Green Line LRT
- FISHMANPET
- IDS Center
- Posts: 4241
- Joined: June 6th, 2012, 2:19 pm
- Location: Corcoran
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Welp, used the emergency phone on the station platform for the first time, to report a dude completely passed out drunk on the train.
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Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
That's a rough monday!Welp, used the emergency phone on the station platform for the first time, to report a dude completely passed out drunk on the train.
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Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I know all the reasons people think we shouldn't focus in light rail, and I used to ride the 50 often enough to know its schedule and stops. But this morning I did something I never would have done before the Green Line - I had my wife drop me off before a race in downtown Saint Paul, and took the light rail home after. Could I have done that with the 50? Of course. But on a weekend when parking and traffic are easy and I have a bunch of stuff in tow I wouldn't have done it because it would have seemed like too much hassle. The Green Line changed the equation, right or wrong. And with the next train signs working, it was a really nice experience.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Two anecdotes, which basically equals data:
I'm perfectly happy to ride the bus. I bus to and from work when I'm carrying something heavy, or its rainy, or I'm lazy, and I'm good at using NexTrip and maps to figure out the bus system. But, in the almost five years I lived here before the Green Line opened, I took the 16/50 east of Midway exactly once. I did stuff in DT St Paul, but always in a car, despite getting lost almost every time. (I've never had a problem navigating DT Minneapolis, but St. Paul always throws me for a loop. idk.) In the seven months since the Green Line, I've been to DT St. Paul probably 20+ times, and have driven exactly once.
I live at 13th and Hennepin, and often visit a friend in Stadium Village. Taking the Green Line involves walking 8 blocks to Hennepin Station on the DT end, and walking 4 blocks on the Stadium Village end. Taking the 6U involves the same walk in Stadium Village, but a half-block walk to/from my apartment to the bus stop. I've taken the bus exactly once, when I just missed the train, it was an hour to the next one, and the next 6U was only 5 minutes away.
tl;dr: Rail bias is a big thing, and it's important that Metro Transit and the Met Council take it into account.
(By putting the Midtown streetcar/LRT in the official plan already.)
I'm perfectly happy to ride the bus. I bus to and from work when I'm carrying something heavy, or its rainy, or I'm lazy, and I'm good at using NexTrip and maps to figure out the bus system. But, in the almost five years I lived here before the Green Line opened, I took the 16/50 east of Midway exactly once. I did stuff in DT St Paul, but always in a car, despite getting lost almost every time. (I've never had a problem navigating DT Minneapolis, but St. Paul always throws me for a loop. idk.) In the seven months since the Green Line, I've been to DT St. Paul probably 20+ times, and have driven exactly once.
I live at 13th and Hennepin, and often visit a friend in Stadium Village. Taking the Green Line involves walking 8 blocks to Hennepin Station on the DT end, and walking 4 blocks on the Stadium Village end. Taking the 6U involves the same walk in Stadium Village, but a half-block walk to/from my apartment to the bus stop. I've taken the bus exactly once, when I just missed the train, it was an hour to the next one, and the next 6U was only 5 minutes away.
tl;dr: Rail bias is a big thing, and it's important that Metro Transit and the Met Council take it into account.
(By putting the Midtown streetcar/LRT in the official plan already.)
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]
[email protected]
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I've lived a block off University for six years, and I've already taken more trips on the Green Line than I ever did on the 16.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I saw a whole bunch of people taking the train into St Paul on Saturday for the Winter Carnival/Crashed Ice/Hockey tournament. I took a westbound train into Minneapolis at about 7:00 PM on Saturday, and the four eastbound trains I passed were all jam-packed, three car trains. It was great to see.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I took the train to and from St. Paul that night, and overheard a lot of conversations implying that it was a lot of first time riders, which was great. Also a lot of whining about how long it was taking and why couldn't there be an express train, but whatevs.
