Is There a Transit Hub in Planning? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: transfer to, neighborhood)
Minneapolis - St. PaulTwin Cities
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With all the new projects under construction, approved, or in planning, it would make sense that the Twin Cities have a transit hub or a major connecting station (I'm thinking Five Points, ATL or Union Station in D.C. but of course on a smaller scale). Has there been any thought into this? I know Target Field is right now the terminus of all the rail systems, and Nicollet Mall is basically the hub for all bus routes. I think there was something about making a transit connecting station/hub/ plaza near Target Field but i haven't heard anything about this topic in a long time. So if you have info please share.
Well, Union Station in St Paul will be one. AMTRAK, the central corridor light rail and buses will meet there and depart. In Minneapolis, there isn't a "hub" per se. Commuter rail and light rail meet at Target Stadium. Nearby, there the bus hub in a parking ramp on N 1st Avenue. Any unitary hub is probably off in the future on the Minneapolis side.But you'll be able to ride the central corridor train to Union Station and transfer to Amtrak there. And you'll be able to use light rail to go from the train to the airport FROM there. Not like Chicago or Toronto. They have the real deal.
Here are The Met Council's transportation plans for 2030. The included transit map projection shows most lines converging at the Target Field hub. Passengers east of, and in the east metro, will feed through The Union Depot in Downtown St Paul: http://www.metrocouncil.org/planning...ter4_Final.pdf
So the Interchange is under construction, hadn't heard much about it, but there is a website for this transit hub right by Target Field. It looks pretty cool from the website, with a lot of greenspace and a 2,000 seat ampitheatre. Awesome for Twins fans and going to the games. I think the area will be great for future development in the North Loop and surrounding areas. Maybe the North Loop could become similar to the Pearl District in Portland. This I think will only add more population to the area. Hopefully this will also spur more transit in the area.
How do locals feel about the project? And will it be an entire new station, or will they just use Target Field's station?
Yes there is a new one planned for Minneapolis. Not sure how the Union Depot in Saint Paul is going to work out. I wander through there a couple times a week and have not seen a single person in there yet. Hopefully it's great and fills up with people. It sure is pretty and for 300 million dollars I guess it better be! In my opinion jaxontwinz, the Warehouse District is already way cooler than Pearl in Portland is or ever was. Minneapolis is killing it right now and I don't think the city has even hit it's stride yet! I just hope one day Saint Paul gets with it. It could be really really cool as well, but then again people have said that for many decades...
I posted this in another thread but here is current construction progress of the transit hub adjacent to Target Field...
And as a local I love that they are investing in the north downtown area all revolving around the transit hub, plus I hope to one day get a job constructing light rail lines. I will keeping posting pics on here too.
^^^ Thanks! Construction pics will be really cool. And what's nice is that it will all be finished in a year.
And in regard to the St. Paul comments, I think St. Paul will get there. The Green Line will add so much to downtown St. Paul, I don't think there is another option besides new development, new "life" for St. Paul. I think more of the further commuter lines in talks (Duluth, Hinckley proposals) should go to the Union Depot, while light rail or METRO lines should connect to Minneapolis.
But whatever the Twin Cities are doing, they really, for the majority, are doing things right!
^^^ Thanks! Construction pics will be really cool. And what's nice is that it will all be finished in a year.
And in regard to the St. Paul comments, I think St. Paul will get there. The Green Line will add so much to downtown St. Paul, I don't think there is another option besides new development, new "life" for St. Paul. I think more of the further commuter lines in talks (Duluth, Hinckley proposals) should go to the Union Depot, while light rail or METRO lines should connect to Minneapolis.
But whatever the Twin Cities are doing, they really, for the majority, are doing things right!
I hope you're right man. I've had family in Saint Paul for 30 years and people have honestly been saying that for all those years. There have been soooo many giant government subsidized projects in Saint Paul over the years and each time they say, "this will do it!" But it never seems to. It is such a pleasant rivertown city, very beautiful with the old buildings, big river bluffs and marinas in downtown. It has such potential. It could be really cool. I don't know about the train line. I can and do ride my bicycle faster from Union Depot to downtown Minneapolis on a regular basis. Honestly I hope it is a miracle worker for downtown STP but I'm not holding my breath. It is really really empty and boring in downtown STP compared to MPLS and other cities. Compared to many cosmopolitan cities and Minneapolis included there's really not much retail down there now, not enough retail space, or a designated strip for it, other than West 7th out just out of the downtown core, there's no real nightlife area currently, only 3 bike lanes compared MPLS dozens, not many people on the streets even. Thus, other than large events why would people come here? It will be busy on event days I think but that's probably it and that's actually exactly how it is now already in STP! Busy on event days pretty dead the rest of the time. I think it will be a way for people in Saint Paul to go to Minneapolis to shop, eat drink, go out etc...but not so much the other way around at least not for many years to come. It will be good for those people in Saint Paul who don't want to drive the 10 minutes to MPLS and pay to park or ride their bike the half hour to get there they can have the option to take the train which should take about 45 minutes to an hour they say. I'll be peddling myself! In the long run it has the potential to be really good for the area and both cities I agree, especially if it's expanded like the massive and really great old streetcar system in the Twin Cities. That thing went everywhere, even to Stillwater!
