urbanMSP

There was one bit of interesting information I got last night. Apparently TC&W, CP and the county have a contract stating that if there is a viable reroute, TC&W and CP must vacate Kenilworth. There was a discussion about whether the Met Council could decide on relocation and force the rail...

Is anyone else amused* at the fact that the decision is now entirely a political one, rather than a technical one? Jim Alexander's presentation had a slide which I believe five bulleted points regarding the new relocate alternative costs that weren't factored into the listed cost. The presentation ...

CVS is next to McCoy's. I think it used to be a tex/mex place? The Excelsior Blvd retail spaces have certainly filled up though in the last few years.

Unusually I have this day off. I'm tempted to go to both, but it feels like it would just be ... Anger inducing. If I can get out of work early I'm going to the CMC meeting. Especially now that TC&W has said they don't approve of the new reroute concept. I'm curious what Wagenius and McLaughlin...

Or we can have a common sense conversation about single-track LRT through the pinch point, which does seem to be feasible. It's too bad that hasn't been part of the conversation all along. Mark Fuhrmann was asked about single track. He said they had looked at it and ruled it out as an option. Somet...

MinnPost wrote about the meeting in SLP last night. I wish I could find the full text of Jeff Jacobs speech or a video. This article is better than Pat Doyle's in the Strib but still doesn't seem to capture a lot of the 'event'. http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2014/02/ovation-greets-st-louis...

What Matt said. Operationally it would cost them a bit more money.

TC&W has issues with the new route under study. http://www.startribune.com/local/west/243775521.html

The caucus system is heavily skewed toward single and retired people. There's a serious access issue.

I'll agree with this. At 34, I was easily the youngest person in my precincts room by at least 20 years. Sadly, only 12 people showed up for 33 delegate spots.

It's more difficult because now there isn't a clear winner. Before, the shallow tunnel was pretty much the only reasonable option and people were coming to accept that. Now they have to make a hard choice. That choice might not go the way *you* like but that doesn't mean that choice is easy. Honest...

My list would be: 1. Anne Mavity (has the most actual experience with pertinent issues imho) 2. Ben Schweigert (just something about how he answered the questions at the candidate forum last week) 3. Marion Greene I agree with twincitizen, Ken Kelash is a non-factor. I'm also trying to put my finger...

Can someone please say that freight rail in SLP is a "non-starter" so that we can complete the trifecta? Jeff Jacobs, mayor of SLP, came close to saying that in his initial response to the drafts just released: "Viable options have been identified to allow for LRT and freight rail to...

The dismissal of the UTU route without significant study because it is "inferior" to the MN&S route from an operations perspective is going to cause an uproar. Clearly the report was focused toward freight rail needs and completely ignored the political context. I don't believe the UT...

The draft reports are now up and available at: http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/ ... ering.aspx

Any comments on what the commissioner candidates said?

Southwest Journal has a Q&A piece with the five candidates. A lot of dodging on the SWLRT question.

http://www.southwestjournal.com/news/go ... fmans-seat

What triggers the EAW? Is it a certain height, or certain number of units in one structure, or what?

Minneapolis has a page that lists the triggers: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/cped/planning/cped_eaw

It's square footage based for industrial/commercial and unit-based for residential.

Wish I could make it. I hope someone takes good notes; I'm curious to see what the candidates say.

I'm guessing they also see value in the existing building: "The companies plan to remodel the existing 400,000-square-foot office building."

Opens Saturday June 14, 2014.

http://www.metrotransit.org/greenline for the announcement and celebration activities.