Search found 289 matches

by helsinki
August 22nd, 2015, 11:36 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

First, what LA County has done is phase in 1/2 cent sales taxes via referendum. Not percentage. Um. A cent is .01 dollars, no (or a half cent, .005)? How is that different from a percent? Yes, obviously you can express any nominal value as a percentage of another value. But raising a tax by a perce...
by helsinki
August 21st, 2015, 5:02 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

Fair points. Still, Hennepin encompasses the wealthiest suburbs of MSP. I think a 1/2 or 1/4 cent self-imposed tax, if dedicated solely to transit, would generate sufficient revenue to significantly upgrade service. Not 12 mile 17 station rail lines with tunnels and bridges. But maybe shorter, cheap...
by helsinki
August 21st, 2015, 4:26 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

Mods, can you please shut this down?
Not sure how the financing of regional transit lines is unrelated to the Gold Line . . .
by helsinki
August 21st, 2015, 4:08 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

Los Angeles County isn't impacted negatively because businesses and residents don't have other options. There are no flat valleys adjacent to the Pacific ocean sitting undeveloped next to L.A. Minneapolis, relative to Los Angeles County, has very little to offer adjacent locales can not. LA county ...
by helsinki
August 21st, 2015, 3:54 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

A 2.0% sales tax in Minneapolis and Saint Paul dedicated to building trigonal's freshman year geography class fantasy system would put the central cities at a big disadvantage relative to the burbs. A few quibbles: A 2% sales tax increase in the core cities alone would be mad. But the analogy is in...
by helsinki
August 21st, 2015, 1:19 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minnesota Transportation Funding (General)
Replies: 731
Views: 91586

Re: Gold Line (Gateway Corridor BRT)

If you want expensive urban transit, don't complain on an urbanist forum or hassle planners at the Met Council, lobby Congress. They're the only ones who can really fund and make possible what people here want. This is what we get with the funding sources we have. I'm not sure I agree with this. Lo...
by helsinki
August 11th, 2015, 10:34 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Washington Avenue (reconstruction, restriping, etc.)
Replies: 253
Views: 60735

Re: Washington Avenue

US debut of the intersection design described above:

http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-ne ... -no-drama/
by helsinki
July 28th, 2015, 4:42 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Washington Avenue (reconstruction, restriping, etc.)
Replies: 253
Views: 60735

Re: Washington Avenue

If the black lines are the raised curb, then there are still quite a few that arc very broadly. Regardless, it seems like the designation of the space for cyclists will likely be ignored by motorists under this scenario. A good video posted in the comments of a streets.mn article highlights the poin...
by helsinki
July 28th, 2015, 4:05 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Washington Avenue (reconstruction, restriping, etc.)
Replies: 253
Views: 60735

Re: Washington Avenue

I think that's partially driven by the way the protected bike lanes are handled at the corners, right? The actual raised curb radius for the pedestrian crosswalks are pretty tight.
I don't think so. The bike lanes are also going to be raised (level with the sidewalk), aren't they?
by helsinki
July 28th, 2015, 3:05 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Washington Avenue (reconstruction, restriping, etc.)
Replies: 253
Views: 60735

Re: Washington Avenue

With the reconstruction postponed, perhaps the designers can reconsider one point: It seems as though the corner radii have mostly been enlarged. Is this correct? If so, it's not a good idea. The National Association of City Transport Officials (NACTO) wisely points out that larger urban curb radii ...
by helsinki
May 29th, 2015, 4:28 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Nicollet Mall
Replies: 1466
Views: 546990

Re: Nicollet Mall Reconstruction Project

You won't get the public street to skyway connection that is really needed until you clear out the bums and make it safe to do so. That's been the narrative from the building owners for over 30 years. And for 30 years, that's been a really silly argument. The homeless who spend all day downtown kno...
by helsinki
May 19th, 2015, 10:30 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: A Line - Arterial Rapid Bus
Replies: 477
Views: 70756