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]
[email protected]
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
^I was among the people who took the Green Line to Crashed Ice this weekend. It's a much less stressful experience. Several of my "car-happy" friends insisted on driving for a while, despite being mere blocks from an LRT station in DT Minneapolis, but I convinced them otherwise. That definitely wouldn't have happened if it was the bus (I probably would have driven too) and it ended up being a very smooth experience. Getting off at the Capitol/Rice Street stop was no further than a lot of event parking at a fraction of the price (or stress).
- Ottergoose
- Metrodome
- Posts: 72
- Joined: October 11th, 2012, 3:54 pm
- Location: Burnsville, MN
- Contact:
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Plans would be too strong a term, probably. The city (or at least the mayor) wants a Central Station development that would straddle both sides of the station and track with a building housing 250 units of housing and around 200,000 square feet of office and retail. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's a nice idea.
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- Stone Arch Bridge
- Posts: 7764
- Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
- Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Am I the only one who thinks a development that "straddles" the station would really hem in those platforms and make this station feel too closed in? I hope to see development, but something that really focuses on keeping this station open and connected on all corners.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Wouldn't it essentially become an indoor station? Sounds like in that plan, the building would simply be built on top of it.Am I the only one who thinks a development that "straddles" the station would really hem in those platforms and make this station feel too closed in? I hope to see development, but something that really focuses on keeping this station open and connected on all corners.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I like this idea. Considering that almost all of the stations are outdoor open-air stations, something indoors would be special if done tastefully (IE not like the MOA station). Heck, let's just copy the Disney world monorail hotel station.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Smart Corner in San Diego is a great example of what could be done here. The train cuts through diagonally just like Central Station.
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Here's a couple relevant documents from St Paul's "Central Corridor Development Strategy" that I found:
http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4774
http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4775
http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4774
http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4775
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Eh. It'd still be open air, not anywhere near as hemmed in as, say, a subway. Not even as much as something like the Disney monorail at the Contemporary hotel. Besides, with the dozens of stations open to the air that we've got, I don't think having one in a bit of a different environment is a problem.Am I the only one who thinks a development that "straddles" the station would really hem in those platforms and make this station feel too closed in? I hope to see development, but something that really focuses on keeping this station open and connected on all corners.
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- Capella Tower
- Posts: 2625
- Joined: September 16th, 2012, 4:31 pm
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
I like the idea of an enclosed station that feels more open. The SD example with a glass arcade-like roof would be nice and not feel too closed in (like the Canary Wharf example in the pdf). But given DT StP's office/res market right now... good luck with any of those visions. Maybe start with a 6-story residential building on one side and hope for something later on the other, meantime a good little public space?
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
DT St Paul's residential market is actually quite strong lately...given DT StP's office/res market right now... good luck with any of those visions.
I think an ambitious and tall residential building could do quite well -- perhaps even a hotel. Having the Green Line pass through the heart of the building would be a formidable selling point. Heck, in the doldroms of the 1980s, the Galtier Towers apartments and condos consisting of the 46-story Jackson tower and 30-story Sibley tower filled quickly and certainly weren't suffering for tenants. Of course, the retail component of that project was over-built and suffered.
More recently, the Farmer's Market Lofts filled up quickly, as did the Penfield.
I do like the idea of having an enclosed station ala Disney's Contemporary Hotel. It's really quite slick! For those who have never been to Disney World -- here's a photo. And if you visit this site and haven't been to a Disney park, get to one! Walt Disney's ideas for urban planning, passion for mass transit, and his love of trains certainly shine through.
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- US Bank Plaza
- Posts: 764
- Joined: June 1st, 2012, 10:30 am
Re: Green Line (Central Corridor LRT)
Green Line run time, effective March 7, is reduced by 2 minutes, all of the schedule time savings is along university avenue. My recent experience is that the train is slow in the downtowns, particularly west bound. East bound trains are almost always on time into the capitol station. Outside of the downtowns rice street and 280 are other trouble spots.
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