Search found 605 matches

by Tom H.
March 26th, 2024, 10:44 am
Forum: Local Politics and Governance
Topic: 2023-24 Minnesota Legislature
Replies: 47
Views: 30783

Re: 2023-24 Minnesota Legislature

Chaska has excellent urban form in its downtown (especially after the recent road diet on Chestnut) and Chanhassen has densified somewhat along its weird semi-walkabale-but-mostly-driveable main street, so I'm disappointed to hear it from those two mayors especially. At the end of the day, they fear...
by Tom H.
March 26th, 2024, 8:38 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5265
Views: 1247114

Re: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

Getting back to the substance of the issue here - I could have sworn I read somewhere that the 25' clearance was needed for construction worker safety, which implies it's not an operational requirement. Can anyone verify that statement? Furthermore, it's stated in the article that the 25 foot cleara...
by Tom H.
March 14th, 2024, 11:59 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Uber/Lyft
Replies: 29
Views: 2783

Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Will Uber and Lyft really leave Minneapolis? Maybe. Here's how it could play out. I don't use Uber/Lyft and don't know anyone who drives for them, so I have the luxury of being a disinterested third party in this. At minimum, if Uber/Lyft withdrew and no other rideshare service replaced them, I'd b...
by Tom H.
March 7th, 2024, 10:58 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 976286

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

Agreed on the shorter track segments! I really think that the Midtown Greenway is the next logical step for a light rail extension after the SWLRT and Bottineau extensions. They shouldn't have nearly as difficult of a time with securing ROW and the county has left space in the trench for a light ra...
by Tom H.
March 7th, 2024, 10:01 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Riverview Corridor Streetcar
Replies: 1194
Views: 553888

Re: Riverview Corridor Streetcar

One thing that bothers me with this project (and other transit projects) is how the cost of the Highway 5 bridge is being attributed 100% to this project, when in reality only a portion of the bridge reconstruction costs should be rightly attributed to this project. According to MnDot, that bridge (...
by Tom H.
March 7th, 2024, 9:51 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 976286

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

As someone mentioned upthread, once the extensions are complete, we will be nearing a point where the track infrastructure and the color line designations will be less tied to each other - for example, a new "Silver Line" connection SPUD to Brooklyn Center becomes possible, or an EP to MOA...
by Tom H.
March 5th, 2024, 2:40 pm
Forum: Greater Minnesota
Topic: Greater Minnesota job market / employment news
Replies: 24
Views: 18175

Re: Greater Minnesota job market / employment news

There have been a number of experiments housed in the lab over the years. Basically, any experiment which requires ultra-low background / shielding from cosmic radiation is a good fit for an underground lab. Natural radioactivity in the rock overburden is then the background signal that you largely ...
by Tom H.
March 1st, 2024, 12:43 pm
Forum: Greater Minnesota
Topic: Greater Minnesota job market / employment news
Replies: 24
Views: 18175

Re: Greater Minnesota job market / employment news

Time to go read up on extraction techniques for helium. Hope these leases can provide meaningful benefits for all Minnesotans.

And as someone who used to work as a physicist in the Soudan Underground Lab, I can arrest to the acute need for helium in scientific research.
by Tom H.
February 29th, 2024, 9:28 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 976286

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

I wish the Mpls to Robbinsdale section could be the "local match", and the extension to Brooklyn Park could be the (second phase) Federal match. That doesn't work in practice, of course, because: Inflation OMF is in the northern section Ridership projections seem to heavily favor park &...
by Tom H.
February 29th, 2024, 8:59 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT
Replies: 1749
Views: 976286

Re: Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

Inflation is rough. And it sucks that by doing the prudent thing and having more conservative contingencies as a result of the SWLRT issues, this (at a surface level) appears to be feeding right into the "LRT cost overruns" narrative. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
by Tom H.
February 26th, 2024, 8:16 am
Forum: Anything Goes
Topic: Embarrassing Confessions of Urbanists
Replies: 349
Views: 98388

Re: Embarrassing Confessions of Urbanists

Can relate to this - I grew up in suburbia and had never considered the possibility of car-free living until I started grad school at the U of M. Stepping off the bus on campus that first day, knowing that *I didn't have a car nearby* was honestly terrifying to me. It was like an invisible tether ha...
by Tom H.
February 21st, 2024, 8:12 am
Forum: Local Politics and Governance
Topic: 2023-24 Minnesota Legislature
Replies: 47
Views: 30783

Re: 2023-24 Minnesota Legislature

Bill looks to supersede residential zoning rules across the state

Pleasantly surprised that this bill has bipartisan support - as it should!
by Tom H.
February 20th, 2024, 4:18 pm
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Suburban Malls and Associated Retail News
Replies: 227
Views: 165735

Re: Suburban Malls and Associated Retail News

Anyone still old enough to remember rainbow?
Were all the Rainbows co-branded with Roundy's, or just the one I shopped at? I just remember "Chairman Bob approved" on all the bags.
by Tom H.
February 20th, 2024, 4:15 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Amtrak: Long-distance trains
Replies: 5
Views: 841

Amtrak: Long-distance trains

Don't know if this belongs here or in its own thread, but the FRA has been working on a long-distance passenger rail study and just released a new presentation. https://fralongdistancerailstudy.org/ Link to February 2024 presentation (preferred route map on page 53) I think this is just a list of re...
by Tom H.
February 19th, 2024, 10:43 am
Forum: Suburbs
Topic: Suburban Malls and Associated Retail News
Replies: 227
Views: 165735

Re: Suburban Malls and Associated Retail News

Hy-Vees close at 10pm here? I grew up in Hy-Vee country (Sioux Falls to be exact) and those things were open 24/7 except for the major holidays, probably 5 days a year tops. My high school freshman "hazing" involved being taken to Hy-Vee at 3:30am and singing I'm A Little Teapot over the P...
by Tom H.
February 16th, 2024, 11:31 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Northstar Commuter Rail
Replies: 952
Views: 221952

Re: Northstar Commuter Rail

For reference, the recently-completed (2022) I-94 expansion project from Maple Grove to Clearwater cost $350M. A separate project to fill in the gap from Albertville to Monticello will cost $101M (starting this summer). Not to say that these Northstar estimates are cheap, but we are spending almost ...
by Tom H.
February 13th, 2024, 9:08 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
Replies: 2909
Views: 701664

Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Wow - if I'm reading that right, LRT + BRT accounts for ~22M rides out of ~48M rides system-wide (~15M LRT, ~7M BRT). aBRT is without a doubt the best bang-for-the-buck investment MT is making right now, and it's not even close. Keep those letter lines coming!
by Tom H.
February 7th, 2024, 8:13 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
Replies: 2909
Views: 701664

Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Has anyone seen the former zoo monorail at Sandland?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYfdid ... f0Nx7ioOYw
Hmm, link doesn't seem to work for me.
by Tom H.
February 7th, 2024, 8:11 am
Forum: Anything Goes
Topic: Introductions
Replies: 161
Views: 71243

Re: Introductions

Your story is pretty similar to mine - replace "Cities: Skylines" with "SimCity 2000/3000/4", replace "discovering streets.mn" with "discovering Minnescraper", ditto on StrongTowns, and add in "reading Jane Jacobs", and you've got the general contour...
by Tom H.
February 5th, 2024, 1:45 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)
Replies: 2909
Views: 701664

Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

A reminder that the zoo monorail was not removed because it was inherently bad or poorly performing at its purported mobility function - they literally couldn't service the equipment because decades later, no companies remained in business to repair or replace things as they broke. The Hyperloop wou...