urbanMSP

http://www.startribune.com/local/minnea ... 54281.html

Woman hit and injured near Franklin station. Not much for details.

Was delayed about 10 minutes earlier tonight at Humphrey Terminal Station, a car became stuck on the tracks at the 34th Ave/494 diverging diamond interchange.

Is there a way to find out how many times this has happened? It's the second time I have been held up at Humphrey Station because of this (last time was in Feb/March?), surely I can't be so lucky as to witness the aftermath of the only two incidents of this nature?

Both times I'm aware of this happening have been at night, so I'm guessing it must not be too easy to see the lanes in the dark?
My band-aid solution to this colossal disaster in transportation planning would be to add a dozen or 2 streetlights to this stretch.

Do you mean that an automobile was stuck in the tracks, or a light-rail car was stuck?

Both times I'm aware of this happening have been at night, so I'm guessing it must not be too easy to see the lanes in the dark?

This sounds like automobiles since the train doesnt need lines in the pavement

Well this is a first for me, southbound blue line train is stopping at Cedar Riverside to take off the third car. If I didn't have somewhere to be I'd stop and take some pictures.

E: Holy crap that only took like 30 seconds, maybe I'll have to catch the blue line South at ~6:45 again sometime soon and see it happen.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

http://www.metrotransit.org/celebrate-1 ... es-with-us

Celebrate 100 million Blue Line rides with us!
The METRO Blue Line surpassed 100 million rides in January. Celebrate this historic milestone with us by sharing your best photos—old and new—on social media using the hashtag #BlueLine100million. Use the hashtag and post your photos publicly to our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages for a chance to win a $100 Go-To Card!



Look for the A & B characters on the Blue Line Thursday morning (Feb. 5, 2015) as they ride the Blue Line from 46th Street Station to Government Plaza Station. Can’t make the train ride? No problem, join us at 8 a.m. as A & B arrive at Government Plaza Station for photo opportunities and to hear from Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. Share your Blue Line photos with us now until Feb. 19 to enter the contest.

So probably a dumb question, but someone fill me in - what do a giant A and B have to do with the Blue Line again?

A to B is their new marketing campaign. Metro Transit, the easiest way from A to B.

Because it gets you from point A to point B, as featured in their whimsical new ads.



EDIT: I would have beat him to the punch if it didn't take me 5 minutes to figure out to embed the youtube video.

I was wondering why some apparently random YouTuber had the same video at the same quality (I thought it was just an account of random re-uploads of videos) but they're actually the ad agency that made the video.

I was 100% sure I was hallucinating when I first saw that ad on TV, didn't help that it was Adult Swim.

... facepalmy ad. I should've known.

Just got back home from 38th Street station. Announcement said northbound trains delayed 5 minutes. Nextrip said Due. Saw 2 Metro Transit police cars lit up headed south. I've heard 3 more sirens since I got home. I chose to ignore Nextrip.

Speaking of NexTrip, I noticed the Transit app (that's name of it) has GPS markers and timing info for Blue & Green lines now. Nifty.

Speaking of NexTrip, I noticed the Transit app (that's name of it) has GPS markers and timing info for Blue & Green lines now. Nifty.

OMG Transit does as well.

When I first saw the people in the A and B suits, my first thought was that this would be a great way to introduce the concept of skip-stop service.

I don't know where this goes...

Full news release:
Over the past few years, the City of Minneapolis and its partners made major investments in a new traffic signal management system and other equipment to slash wait times for vehicles along and crossing Hiawatha Avenue. Drivers who use Hiawatha know firsthand how traffic flow can be disrupted by the Metro Transit’s Blue Line. Nowhere else in the country can you find a fast (45 mph or faster) commuter train running parallel to a highway, forcing frequent stops to side street traffic along the way. Now, the City is reexamining traffic in light of those investments and changes to see if any additional improvements can be made.

Traffic signal operation improvements along Hiawatha in 2013 included the addition of 160 in-pavement traffic detectors, the activation of a traffic signal control system that wasn’t available when the light-rail line started service in 2004 and a revision of traffic signal sequences. These investments drastically improved traffic flow with average delays decreased by 32 percent and the number of vehicles waiting two minutes or longer cut in half.

This spring the City of Minneapolis will reexamine the systems to see if additional adjustments could further improve traffic signal operation affected by the Blue Line. This is being done in anticipation of having more drivers using or crossing Hiawatha Avenue during the reconstruction of Minnehaha Avenue, which begins in April and will continue through fall 2016.

While crews will be making new observations and adjustments, they won’t be able to catch every traffic snarl or delay. For that information, they’re asking for help from residents who use Hiawatha Avenue and its cross streets daily. Anyone who sees unusual traffic signal operations or experience unusually large delays as they walk, bike or drive in the corridor should call 311 or email [email protected] by March 1, 2014. Reports should note the location of the incident and describe in detail what happened.

I see unusual traffic signal operations and experience unusually large delays as I walk/bike... I have to hit a button to beg for permission to cross the street.

You just can't resist, can you?

Have you ever tried bicycling across Hiawatha at a stoplight?

I have. Apparently having to push a button doesn't gall me as much as it does you. And having to wait through a long, unpredictable light cycle isn't particularly more annoying if you're in a car or a bike or a pedestrian.