I hope you're right man. I've had family in Saint Paul for 30 years and people have honestly been saying that for all those years. There have been soooo many giant government subsidized projects in Saint Paul over the years and each time they say, "this will do it!" But it never seems to. It is such a pleasant rivertown city, very beautiful with the old buildings, big river bluffs and marinas in downtown. It has such potential. It could be really cool. I don't know about the train line. I can and do ride my bicycle faster from Union Depot to downtown Minneapolis on a regular basis. Honestly I hope it is a miracle worker for downtown STP but I'm not holding my breath. It is really really empty and boring in downtown STP compared to MPLS and other cities. Compared to many cosmopolitan cities and Minneapolis included there's really not much retail down there now, not enough retail space, or a designated strip for it, other than West 7th out just out of the downtown core, there's no real nightlife area currently, only 3 bike lanes compared MPLS dozens, not many people on the streets even. Thus, other than large events why would people come here? It will be busy on event days I think but that's probably it and that's actually exactly how it is now already in STP! Busy on event days pretty dead the rest of the time. I think it will be a way for people in Saint Paul to go to Minneapolis to shop, eat drink, go out etc...but not so much the other way around at least not for many years to come. It will be good for those people in Saint Paul who don't want to drive the 10 minutes to MPLS and pay to park or ride their bike the half hour to get there they can have the option to take the train which should take about 45 minutes to an hour they say. I'll be peddling myself! In the long run it has the potential to be really good for the area and both cities I agree, especially if it's expanded like the massive and really great old streetcar system in the Twin Cities. That thing went everywhere, even to Stillwater!
I agree with what you're saying man but keep in mind the rail line isn't meant to be an express route between the downtowns. I would say it's primairly for people who want to go to the destinations between such as the U of M and the Capitol. I believe the 94 express bus wil still be around for those who want to go straight shot between downtowns. I agree than Downtown St. Paul has a ton of potential. It's never going to compete with Downtown Mpls for nightlife and amenties so trying to duplicate that is a fool's game. For Dowtown St.Paul to be successful it needs to be an alternative to Mpls. It should have it's own vibe and it's own unique shops and restaurants. Also, there's nothing wrong with having events. The Xcel Center and Rivercentre are good to have but downtown should be a great place to live first and visit second. It looks like they're going in the right direction with the Lunds grocery about to open and the aparments that are being built. The Lowertown neighborhood is booming and the farmers market is doing well too.
I agree with what you're saying man but keep in mind the rail line isn't meant to be an express route between the downtowns. I would say it's primairly for people who want to go to the destinations between such as the U of M and the Capitol. I believe the 94 express bus wil still be around for those who want to go straight shot between downtowns. I agree than Downtown St. Paul has a ton of potential. It's never going to compete with Downtown Mpls for nightlife and amenties so trying to duplicate that is a fool's game. For Dowtown St.Paul to be successful it needs to be an alternative to Mpls. It should have it's own vibe and it's own unique shops and restaurants. Also, there's nothing wrong with having events. The Xcel Center and Rivercentre are good to have but downtown should be a great place to live first and visit second. It looks like they're going in the right direction with the Lunds grocery about to open and the aparments that are being built. The Lowertown neighborhood is booming and the farmers market is doing well too.
I agree. I didn't mean to imply it was going to be an express route just that I think it will probably at least initially better serve people going from Saint Paul to Minneapolis rather than vice versa. In Seattle once light rail was up they killed all the express bus routes which were faster and ran much more frequently just so there was no competition with the train. Downtown STP does have tons of potential. I think it could be a really really happening place, as cool as MPLS or better in some people's minds depending on if it's done right.
Also I'm sorry I wasn't trying to bag on the events or imply they were bad at all. I was trying to imply they are what has largely saved downtown Saint Paul from complete desolation and irrelevance in a lot of ways. Game/event night in downtown STP is great! I just think the city should focus on more ground up grass roots businesses not just big events. The Penfield/Lunds project will definitely help. Lowertown is still really quiet and empty for most of the time (I am there everyday) at least compared to other cities I've lived in. But it is moving forward in the right direction for sure. There needs to be reason to be in STP other than just events. People go to MPLS Seattle, Boston, Austin, Vancouver, Portland, NYC, New Orleans, Chicago etc.. and even Duluth, Stillwater Bayfield, WI just to go to those cities. I don't know anybody who goes to Saint Paul just to go to Saint Paul for an evening. That is kind of the problem I think. If they get a cool scene going there it's game on! Saint Paul could actually explode in terms of night life, hipness, events and independent business. I hope it does!!
Last edited by glendog; 03-22-2013 at 12:29 PM..
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