Re: "A Line" Snelling Avenue Arterial Bus

Taking the cost difference into consideration, between $80k per TVM ($160k per stop pair) and $11k per TVM ($22k per stop pair), I wouldn't call it a lost opportunity. We want to build a bunch more of these aBRT lines and losing little bits of functionality at the TVMs is definitely a concession I'...
by helsinki
May 19th, 2015, 9:16 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: A Line - Arterial Rapid Bus
Replies: 477
Views: 70756

Re: "A Line" Snelling Avenue Arterial Bus

TVMs will print tickets that: * will not be able to recharge Go-To cards. This doesn't seem like a big deal. Who actually puts money on a Go-To card in person at the machine? I would guess the overwhelming majority of folks take care of this online, and if not they handle their biz at a Metro Trans...
by helsinki
April 28th, 2015, 1:04 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minneapolis Streetcar System
Replies: 272
Views: 45015

Re: Minneapolis Streetcar System

The Straßenbahn in that picture looks quite a bit like what we'd call a light rail vehicle. Are the actual vehicles being discussed for Minneapolis closer to that or to what is used in Portland, etc.? From http://www.midtowncommunityworks.org/documents/StreetcarFinalReport.pdf : "Although ther...
by helsinki
April 28th, 2015, 10:52 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Minneapolis Streetcar System
Replies: 272
Views: 45015

Re: Minneapolis Streetcar System

Apropos the continually re-occurring assertion that streetcars do not carry significantly more passengers than articulated buses, I can't help but share the below graphic: http://www.nuernberg.de/imperia/md/verkehrsplanung/bilder/vpl/transportkapazitaeten.jpg (218 people = 1 streetcar = 2 articulate...
by helsinki
April 27th, 2015, 12:01 pm
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5265
Views: 1247635

Re: Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension)

Second, all options on the table? If that were really true (doubtful), and given the commuter-focus of this line, my vote would be to cobble together the appropriate rights from BNSF, TC&W, and CP, make a few track upgrades, bare-bones stations with park-n-ride spots, and run little diesel comm...
by helsinki
April 27th, 2015, 11:23 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5265
Views: 1247635

Re: Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension)

how in the world did the Blue & Green Lines ever get built? Irrefutable logic. Blue Line: CBD to Airport. Necessity for any metro. Green Line: major CBD to minor CBD via gigantic university. No-brainer. SWLRT? Much less compelling: CBD to . . . wealthy suburbs, sort of near some large office pa...
by helsinki
April 27th, 2015, 10:34 am
Forum: Transportation
Topic: Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT
Replies: 5265
Views: 1247635

Re: Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension)

If they can't get the cost down, I think we do need to reopen discussion of routing through Uptown somehow. Everyone on this forum seems to have a good faith interest in the success of transit in the region, albeit with oftentimes wildly divergent ideas of how to best go about it. That said, the ab...
by helsinki
April 23rd, 2015, 2:27 pm
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: City Club Apartments - 1000 Marquette Ave (Handicraft Building)
Replies: 382
Views: 76954

Re: 10th & Marquette Development

[...] I can't stand the walk-out units. Go to Third North and walk along the sidewalk - even on that quiet, low-traffic street, most blinds are completely drawn. They're pretty lifeless. It's going to be even more lifeless on one of our busiest transit corridors. Couldn't agree more. Another exampl...
by helsinki
April 23rd, 2015, 11:32 am
Forum: Minneapolis - Downtown
Topic: Stadium Parking Ramp Development Site - 25 stories / 294'
Replies: 1070
Views: 262564

Re: Stadium Parking Ramp Air Rights Development

They're still using those preposterous renderings showing an unbroken 3-block park. It would be nice for journalists to use images that reflect reality. I've never understood the policy imperatives behind this ramp. There seems to be a genuine desire to make DTE into a walkable, mixed use area - as ...