Why no Graffiti on the light rail? (Minneapolis, Burnsville: neighborhood, closing)

[What!]

Originally Posted by BORGUSX

I heard that the light rail was completed in 2007 or 2008? Can anyone give me more information about this light rail,so I can go on it and pick up some chicks there,lol!

The light rail has a ton of young chicks on it all the time, without their boyfriends! It goes from Mall of America to Hennepin (or are they currently in the process of extending it?). I'd say on average it can take 30-40 minutes from the Mall to Hennepin. You will definitely see a lot of young chicks sitting by themselves. Make sure you get a bus pass though--it has to be a transfer ticket, and it MUST have the current date and time on it. There are occasionally cops checking for tickets. Although, I once rode it during the fall semester of '07 and was only checked twice. Each time the officer was pleasant enough to show me the rules and let me go with a warning. If you do get checked and you don't have a ticket, use the whole, "I've been attending Rochester University, and this is my first time on the Light Rail. I didn't know I needed a ticket. I thought it was free, officer," and you'll most likely get off with a warning. But still, buy a ticket and be done with it.

Hope this helps, Merry Christmas.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by Slig

There is also a line that is supposed to go through uptown and then over to France Ave and down through Edina to Chanhassen or Chaska or something like that.

Not a light rail line, and there is no track from Edina to Chaska for a commuter train.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by knke0402

I used to follow the issues quite closely and i think the last thing I remember hearing is that the topic of the high speed commuter rail to Duluth has been set aside due to the lack of legislative backing/public support. One could assume that if the issue was funding/financing in 2003-2005, funding is even more of an issue with the economy now.

The Northstar Commuter Rail from Downtown MPLS to Big Lake was Supposed to Start at the end of 2006. Then the Start of 2007. Then the start of 2008. Then now in 2009 sometime. We'll see..

Please shed some light and or info please, as I am curious to see whats happening with these projects.

With the help of Oberstar and Obama, there is a good chance that this may see funding on a federal level. The state gas tax should also help. It isn't imminent, but it is far from dead.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by Sugacoles

What I don't understand is why would the city build a rail that runs along traffic and stops at stop lights downtown? Why didn't they build the track up over traffic?

1. That would be ugly as sin.
2. It would be prohibitively expensive. Projects have to meet a cost-effectiveness index to get federal funding (and no project is built without federal money). An elevated train would not be cost effective.
3. Skyways. You may get a segment of one line down a certain street, but an entire system could never be built that way. If anything, it would be put underground.

[Sugacoles]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

1. That would be ugly as sin.
2. It would be prohibitively expensive. Projects have to meet a cost-effectiveness index to get federal funding (and no project is built without federal money). An elevated train would not be cost effective.
3. Skyways. You may get a segment of one line down a certain street, but an entire system could never be built that way. If anything, it would be put underground.

Underground on over traffic in certain areas would certainly make transportation a lot faster if traffic didn't run along side of regular automobile traffic and stop at stop lights. The light rail might as well be a street car like in San Francisco. I don't think the light rail was very well thought out. My other question is why doesn't the light rail and NorthStar go from east to west or north to south?

[Slig]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

Not a light rail line, and there is no track from Edina to Chaska for a commuter train.

This is the line I was referring to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwe...r_(Minneapolis)

[Sugacoles]

Originally Posted by Slig

This is the line I was referring to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwe...r_(Minneapolis)

Southwest Transitway - Home

Hennepin County

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by Sugacoles

Underground on over traffic in certain areas would certainly make transportation a lot faster if traffic didn't run along side of regular automobile traffic and stop at stop lights. The light rail might as well be a street car like in San Francisco. I don't think the light rail was very well thought out. My other question is why doesn't the light rail and NorthStar go from east to west or north to south?

The light rail was as well thought-out as it could have been. It could be better, but then the feds wouldn't pay for it and we wouldn't have it at all.
The light rail system as a whole is decades from being complete. What we have is maybe a tenth of what a comprehensive system would be. There will eventually be lines going towards Eden Prairie, Hastings, Wayzata, Osseo and White Bear Lake and probably another on Robert Street. Another dilemma is finding a right of way for future lines. They shouldn't ever be put down a freeway median. It will be hard to reach the southern suburbs on account of the National Wildlife Refuge.

[greyduk]

Why not put them on a freeway median for longer intervals? Like, crossing through the refuge for instance.

Also... I agreed with you about the elevated thing at first, but I've reconsidered. Why not have the entire downtown section, west of the dome be elevated? The streets could go back to normal, pedestrians wouldn't cause as much trouble near the terminus getting to that station, and we could connect it to the already present skyway system. You'd only have to modify one or two skyways. You could use part of that surface lot to the southeast for a major transit station. That will certainly be handy once it connects through to future lines.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by greyduk

Why not put them on a freeway median for longer intervals? Like, crossing through the refuge for instance.

Also... I agreed with you about the elevated thing at first, but I've reconsidered. Why not have the entire downtown section, west of the dome be elevated? The streets could go back to normal, pedestrians wouldn't cause as much trouble near the terminus getting to that station, and we could connect it to the already present skyway system. You'd only have to modify one or two skyways. You could use part of that surface lot to the southeast for a major transit station. That will certainly be handy once it connects through to future lines.

The freeway is the only way of getting light rail into that part of Dakota County. It also means that a line would have to make it from a city street, hightail over to the freeway, and hightail back to a city street when it gets to Burnsville. For instance, if you extended the Hawatha line it should go down Old Shakopee to Nicollet and cross the Minnesota at Nicollet so it can reach the new Heart of the City in Burnsville. Since you can't cross at Nicollet, going over to the freeway adds time and decreases the cost effectiveness of the project (but probably not prohibitively so).
Whereas the skyways in Saint Paul are public, the skyways in Mpls. are all private. "Modifying" them requires the condemnation of private property. Calculating the cost of eminent domain alongside the enormous cost of buinding a story-high platform for the trains would be a hard sell financially. It would also detract from street-level vitality--in a city where it is already a problem.