urbanMSP

Doomsday preppers want old trucks before computer-controlled engines (EMP hardened) running on diesel (easier to bulk store for long term without degradation). And not just one bug-out truck, but a menu of vehicle options to survive different scenarios.
Or so I've heard...

So they've looked at a viaduct over the CR 81 viaduct to get the station on the North Memorial side of the intersection, and they've looked at leaving it at grade under the CR81 viaduct. But why not just have a station at the same level as the CR81 viaduct with vertical circulation on each side?

"People probably need to do some self reflection," whether true or not, isn't the political sales pitch one may think it is.

Really sad how the only walkable streetscapes in Rochester is under threat, both the Broadway project above and the news of the long-time Dooley's spot (the only redeeming street-life-creating part of the parking ramp they built across their only historic streetscape less than two decades ago) closi...

better social safety net, transit not being seen as a place of last resort A majority of the issues with Metro Transit right now are failures of the state and federal governments to provide enough social services and housing, issues a transit agency has neither the funds nor ability to solve. Are t...

Those two new FIS-connected gates on G (which block other FIS gates) won't keep up with this growth. The final draft 2040 plan plans a mid-term project to rebuild the Green/Gold ramps (oldest/closest to the T1 drop-off) with that space having expanded curbside areas and a new FIS facility. A reconst...

An old option to get rid of those tight ramps, which would be compatible with their desire to use the northern half of the lower/existing bridge deck for trains with a tight turn west of the Ft. Snelling chapel.

This Wall Street Journal article features Downtown Minneapolis and highlights the high office vacancy rate and conversion of some buildings to housing: https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/wrecking-ball-targets-empty-downtown-offices-d0e3391 archive without paywall https://archive.ph/bTdX0#se...

They better keep the plan to have a gondola cross the river and enter the west side of the post office for its downtown terminus.

A little history lesson on the Dan Patch Line: With a north-south route that has/had several connections to east-west railroads and avoiding the busy rail yards in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Dan Patch Line was quite successful with interchange traffic going from one major railroad to another maj...

I expect TC&W to request funding to repair some track in Savage so then maybe they'll finally start running grain trains on the Dan Patch Line again. But then again I've heard rumors CPKC isn't very supportive of that initiative, even though TC&W has trackage rights on the Dan Patch Line. N...

Has anyone seen which terminal LH will use? Aer Lingus was in T1 along with the other oneworld airlines American and Alaska (though Alaska is new to oneworld since Aer Lingus' previous suspension). Lufthansa's Star Alliance friends United and Air Canada are in T1 as well. But T1's international arri...

I wonder why Starbucks would close the store on the Commons and reopen over here so quickly?

Does this have an interior skyway connection even if on the main floor?

Too bad, because some combination of the following would be great: - Realign Fort Road Bridge to connect with Shepard instead of W 7th. W 7th could end at Davern for connection to Shepard/Hwy 5, and the existing W. 7th corridor cutting through the grid could stay for streetcar/LRT from the bridge to...

I wonder why the skyway wasn't connected to the west side of the freeway... that could have provided some TOD as well.

Are there enough N-S crosstown trips to justify not going through downtown and depriving many other riders of the trips and transfers available downtown? While E-W crosstown routes are different, seems like Minneapolis' grid (downtown askew) and geography (Bassett Creek, river corridor, etc) are fav...

Which reminds me: someone should take over the forum! Who wants it? Let Sean know!

Imagine a history where instead of assuming railroads would play nice in swampy low-intensity corridors, we had done elevated driverless automated light metros from the start with 3-4 minute headways regardless of driver shortages.

The history of hotels outside the CBD is fascinating. Back when I worked at WFHM, some of our consultants who'd fly in to work with us would stay at the Midtown Sheraton because it was close enough to walk, but others would stay downtown or in the burbs. Anyone know the disposition of the old Midtow...

The core work for the flying junction was done when Hennepin County built the *second* Target Field Station was built, a few years after the first TFS was built as part of Northstar contruction. There were great diagrams showing how the junction and tail track would come together which appear to hav...