Will Minneapolis ever see 500,000 again? (St. Paul, Houston: to rent, hotels, school district)

[green_mariner]

Recent estimates show that Mpls' population is slowly rising. It might go back to 500,000, but it might take a long time for that to happen.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Recent estimates show that Mpls' population is slowly rising. It might go back to 500,000, but it might take a long time for that to happen.

The Corcoran & Standish neighborhoods on the southside seem to continue growing. Currently a 40+ unit apartment building is being built right across from the Midtown/Lake St Light Rail Station parking lot and a big apartment/condo complex is currently being built in the intersection of 23rd Ave and 38th St.

I think there are other similar projects taking place in other parts of the city, although alot of this was slowed/delayed due to the economic recession and housing crisis.

[MplsTodd]

Originally Posted by Slig

The Corcoran & Standish neighborhoods on the southside seem to continue growing. Currently a 40+ unit apartment building is being built right across from the Midtown/Lake St Light Rail Station parking lot and a big apartment/condo complex is currently being built in the intersection of 23rd Ave and 38th St.

I think there are other similar projects taking place in other parts of the city, although alot of this was slowed/delayed due to the economic recession and housing crisis.

The development at 38th & 23rd is actually an assisted-living development.
But there is a lot of new housing underway in the city right now. There are three apartment developments in the Uptown area (Knox&Lake, 28xx Fremont, and 28th & Lyndale), plus several student-oriented apartment developments near the U of M (Doran Companies development at 12th & 4th Street, Solheim University near Stadium Village, and Gassen's development on University Ave just east of I-35W).

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

The development at 38th & 23rd is actually an assisted-living development.
But there is a lot of new housing underway in the city right now. There are three apartment developments in the Uptown area (Knox&Lake, 28xx Fremont, and 28th & Lyndale), plus several student-oriented apartment developments near the U of M (Doran Companies development at 12th & 4th Street, Solheim University near Stadium Village, and Gassen's development on University Ave just east of I-35W).

The one across from the Light Rail station is too but I'm not sure what difference that makes. Whether or not somebody is living under assistance doesn't have any bearing on how they are counted towards a city's population. Those buildings weren't there before and now they are. Based on that I would assume that the residents who fill those apartments will contribute to increase the city's population.

[K-Luv]

I would bet that the city already has a population of 500,000. Or very close to it. The way that the U.S. census is conducted is a "best guess" for the most part.

Honestly, though, MPLS cannot really handle a larger population without doing some serious reconstruction. Streets just are not wide enough to accommodate heavier flows of traffic that a larger population would bring. Let me explain:

I am from California. Outside of SF, it is typical to have: the traffic lanes, (sometimes) a dedicated bike line, (sometimes) a dedicated parking lane, gutter, sidewalk, vegetation, parking lot, then business/apartments. In the cases where no dedicated parking lane is available, motorists cannot park on the street. Honestly, being able to park in a traffic lane if ridiculous! Anyways, if they need to expand the street to accommodate more traffic, they can just remove the parking lane. Or shave off some of the parking lot.

Not to mention that most streets have a "suicide lane" or dedicated turning lanes.

In MPLS, it typically goes: traffic lane, traffic lane/bike lane/parking lane/gutter, sidewalk, business. The only way to broaden streets would be to remove the sidewalk or demolish the buildings.

And, not to mention, the traffic lane also doubles as the left-hand turn lane.

More residents means more traffic. The only way MPLS could accommodate this would be either by continuing to divert traffic through residential areas, or expand Lite Rail to encompass the entire city.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by WriterDude

Yes, that's the foundation for a light rail system. For my money, though, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in the San Francisco Bay Area might be a better model. BART

The reason I say that is the distributed nature of the Twin Cities metro area. In the Bay Area, BART runs all the way from San Francisco across the Bay to Oakland and the east bay suburbs, as well as service down to the San Francisco Airport and up to the northeast Bay Area. In the Twin Cities, because of the significantly lower cost of land and the relatively short runs, a system like BART would be huge. It's also a green system, running on electricity.

There's a parallel regional transit system in the Bay Area called CalTrain, which runs conventional trains from San Francisco to San Jose. (They were planning to make it electric a few years back, but I don't know if they completed that conversion.)

The BART actually goes quite a bit farther, but for some reason does not go to San Jose.

Outside of that, BART sucks. It's only redeeming quality is that it is fast. It is primarily designed for those who Park & Ride, with the intention focused on decreasing highway traffic around the Bay instead of focusing on being more public transportation. The stops are far and few between, and once you get to SF, you have to transfer to MUNI, which really is not better.

BART can also be expensive as riders pay a fare based on distance traveled. The farther you ride it, the more expensive it becomes.

CalTrain also sucks. But it is not really it's own fault. Californians love their cars too much.

A better model for the TC would be the T in Boston. It is kind of a cross between Lite Rail and BART in that some lines are Lite Rail and some are typical subway cars. All lines go underground through downtown Boston, and above ground elsewhere. You also only pay one price (i.e., it costs the same to go one stop or to go the distance). A part of the T is commuter rail, which I believe runs five lines (one going all the way to Providence, RI. for only $7.50 ). You can use a transfer between the bus, T, commuter rail, and ferry (and yes, technically the whole system is called the T--short for MBTA, but most people just refer to the trolly/subway/lite rail as the T).

The Commuter Rail lines run trains twice an hour, I believe-up until around midnight.

http://www.mbta.com/

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Slig

The Corcoran & Standish neighborhoods on the southside seem to continue growing. Currently a 40+ unit apartment building is being built right across from the Midtown/Lake St Light Rail Station parking lot and a big apartment/condo complex is currently being built in the intersection of 23rd Ave and 38th St.

I think there are other similar projects taking place in other parts of the city, although alot of this was slowed/delayed due to the economic recession and housing crisis.

Based on this, if and when the economy improves, how much more do you think the population of Mpls will increase?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Based on this, if and when the economy improves, how much more do you think the population of Mpls will increase?

No idea. I could easily see it growing to 450,000 in the next 20 years though.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Slig

No idea. I could easily see it growing to 450,000 in the next 20 years though.

I think having St. Paul next door could also make a difference.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I think having St. Paul next door could also make a difference.

Why?