Robert Street Corridor Arterial BRT

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mamundsen
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby mamundsen » July 22nd, 2014, 10:09 pm

Interesting tidbit. I heard from my brother in law tonight that the Buffalo Wild Wings on Robert St in West St Paul will be closing. He said he read an article that their last day was this coming Sunday. I just looked for it and can't find anything online.

The VERY interesting quote he told me was that the owner/manager (?) is blaming the closing on the coming light rail construction. I explained to my brother in law that is total BS! They haven't decided on a mode/route yet, let alone figured out funding or a timeline.

grant1simons2
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby grant1simons2 » July 23rd, 2014, 12:16 am

The manager probably just ran out of money, good way to blame transit

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FISHMANPET
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby FISHMANPET » July 23rd, 2014, 12:32 am

Sounds like a more local equivalent of "Thanks Obama!"

grant1simons2
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby grant1simons2 » July 23rd, 2014, 12:47 am

I lost my job this year yet the government is building a new transit line!? Thanks a lot government, it's all your fault!

mulad
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby mulad » July 25th, 2014, 12:53 pm

Hmm. I haven't been down this way in a long time -- are they planning a regular street reconstruction? I know that had been queued up a year or two ago, but I'm not sure if it's happened yet.

imperator3733
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby imperator3733 » August 10th, 2014, 8:32 pm

There is a planned reconstruction of Robert Street that is supposed to start sometime soon. I haven't seen a whole lot of info on the plans, but I did hear that a planned pedestrian bridge at Wentworth was (thankfully) cancelled.

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Anondson
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby Anondson » August 11th, 2014, 7:45 pm

Businesses don't like the price tag right now as no funding source is identified.

http://finance-commerce.com/2014/08/rob ... usinesses/

HiawathaGuy
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby HiawathaGuy » August 12th, 2014, 8:48 am

There is a planned reconstruction of Robert Street that is supposed to start sometime soon. I haven't seen a whole lot of info on the plans, but I did hear that a planned pedestrian bridge at Wentworth was (thankfully) cancelled.
"The West St. Paul City Council was scheduled to select a bidder at Monday night's meeting. The project has been in the works for several years."

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/m ... esses.html

Tcmetro
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby Tcmetro » August 12th, 2014, 8:51 am

The Robert Street reconstruction project has a webpage as well:

http://projects.srfconsulting.com/RobertStreet/

mattaudio
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby mattaudio » August 12th, 2014, 9:03 am


seanrichardryan
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby seanrichardryan » October 5th, 2014, 4:37 am

Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

froggie
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby froggie » November 4th, 2014, 1:01 pm

Continuing my recent trend, here's my "Inver Grove" concept:

Image

- Original idea was the ca. 1991 Scoping Document for the "St. Paul South" LRT line, followed up by the 2007-08 study of which I loosely based mine on Alternative 4.
- Crosses the river via Wabasha Ave (likely an expansion of the existing bridge), with a "Harriet Island" station at Fillmore Ave in front of West Side Flats (a new apartment complex).
- Requires a roughly 1.3mi long tunnel under Wabasha St and Robert St in order to make the climb up the river bluff. I include a station at S. Robert St and Cesar Chavez St along this tunnel segment.
- Follows S. Robert St at-grade from Annapolis St to near I-494, then along Upper 55th St, then south along Blaine Ave to Inver Hills Community College.
- Compared to my earlier concept, my revisions include less tunnel, less bridge, and different alignments near Schmidt Lake and into downtown St. Paul. I also include 2 more stations compared to my old concept.

