The Green Line (Minneapolis, St. Paul: statistics, pollution, trains)

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by MassVt

Are the trains packed, with most people standing? That would be typical of most subway lines..

It's too early to tell how it will shake out, but it was standing room only on my ride home. We don't yet have subway densities in the Twin Cities, but the trains this week (in my experience) are definitely being used.

[Yosh01]

[quote]Are you saying there aren't enough stops or that they're too far apart? What do you want, a fast train with less stops, or a slow train with a stop every 1/10 mile?[/QUOTE

A train stoping every 1/10 mile would be a waste of money. Trains are best for high volume, high speed transit.

The real congestion is on I94 which is bad enough during rush hour that it's best avoided. A portion of traffic on University is from people doing just that. I would have spent the billion on solving the I94 problem. Perhaps by putting a high speed train down the center. Ideally, it would run from Woodbury to Minnetonka, along I94 and I394 with stops every few miles.

I understand the posters above who enjoy the ride on the train more than the bus, but that's no reason to spend a billion dollars.

It's all moot anyway.

[aus1ander]

An interesting thing I noticed while driving down University Avenue yesterday is how close some of the trains come to cars. When the train crosses over University Ave near the U, the front bumpers of the cars stopped at the red light come within 2 feet of the train! You could almost reach out a touch the train cars!

[cielpur]

[quote=Yosh01;35296770]

Are you saying there aren't enough stops or that they're too far apart? What do you want, a fast train with less stops, or a slow train with a stop every 1/10 mile?[/QUOTE

A train stoping every 1/10 mile would be a waste of money. Trains are best for high volume, high speed transit.

The real congestion is on I94 which is bad enough during rush hour that it's best avoided. A portion of traffic on University is from people doing just that. I would have spent the billion on solving the I94 problem. Perhaps by putting a high speed train down the center. Ideally, it would run from Woodbury to Minnetonka, along I94 and I394 with stops every few miles.

I understand the posters above who enjoy the ride on the train more than the bus, but that's no reason to spend a billion dollars.

It's all moot anyway.

I couldn't agree more. I live very close to a green line stop in Minneapolis and work right next to a green line stop in St. Paul. It appears it would be perfect for someone like me, however driving is literally three times faster. Taking the green line would increase my commute by 5hrs/wk. So, on 94 I stay, along with everyone else.

[Mplsite]

Thing is, places like Woodbury and Minnetonka built in such a way to make LRT fail: not enough population density. Sure, you could build a dozen park & rides in any given suburb to get higher (but still low) ridership, but it the cost is ridiculous to do so. Better to expand off the lines we have with extensions to other densely populated areas and business districts. Still don't have to search and pay for parking either. Still, it was running 5 minutes late yesterday and I'm sure it's because it's having to stop at low-traffic intersections for no reason. I saw a train sit for a minute to let just two cars and a bus cross the street: why are they getting priority over a train full of people?

[spectre000]

Metro Transit reports 27,800 average daily riders in the first week. That comes to 7.2 million a year. Probably around 8 to 8.5 million total a year including weekends (that's my guestimate). Despite the delays and frequent stops, this line seems to be off to a great start. And consider the U of M school year hasn't even started yet.

Also noteworthy is the 16 and 50 handle about 6 million riders a year. People will clearly take a train over a bus.

[emcee squared]

Originally Posted by spectre000

Metro Transit reports 27,800 average daily riders in the first week. That comes to 7.2 million a year. Probably around 8 to 8.5 million total a year including weekends (that's my guestimate). Despite the delays and frequent stops, this line seems to be off to a great start. And consider the U of M school year hasn't even started yet.

Also noteworthy is the 16 and 50 handle about 6 million riders a year. People will clearly take a train over a bus.

I have overheard a few complaints about the service, mainly that they can't stop every block, like on the bus. I'd rather be on a train and walk three blocks to my destination than on the 16/50.

[Yosh01]

Originally Posted by emcee squared

I have overheard a few complaints about the service, mainly that they can't stop every block, like on the bus. I'd rather be on a train and walk three blocks to my destination than on the 16/50.

Every half mile is more than three blocks - a long way for someone with a disability or heavy package.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by Yosh01

Every half mile is more than three blocks - a long way for someone with a disability or heavy package.

Then they can still take the 16; service on the 16 hasn't been eliminated (other than the final leg between downtown Minneapolis and Stadium Village), and it is intended to serve that need.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Yosh01

Every half mile is more than three blocks - a long way for someone with a disability or heavy package.

What's 6 blocks in the middle of January or February?