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Why the cynicism? And why the obsession with parking? There are so many businesses and housing located along the line or within close walking distance (with more already being built or in the works). This is an urban light rail line -- it's not designed for park-and-ride suburban-style commuting. And as far as I know the cities certainly aren't planning on tearing down buildings and building garages. What would be in for them?
And again, naming train lines after colors is an established norm around the world. It's not the ONLY option out there, but it's pretty typical. It hasn't been a problem for most people to remember where various colored lines go, I doubt that will be an issue. I've lived in several cities with colored lines, and really, it's not a big deal.
As far as businesses disappearing, some did during construction -- but other, new businesses have already started to move in, many of them choosing to locate along the line because of the Green Line.
Of course you are correct in this. The "green" line will be transformative. The question will be toward what end? It will be useful for anyone commuting from downtown to downtown and the U of MN, but I don't see many advantages for anyone who lives in the area, especially the thousands now trapped between the green line and I94. It's a form of urban renewal and I feel sorry for all the people and businesses who will be paying a personal price for the transformation. The old University avenue was people and auto friendly in the sense that one could nearly always park in front of a small business store, dash across the street to another, or ride a bicycle. Now the green line has formed a long east-west barrier - difficult to cross by foot or by car with no more street parking for any business and no more biking.
In twenty years few will care, the area will be "transformed" and people will be used to whatever new has grown up along the line. Just don't underestimate the losses for those invested in the way it is now.
Why the cynicism? And why the obsession with parking? There are so many businesses and housing located along the line or within close walking distance (with more already being built or in the works). This is an urban light rail line -- it's not designed for park-and-ride suburban-style commuting. And as far as I know the cities certainly aren't planning on tearing down buildings and building garages. What would be in for them?
And again, naming train lines after colors is an established norm around the world. It's not the ONLY option out there, but it's pretty typical. It hasn't been a problem for most people to remember where various colored lines go, I doubt that will be an issue. I've lived in several cities with colored lines, and really, it's not a big deal.
And we will only have two lines. Green and blue. It isn't that hard to figure out.
Of course you are correct in this. The "green" line will be transformative. The question will be toward what end? It will be useful for anyone commuting from downtown to downtown and the U of MN, but I don't see many advantages for anyone who lives in the area, especially the thousands now trapped between the green line and I94. It's a form of urban renewal and I feel sorry for all the people and businesses who will be paying a personal price for the transformation. The old University avenue was people and auto friendly in the sense that one could nearly always park in front of a small business store, dash across the street to another, or ride a bicycle. Now the green line has formed a long east-west barrier - difficult to cross by foot or by car with no more street parking for any business and no more biking.
In twenty years few will care, the area will be "transformed" and people will be used to whatever new has grown up along the line. Just don't underestimate the losses for those invested in the way it is now.
Funny -- I feel the opposite, at least for the part of University I frequent. I don't drive on University, so for me it's walking and taking the bus (would be open to biking if I felt safer doing so). It's already better today than it was in the late '90s when I worked in the same area. It was auto-friendly, that's for sure, but pedestrians? Not so much. It's marginally better now, but I've been to community meetings focused on improving pedestrian access in the areas around stations, and I think those of us moving around on foot or by bike are going to definitely feel some improvements coming. And for those of us who take transit, that should improve a lot, too. Right now it is incredibly frustrating to wait a long time for the bus and then, because of traffic, have several come at the same time. Light rail should streamline things. It's true that some crossings will be more difficult -- but given the heavy traffic, it's not particularly easy or safe to do a crossing at many points currently without lights.
If worried about on-street parking, there will be, I hope, more conversations about managing parking; appropriately priced meters, for example, would be in the interest of many businesses along the line (some locations still do have street parking out front).
I do feel sorry for the individuals and businesses that have suffered with construction (I work along the line, and I know that it has not been easy), but at the end of the day, I think the line is going to be a really good thing for Minneapolis and St. Paul and their residents and businesses. I think it will be more walkable, more people will take public transportation, and there will be new, improved opportunities for small businesses to thrive.
And as neighborhoods become more pedestrian-friendly and there's more activity walking along the street, that also makes it easier for business districts to better address parking issues; if more of your patrons are visiting multiple stops in one area, it makes it more feasible to organize and create shared, joint parking, parking where you park once and then walk from business to business. That sure beats having to park at one place, then drive to a neighboring parking lot if you want to combine visits to a nearby business.