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MN Fats
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby MN Fats » November 4th, 2014, 1:05 pm

Continuing my recent trend, here's my "Inver Grove" concept:

- Original idea was the ca. 1991 Scoping Document for the "St. Paul South" LRT line, followed up by the 2007-08 study of which I loosely based mine on Alternative 4.
- Crosses the river via Wabasha Ave (likely an expansion of the existing bridge), with a "Harriet Island" station at Fillmore Ave in front of West Side Flats (a new apartment complex).
- Requires a roughly 1.3mi long tunnel under Wabasha St and Robert St in order to make the climb up the river bluff. I include a station at S. Robert St and Cesar Chavez St along this tunnel segment.
- Follows S. Robert St at-grade from Annapolis St to near I-494, then along Upper 55th St, then south along Blaine Ave to Inver Hills Community College.
- Compared to my earlier concept, my revisions include less tunnel, less bridge, and different alignments near Schmidt Lake and into downtown St. Paul. I also include 2 more stations compared to my old concept.
Interesting map. Do you have a link to the "Scoping document"? I would be interested in looking at that. Also, what's the reasoning behind having it end at Inver Hills? Isn't it mostly suburbs between there and 110? Would there be much use at those stations?

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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby mattaudio » November 4th, 2014, 1:09 pm

I like it, but it really needs more stations on the West St. Paul stretch. Robert has such a potential to become de-stroaded in a way that supports transit, but I think that's less likely to happen if there's large stretches between station areas that aren't very well served by the LRT. As it stands, the stretch isn't very nodal, which makes me think LRT is not justified. But even if we continue to think of LRT as a corridor concept rather than a nodal concept, we'd have more potential to change the character of the corridor if more of it actually had use of LRT.

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woofner
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby woofner » November 4th, 2014, 1:25 pm

Northern Dakota County is not a good candidate for LRT because it is so multipolar. The transit-supportive residential is in the north and east, the jobs are in the west, and the commercial is in the Robert St strip. That's why BRT makes the most sense here. There could be a roughly T-shaped system with one leg running down Robert from downtown, one leg running east-west between Robert and South St Paul, and one leg running east-west to the Eagan industrial area and the Mall of America. It seems like the most effective service would have 5 or 6 routes running on open BRT guideways, but due to how Metro Transit and MN policymakers conceptualize transit, maybe the best achievable system would be one BRT line that branches.
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FISHMANPET
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby FISHMANPET » November 4th, 2014, 1:32 pm

Ugh, yeah, that's exactly what we need for system clarity, a branching METRO line (not your fault obviously).

mattaudio
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby mattaudio » November 4th, 2014, 1:48 pm

This shouldn't be a METRO-level line, and of course a network of aBRT could be multiple services rather than branches. We're moving in that direction elsewhere in the system, too.

I agree with woofner... seems like a Northern Dakota County would be better served by a network of aBRT designed around existing job and housing centers. That would be more transformational than any sort of Red Line BRT part II. But really the thing that is more critical than mode choice or specific routes, there needs to be a change in land use.

froggie
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Re: Robert Street Corridor (Alternatives Analysis)

Postby froggie » November 4th, 2014, 5:51 pm

Interesting map. Do you have a link to the "Scoping document"?
As far as I know, it's not online anywhere. I found it in hardcopy several years ago at the MnDOT Library and made photocopies of several pages.
I like it, but it really needs more stations on the West St. Paul stretch.
That would make it more like a streetcar, while I was trying to keep it more like a typical LRT line as far as dedicated lanes and station spacing. That said, this concept has average station spacing of about 0.8mi.

Regarding the corridor: what I created here is basically a fantasy concept. Realistically, what I see being implemented is aBRT.

Tcmetro
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Re: Robert Street Corridor Arterial BRT

Postby Tcmetro » November 28th, 2014, 10:41 am

Update on the Robert St Corridor:
http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/Government/P ... packet.pdf

It looks like the Robert St study is looking at TOD options along the corridor, as it seems that the stakeholders want to pursue the streetcar option as opposed to the Arterial BRT proposal. It seems that St. Paul and Dakota County are in favor of streetcars, but perhaps W St. Paul is a bit less enthusiastic, as seen in a recent Strib article (http://www.startribune.com/local/south/284116021.html)

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Re: Robert Street Corridor Arterial BRT

Postby EOst » November 28th, 2014, 1:41 pm

"“It’s just bad faith negotiating,” said Shaller, who runs Southview Square shopping center on South Robert Street. The road needs improvement, he said, but he does not support many of the City Council members’ ideas, like the addition of a tree every 50 feet, which he said would block the public’s view of the mall."

This city, man.
Last edited by EOst on November 28th, 2014, 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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