Green Line LRT

[Ottergoose]

It's easy to forget that the checkpoint, barbed wire, and watch towers have only been gone for 23 years.

Back in the good old days you had to pay an additional fare when you went between cities; perhaps we could reinstate that?

[mattaudio]

It would be much easier (relatively speaking) to grade separate Snelling underneath University/Green Line. Wide sidewalks and maybe a slip lane for the NE corner would stay at grade, and four lanes of Snelling would slide underneath. Turns would be forced via jughandles (Spruce Tree, Sherburne). This would probably afford for more reclamation of Snelling from cars at 94 and Selby/Marshall too.

[Anondson]

There once was a proposal to send Snelling in a tunnel from Pierce Butler to south of University but the businesses on Snelling said "No!" Maybe a cut and cover of Snelling here from south of University Pierce Butler could happen to improve the pedestrian safety of Snelling and the LRT crossing.

[twincitizen]

Why would any of that be easier than simply putting the LRT in a shallow tunnel and keeping the intersection at grade, as is?

[mattaudio]

I can't find the intersection analysis, but just from observation it seems turning traffic exists at Snelling/University but it's a low proportion compared to traffic heading through on either street. More traffic seems to head to/from south Snelling to hop to 94. Obviously Snelling/94 is a mess too.

A few other ideas that could help: 1. Either realign Pierce Butler to Vandalia, or realign the Cretin/Vandalia ramps to include Cleveland. Extend the Pierce Butler name to signage at 94. This would alleviate some traffic on Snelling south of Pierce Butler. 2. As part of the Ayd Mill concept, work to move more local hops from University to 94 away from Snelling. Not sure exactly what this could look like, but they're already going to be adjusting things at Hamline.

[mattaudio]

Why would any of that be easier than simply putting the LRT in a shallow tunnel and keeping the intersection at grade, as is?

Because other than shoring up the short piece of trackage over Snelling, it wouldn't require touching the LRT. It could probably be built with only a couple weekend LRT closures. Putting LRT in a shallow tunnel would require a block on each end for the grade change and a complete rebuild of the Snelling Ave station. It would require the LRT to be out for months at a minimum. There's not enough ROW to do an H channel for the cut-and-cover preserving the existing trackage in the middle.

Edit: These are all over DC and a few other cities. Granted, this is infrastructure for cars, but it would create more space for people. Here's an example from Washington Circle that shows how this can fit into an urban context: http://goo.gl/maps/uTMjd

Especially if access to University was provided via jughandles rather than slip lanes/ramps. This would eliminate the need for anything more than a bike/ped crossing for Snelling across the LRT. It would provide for massively larger sidewalks at the corner, and it could also help encourage walkable frontage as the Midway Marketplace corner redevelops.

[fehler]

Is there any data on the increase of south-bound Blue Line boardings at the Downtown East station as of the opening of the Green Line? IE getting a number on those transferring from one line to the next?

[Minneapolisite]

Wednesday morning taking off east onto University from Prospect Park the train was trying to make the light at Malcolm and sped up too fast: knocked the bottom wheel of my bike out and a guy almost fell out of his seat. That didn't help and we had to wait around 3 min for our signal.

[nate]

Wednesday morning taking off east onto University from Prospect Park the train was trying to make the light at Malcolm and sped up too fast: knocked the bottom wheel of my bike out and a guy almost fell out of his seat. That didn't help and we had to wait around 3 min for our signal.

This situation happens pretty often: driver accelerates rapidly only to slam on the brakes when the signal is just missed. Then the train waits for 2 or 3 full minutes for all the other traffic signal phases.

I really think that only slightly better signal priority is needed to make the line run much more smoothly. An extra ~10-15 seconds of green light, as needed, would take care of the worst delays with minimal impact on car traffic.

[VAStationDude]

I rode an eastbound train from Victoria to downtown Saint Paul yesterday. Watching the train approach was from Lexington extraordinary frustrating. It waited for a full cycle at Lexington and Griggs, including at least 60 seconds of Lexington north south traffic, and nearly an entire cycle at Victoria. However, the train did trigger signal priority at Grotto. The pedestrian signal crossing Grotto was counting down and switched to a white pedestrian walk signal as the train approached. Bits and pieces of the signal priority are working but Saint Paul is still giving way too much priority to north-south traffic at Dale, Lexington and University.

[hoffm83n]

Westbound from union, my train has stopped at almost every light in st. Paul

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[MinnMonkey]

Westbound from union, my train has stopped at almost every light in st. Paul

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Write to St. Paul (councilmembers, mayor, public works), and tell them this is unacceptable. I have and so far received some very promising responses.

[MinnMonkey]

Had to wait 25 minutes for a train today in the afternoon rush hour.

[Anondson]

BizJournal story, unlocked for a Twitter and Facebook readers, highlighting lots of business angst along the line.

(Angst on the Green Line: A train in vain? http://t.co/JUxkq123aW [Cover story unlocked for Twitter])

[grant1simons2]

I can see the problem to tearing down something of historical value but if it's just a concrete structure, it doesn't matter that much. If you think you can fight the big dogs and bark and bite, then you do it. Prove to the city that you're not just another Asian Restaurant or just another rib joint. What worries me are the unique store, I don't think Gilbert Marty has much to worry about, his store looks to be of historical significance.

[EOst]

“It will be a little more of this yuppy, sidewalk dining, pizza on the sidewalk, drinks on the sidewalk. More like Minneapolis,” Marty said.

Quelle horreur!

I have noticed, though, that there seem to be a lot fewer apartments on Craigslist in this area than there were six months ago. Some of that might be seasonal, but I suspect there's been an increase in demand too.

[David Greene]

I can see the problem to tearing down something of historical value but if it's just a concrete structure, it doesn't matter that much.

It matters a hell of a lot to people whose businesses are there.

[FISHMANPET]

Though, to be fair, it's not like they've been at that location in that building for X generations blah blah blah. Losing the business would be bad, the building, eh, not so much.

[grant1simons2]

Like I said. If your building is doing well then you have proven you can't sell. But if you aren't... and you just moved in like 3 years ago and you're actually complaining about the train hurting your business when you started your business when you knew there was going to be a train there. Well.

[David Greene]

Like I said. If your building is doing well then you have proven you can't sell. But if you aren't... and you just moved in like 3 years ago and you're actually complaining about the train hurting your business when you started your business when you knew there was going to be a train there. Well.

Really? We told people to open businesses there because the train would bring customers and when they want to tear the building down, "tough luck?"

Really?