I also think that the main advantages of the line aren't going to be people commuting downtown to downtown -- right now they're already served by an express bus, and that's probably faster, anyway -- but all the people who live and work at various points in-between. There's already a lot of that currently with the 16 and 50 buses, and with LRT it will just be faster and more efficient.
I do think property values and rents will go up and I do think that's of concern, but I also don't think that cities should avoid improvements for that reason alone.
You also have to realize that you are a very atypical "urban" person with your fear of crossing streets though...most people don't give it a second thought....
The loss of street parking is so overblown IMO. Has anyone even bothered to travel down the street or look at it from Google Maps? Many businesses have adjacent parking lots next to their stores. Some locations are more constricted certainly, but overall I just don't see it as a huge problem. There are a lot of big box retailers and chain restaurants with huge parking lots it's a sea of asphalt in many places along University Ave.
If you need parking and can walk a block or two, use Targets lot, or Walmarts, or Menards, or Rainbows, or any of the other dozens of other lots along the avenue.
You also have to realize that you are a very atypical "urban" person with your fear of crossing streets though...most people don't give it a second thought....
I really don' think I'm atypical. I know that crossing large high-speed roads with people turning on you and with few other pedestrians around is no big deal, but most of the research out there suggests that those sorts of conditions discourage walking. Luckily here in the city those sorts of conditions are not as common -- they're really not very typically "urban," after all. (There are a few locations of that sort, and the city's pedestrian committee has identified them as problems to address.)
With University, the street is busy with a lot of a traffic, and while people do cross not at lights all the time, it's not particularly safe. It's especially not safe for those of us traveling with children, or older people who move a bit slower. If you spend time in neighborhoods along University, you'll find plenty of neighborhood residents or local employees complaining about street safety. I know this because I've heard it first-hand. There is a light at the intersection I most frequent, but it took a lot of neighborhood advocacy to get it put there -- and it was put there because like me, most people prefer not to scurry across four lanes of fast-moving traffic if they can avoid it.
You also have to realize that you are a very atypical "urban" person with your fear of crossing streets though...most people don't give it a second thought....
Errr...really? I don't know how often you walked along the old University Avenue, but even just looking at old pictures, it wasn't exactly a walker's paradise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spectre000
The loss of street parking is so overblown IMO. Has anyone even bothered to travel down the street or look at it from Google Maps? Many businesses have adjacent parking lots next to their stores. Some locations are more constricted certainly, but overall I just don't see it as a huge problem. There are a lot of big box retailers and chain restaurants with huge parking lots it's a sea of asphalt in many places along University Ave.
If you need parking and can walk a block or two, use Targets lot, or Walmarts, or Menards, or Rainbows, or any of the other dozens of other lots along the avenue.
This. If there's one thing University Avenue has plenty of, it's nearby parking. Many businesses have parking lots and the rest have ample access to street parking. I have never had an issue finding space without 1-2 blocks of University. And a lot of side streets have free parking.
If that's not enough, I heard a while back that they were thinking of turning one of the through lanes into a parking lane during off-peak. Or at least studying the idea. It seems to work on other busy streets (including other parts of University in Minneapolis).
Why the cynicism? And why the obsession with parking? There are so many businesses and housing located along the line or within close walking distance (with more already being built or in the works). This is an urban light rail line -- it's not designed for park-and-ride suburban-style commuting. And as far as I know the cities certainly aren't planning on tearing down buildings and building garages. What would be in for them?
And again, naming train lines after colors is an established norm around the world. It's not the ONLY option out there, but it's pretty typical. It hasn't been a problem for most people to remember where various colored lines go, I doubt that will be an issue. I've lived in several cities with colored lines, and really, it's not a big deal.
If that is the case then, ridership is going to be very low....it's not waking distance to many residences
Quote:
Originally Posted by xandrex
Errr...really? I don't know how often you walked along the old University Avenue, but even just looking at old pictures, it wasn't exactly a walker's paradise.
This. If there's one thing University Avenue has plenty of, it's nearby parking. Many businesses have parking lots and the rest have ample access to street parking. I have never had an issue finding space without 1-2 blocks of University. And a lot of side streets have free parking.
If that's not enough, I heard a while back that they were thinking of turning one of the through lanes into a parking lane during off-peak. Or at least studying the idea. It seems to work on other busy streets (including other parts of University in Minneapolis).
Err..she's admitted she is afraid to cross streets with more than two lanes on many occasions, is not typical for someone that doesn't drive and relies on her feet to get around...and something most 10 year olds know how to do safely...so, atypical..
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