urbanMSP

79 mph speed limit? I take it there's some kind of design standard that takes effect at 80 mph? Correct. Above 79 mph requires more advanced train control systems, and very likely also upgrades to the tracks and railroad crossings. Why they chose 79 as the magic number would require asking the peop...

The transfer issue is extremely easy to solve, just inaugurate a Northtown to Downtown express service. It may already be justified.

There's already the 852. While not express it is limited-stop from downtown to Northtown and runs hourly.

It would be interesting to know the volume/frequency/value of these deliveries. The fact that the primary use of these tracks is to store rail cars should be an argument for removing them, not for maintaining and investing in them. My assumption is that the state is on the hook for the cost of buil...

From the Arterial BRT thread: The 494 website also mentions that reconstruction of the Pleasant Ave rail bridge over 494 is a future project. It looks like there's a single user of this rail line north of 494, the aggregate plant at 61st. I assumed that LeJeune steel was still taking rail deliveries...

No matter how the timeline and configuration of aBRT routes is chosen there will always be people saying "why don't we put it here first instead of there?" and "why is it going all the way there when it should just go here?" How many people were surprised that Snelling was chosen...

An update to my rapid transit and regional rail system map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1aOFFc5CLDEq8I2aYwIytvCKHysmdWVWM&usp=sharing The main changes from the previous version: -Color names for the LRT and BRT routes have been replaced with a naming system that is simpler (in theory)...

Certainly hope that the alignment for this is up for revision like the B and E Lines. The segment of this line from 53rd Ave to the Northtown Mall is expensive (over 5 miles!) and extremely low ridership. With the streetcar fund now cracked open for aBRT, this line could be completely funded tomorr...

Honestly, I think Republicans don't even really know what they're funding. They frame literally all transportation options with relation to the advantages of cars, so anything communal or fixed is anywhere from "a fine option for the poors" to "Marxism on rails" in their eyes. T...

I recall seeing early designs of the Gateway Tower showing a streetcar station integrated with the building. Are they still doing that or was it canned?

Is it going to be one of those massive and over-engineered intersections like what they did at Penn and Lyndale across 494?

Would've been nice if they included a trail deck with all of those flyovers plus the Crosstown tunnel. I realize that would cost more, how much more I don't know, but it would be an impressive rail-with-trail corridor.

I think several of these proposed routes and extensions of existing routes will have extremely low ridership and extremely high subsidy to run them and they wouldn't last long. The ones that connect with the Green Line might have a fighting chance, but besides that I don't have much hope of these ro...

MVTA and SouthWest Transit have a survey out regarding a systemwide study for changes between 2022 and 2026. Some proposed changes include local routes to connect with the Green Line.

https://form.jotform.com/21167394424015 ... xLW7W559Ao

If that is the case then how was AVTS funded? Did the Met Council chip in to build it, and if yes then what gives MVTA the right to charge the Met Council to use a facility they helped pay for? Of course, no matter what the details behind this mess are, MVTA should let it go and allow Metro Transit ...

Here's the response I got from the MVTA: "Thanks for sharing your concerns about Red Line operations. Minnesota Valley Transit Authority agrees with you that public transit agencies should work in a complementary and collaborative manner to make our regional transit system the best and most eff...

Two things I want to know: 1) Are they really keeping the name 21st Street Station? I'm pretty sure I said this already but I think it deserves repeating since it would be a lost opportunity with the name Kenwood Station. Fun fact: The original owner of the railroad ROW, the Minneapolis & St. Lo...

As much as MnDOT and HOT lane users wouldn't like it, converting the HOT lanes on I-394 into a bi-directional busway would be great for both a BRT service and all the express routes going in/out of downtown. If you want people out of their cars then having buses fly by them while they're stuck in t...

The under construction bridge by Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park now spans across the BNSF tracks.

As much as MnDOT and HOT lane users wouldn't like it, converting the HOT lanes on I-394 into a bi-directional busway would be great for both a BRT service and all the express routes going in/out of downtown. If you want people out of their cars then having buses fly by them while they're stuck in tr...

Here's my proposed BRT system for the I-394/Highway 55 Corridor. Similar in design and operation to my proposed BRT routes along the I-494 Corridor except there's more highway running on this one. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1JhIfuwGn2LdgrRXwtH06WHpHO0DsgipJ&usp=sharing Running on La...