Your Thoughts On the New Public Transportation Projects (Minneapolis, St. Paul: homes, transfer)

[jaxontwinz]

The Red Rock is necessary, because it is an alternative to a two-lane 61 Highway. And I think more of the purpose was to redevelop the land out there, especially into Hastings. And apparently Newport has a master plan for the city and their town center, if the line does get built.

The Northstar line ends at Target Field, and then you an hop on the Hiawatha Line into downtown. Only inconvenience is if its snowing, but still better than driving. I think ridership will increase if more development, smart development, will be built around the line.

It would have been nice if the Southwest could go through Uptown, but I agree that a streetcar connecting the light rail and Uptown/Lyn-Lake would work well.

How about a line that goes fromEden Prairie along 494 through the Ritchfield/Boomington business centers to the airport/MOA and into St. Paul along 7th Street or Shepard Road??? It would give airport-St. Paul connections as well as Bloomington and Ritchfield's business centers to Eden Prairie??? This could work, granted it would be very long and probably very costly.

Maybe I'm only excited because when you come from a place where there is no public transportation (KC), you get excited for other places, especially one you have ties to.

[ManBearPig1]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

great idea if the riders riders pay 100% of the cost.

I assume you also want automobile drivers to pay 100% of the costs of them driving as well, including the social costs of increased pollution and congestion, of course.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig1

I assume you also want automobile drivers to pay 100% of the costs of them driving as well, including the social costs of increased pollution and congestion, of course.

we need roads to get the train drivers and repair technicians to the light rail lines and drive people in ambulances to the hospital when they get ran over by the light rail cars. jeesh... never seen a more delusional bunch of people who feel that the rest of us have to subsidize their imaginary entitlement.

[iNviNciBL3]

The Hiawatha line (Blue line) made me so happy when it was first built! It really makes Minneapolis more of a urban city. The Central Corridor (Green line) will make me even more happy since its very close to me, plus the future of University Ave and Downtown Saint Paul are looking very bright!

The Northstar Line seems great but i still never been on it, I really hope they expand up to Saint Cloud

Southwest Corridor, I dont know if its still proposed or planned but i hope they build it, I can't imagine how those folks in the SW metro deal with all that traffic.

Red Rock Corridor, I'm interested to see plans about the Newport redevelopment that town does need some help and im sure this train will do just that

Northern Lights Express is a must! i love the city of Duluth and i would make many trips up there if we had a train going up that way! Plus it looks like you could still do a Casino stop in Hinckley

[DarkWolf]

Red Rock Corridor - Transit in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro - YouTube

[jaxontwinz]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Red Rock Corridor - Transit in the Twin Cities Southeast Metro - YouTube

Cool video, thanks for sharing. I want to say that I read somewhere that it was an approved project, and I know they have been running test trains on it (they used the Northstar vehicles). I really hope it gets built, I have most of my family in Hastings and would love not to have to take a car to get into the cties.

If you could create a line, where would it go?

I posted earlier about a line from Eden Prairie to St. Paul. It would have stations along 494 and the Ritchfield/Bloomington business centers, the MOA, the airport, and into downtown St. Paul along 7th street. Any thoughts?

[west336]

Line Ideas:

West metro (Lake Minnetonka) to downtown
South corridor (down Nicollet or I-35W) from downtown to S. Bloomington
NW metro (Maple Grove transit center) to downtown through Broadway -- i.e. "Bottineau"
NE corridor (Central Ave) from downtown to Blaine
St. Paul to MOA
St. Paul to Hudson, WI (only if WI heavily subsidizes cost!)
Minneapolis/St. Paul to Rochester (High-Speed Rail)

[1stpontiac]

I like the idea of a couple rings of relatively high-speed trains going around the metro through the suburbs, and with radial spikes (light-rail) going into/out-of the metro. Say there was one out roughly around the 494/694 loop and then another one doing a ring like St. Louis Park, Hopkins or Edina, St Paul Roseville and Robbinsdale.

It would be pretty nice to have the option of being able to jump on a train in Maple Grove and be down in Bloomington in, say, 20 minutes.

I'm not sure which suburbs have business or housing centers with enough density to warrant trainstops, and the local buses might have to step up to make it useful at all. Its all obviously a pipedream, but fun to think of, anyways

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

I like the idea of a couple rings of relatively high-speed trains going around the metro through the suburbs, and with radial spikes (light-rail) going into/out-of the metro. Say there was one out roughly around the 494/694 loop and then another one doing a ring like St. Louis Park, Hopkins or Edina, St Paul Roseville and Robbinsdale.

It would be pretty nice to have the option of being able to jump on a train in Maple Grove and be down in Bloomington in, say, 20 minutes.

I'm not sure which suburbs have business or housing centers with enough density to warrant trainstops, and the local buses might have to step up to make it useful at all. Its all obviously a pipedream, but fun to think of, anyways

They could utilize the existing transit stations in most of the larger suburbs (Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Eagan, Maple Grove, etc.). They already have multi-level parking ramps for parking, etc. They really aren't along 494/694 but they could figure something out. It would make the transit system similar to that in Washington DC, which is heavily utilized. Maybe the connections to the 494/696 loop could be subway type systems to keep the landscape looking nice and not something like you see in Chicago with rusty fences and El-tracks everywhere.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by golfgal

They could utilize the existing transit stations in most of the larger suburbs (Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Eagan, Maple Grove, etc.). They already have multi-level parking ramps for parking, etc. They really aren't along 494/694 but they could figure something out. It would make the transit system similar to that in Washington DC, which is heavily utilized. Maybe the connections to the 494/696 loop could be subway type systems to keep the landscape looking nice and not something like you see in Chicago with rusty fences and El-tracks everywhere.

Yeah, I've used a couple of those park and rides and they are pretty nice and ready-to-use facilities. And the DC system (although I've only used it a couple times) was kind of in the back of my mind as I typed that, along with your earlier comment about a 494 line.