urbanMSP

they need to find some funds in the couch cushions and make downtown east a center island station already. it's beyond ridiculous making all of these people cross the tracks to the other side to transfer lines. it's po dunk small town stupidity. saturday, coming back from the soccer match was just scary. you have these trains blowing their horns keeping back the hordes of people. someone will get hurt. why this station wasn't reconfigured during green line construction was a huge mis step.

The biggest issue is that the station is built on top of a parking structure. I'd imagine the cost to modify the station was above the cost effectiveness required for funding on the Green Line.

Also, I think due to the demands of game day loads, it needs to be a side platform station. Ideally I think it should be both. In normal operations the center platform is open and the side platforms closed, but with gameday crush loads, keep people on the respective side platform (currently only the south/east platform, but eventually there will be crowds going west on Southwest/Bottinueau). On game days maybe keep the center island station open for the normals that have the misfortune of using the train during an event.

A center platform would also be good for events at the UofM, because people will be transferring from Green west to Blue south (unless we're going to try something crazy and have special trains that go from Stadium Village to Blue south via the interlock where the Green and Blue meet, but that sounds like an operational nightmare).

I am sure there are many reasons why it won't work or make sense but I think it would be cool to a have a connection between the West Bank station and Cedar Riverside station skirting Currie Park so service could run between Green and Blue lines without connecting at the Metrodome station - it could be called the Teal line.

Making it a center platform would of course also require reconstructing the tracks by moving them apart, which would be disruptive.

Anyways, the new schedules for the Fall service change were posted, and the Green Line is not listed as changing. This seems to indicate that Metro Transit still thinks they will get the the run times down to match the schedule. I suppose it is possible that it could be added to the list later, since some of the changes don't include detailed descriptions of the changes, but they all at least have placeholder descriptions. It also isn't unprecedented to have service changes fall outside of the quarterly service changes, but they are usually not big changes.

http://www.metrotransit.org/these-route ... nge-aug-23

Probably the least disruptive method would be to build a new set of tracks (and platform) on the NB side of the station, then use the area currently occupied by the NB tracks/platform to create a big center platform. That said, I don't know that the geometry of the site would support it.

Seems they quieted the clanging at target field station. Watching the twins game at the station is wonderful

Seems they quieted the clanging at target field station. Watching the twins game at the station is wonderful

Quieted ... but still nonstop clanging? I'm glad about any improvement. The grassy knoll area is actually quite pleasant and seems to get plenty of use. Oh, except the home run derby (blacked out?) ... lots of sad/angry faces grumbling as they left the station plaza that night.

Trains at dte were jam packed standing room only. Woww. All5 cars too

Trains at dte were jam packed standing room only. Woww. All5 cars too

Twins game just ended...

Trains at dte were jam packed standing room only. Woww. All5 cars too

Going between DTE and Nicollet Mall several times daily, I can always tell when a Twins game is happening downtown. Lots of people utilize the trains to get to them, which is awesome to see. Can't wait to see how Stadium Village looks during gamedays, too.

Also, Twins game crowds seem to be by far the friendliest crowds I encounter. Always great conversation on the trains.

Trains at dte were jam packed standing room only. Woww. All5 cars too

Twins game just ended...

I'm guessing he knows that and was at the game, from the many TFS-related posts before the DTE post.

Yeah I was riding from North loop to Guthrie then into downtown. Its just very very exciting to see downtown as packed as it used to be and I dont get to see it every day

I realize it's a wrong and dumb opinion, but whenever I end up riding with game crowds, I turn into a grumpy old man, wishing these "kids" would be quiet and get off my lawn etc etc. But I guess that's the "price" of living and being in a place where people want to be.

To be fair, my westbound train from the U of M was also packed (SRO) at about the same time the game got out yesterday.

I realize it's a wrong and dumb opinion, but whenever I end up riding with game crowds, I turn into a grumpy old man, wishing these "kids" would be quiet and get off my lawn etc etc. But I guess that's the "price" of living and being in a place where people want to be.

i know. seeing happy people is so depressing.

perhaps a move to a small town is what you need.

I realize it's a wrong and dumb opinion, but whenever I end up riding with game crowds, I turn into a grumpy old man, wishing these "kids" would be quiet and get off my lawn etc etc. But I guess that's the "price" of living and being in a place where people want to be.

I know what you mean, but as long as you can take it with a grain of salt I think it's okay to feel that way. I felt the same way living in Chicago for a summer at my parent's place. WAY too many tourists and suburbanites flock the city, especially in the summer, and take up all of the street parking during the day and then at night yell at the top of their lungs and act like fools while taking advantage of the nightlife at night, all the while showing zero regard for the people who actually live in the area.

It's annoying, but like you said it's part of being in a desirable place.

I realize it's a wrong and dumb opinion, but whenever I end up riding with game crowds, I turn into a grumpy old man, wishing these "kids" would be quiet and get off my lawn etc etc. But I guess that's the "price" of living and being in a place where people want to be.

Feels like a post for the Embarrassing Confessions of Urbanists thread.

I feel the same way walking around uptown on the weekends. And to people who suggest these sentiments belong in the burbs: ask anyone living in NYC what they think about midtown.

new york is an entirely different animal. we don't have throngs of tourists.

No but the weekend uptown crowd is pretty much Minneapolis's BNT

I've heard more than once around the Prospect Park and Westgate stations while on board, "Are we in St Paul/Minneapolis now?". I have to say, the Mpls-StP border has got to be about the worst for placement treatment anywhere: no one knows which city they're in and even I had to keep checking for a little while before I got a handle on it. No matter whether it's on the Green Line or Ford Express Pkwy or Lake-Marshall you better really know your city boundaries because it's a very subtle transition. Unless your a cyclist, in which case you're wondering where all the bike lanes and racks disappeared to (hint: to the west).