular r...
by tmart
October 12th, 2021, 9:46 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Riverview Corridor Streetcar
Replies: 1194
Views: 545193

Re: Riverview Corridor Streetcar

Yeah, like many folks here, I've tried hard to keep an open mind about the "streetcar" thing but I really don't see how you can justify spending a billion or more on a project with single-car trains, low frequencies, single-track sections, mixed-traffic operation on a highway, or some of t...
by tmart
October 7th, 2021, 1:48 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Riverview Corridor Streetcar
Replies: 1194
Views: 545193

Re: Riverview Corridor Streetcar

Part of me always hoped that the tracks for the red line would turn west after leaving the American Boulevard station, stop near IKEA and then continue down American Boulevard to serve that corridor. I recognize that the density there doesn't justify it yet, but that stretch of Bloomington that but...
by tmart
September 27th, 2021, 11:27 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: E Line Arterial BRT
Replies: 148
Views: 70568

Re: E Line Arterial BRT

If it has steel wheels and runs on track, it's light rail. If it has rubber tires, it's nothing but a bus no what color you paint it or what you say it is and brand it as. This is where my inner pedant wants to post pictures of the Montreal and Paris subways, both of which use rubber tires :) Trans...
by tmart
September 15th, 2021, 4:19 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

1) I run up and down Victory Memorial Parkway almost everyday past here. I don't like the third bridge over the parkway. They're replacing the other three currently. It's becoming a concrete jungle on a parkway which is one of the nicest things North has. 2) I also don't like how the station only s...
by tmart
September 14th, 2021, 10:48 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

At North Memorial, Option #2 is superior because station egress through an un-upgraded parking structure should be avoided at all costs. I guess if the pathway through the parking structure were made into a pleasant hallway like the recent MOA redesign, that would be acceptable. But because the acc...
by tmart
September 13th, 2021, 4:22 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

I agree that there's something symbolic and frustrating about elevating in the suburbs but not grade-separating in the densest, highest-ridership, slowest-moving parts of the corridor. But as Silophant alluded, the lesson to take away from that frustration is not that two wrongs will make a right. O...
by tmart
September 7th, 2021, 11:35 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Street, Road and Highway Projects
Replies: 1372
Views: 589247

Re: Street, Road and Highway Projects

I'm alright with keeping the bridge across Nokomis since it would already be a hard sell to remove the Cedar Avenue connection to 62 and 77. However, if Minneapolis is serious about getting people out of their cars, then perhaps they should consider closing the bridge to regular traffic and only us...
by tmart
August 14th, 2021, 4:02 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5248
Views: 1218692

Re: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

It's obviously silly that a good chunk of the walkshed is taken up by an enormous car dealership, but at the same time, that's nothing that can't change in the future. I have to believe a time will come where it will be in the dealer's best financial interest to sell the land (no doubt at an enormou...
by tmart
August 11th, 2021, 1:53 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: B Line Lake St Rapid Bus, Midtown Rail Transit
Replies: 718
Views: 212352

Re: B Line Lake St Rapid Bus, Midtown Rail Transit

Take this with a grain of salt because my source is people tweeting about it, but it sounds like the Minneapolis City Council's Public Works Committee amended their official stance and are now asking for the full (two-way) bus lane configuration. https://twitter.com/ban_SUVs/status/1425540073307656193
by tmart
August 9th, 2021, 8:58 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project
Replies: 1121
Views: 240821

Re: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project

Meh. While something like this would modestly improve run time, it's going to significantly worsen the experience for riders who are making connections or using the park-and-ride here. I think the impulse to ensure bus priority through here is the right way to go. By my calculation it would shave s...
by tmart
August 9th, 2021, 12:01 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project
Replies: 1121
Views: 240821

Re: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project

Even if a full, gold-standard, center-running station was never on the table, something like this would have represented a huge improvement without any really major changes to the existing configuration: https://i.imgur.com/Dqy2B1a.jpg Ah, well. Maybe if we're very lucky the next time they rebuild t...
by tmart
August 9th, 2021, 9:08 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project
Replies: 1121
Views: 240821

Re: Orange Line / 35W@94: Downtown to Crosstown Project

Not a huge update but the Orange Line platforms at South Bloomington Transit Center appear to be substantially complete. The screens that will show real-time bus arrivals are on, but it just shows a blank screen with "No Signal" for now. No ticket vending machines yet. Just looked at the ...
by tmart
July 15th, 2021, 4:03 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5248
Views: 1218692

Re: Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension)

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the ...
by tmart
July 15th, 2021, 2:48 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5248
Views: 1218692

Re: Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension)

Lots of interesting details about issues with the Kenilworth tunnel and the BNSF wall: https://tcbmag.com/southwest-lrts-rocky-mess/ Author suggests several more years of delays are likely, though nothing public has been shared about a new date. I know this is me projecting from my own profession on...
by tmart
July 13th, 2021, 1:36 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

What about a mix of at-grade track between stations/main crossroads, and elevated stations and flyovers at other intersections deemed important in maintaining connection across Broadway? This could provide space for left turn lanes and safer, grade-separated crossings at those locations, while reta...
by tmart
July 13th, 2021, 12:31 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

Lastly, I think routing along 21st east of Knox should be reviewed as it may address some of the concerns about Broadway. It can easily be closed to trains only, but it pushes transit about 400' off the main street. I think a train-only street is probably a non-starter (same as underground) with th...
by tmart
July 13th, 2021, 11:46 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

If tunneled or elevated, there would be a significant benefit for the station at Emerson and Fremont. If the train were built at-grade with split stations, there would be an unavoidable transfer of over a block between one of the directions of the Blue Line and one of the directions of the D Line. ...
by tmart
July 13th, 2021, 9:26 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 950631

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

Only one travel lane and no parking isn't going to go down well to say the least. How they'll fit stations in too is beyond me. The stations we've built so far have been quite large; there are some more compact station designs that we could consider: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7645026,-122.428...