Life without a car in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, Apple Valley: car rental, rental)

[Hatless Wonder]

How is life without a car in the Twin Cities? Neither Hubby nor I drive, and we get along fine in Boston, but Boston has widespread public transit. How is public transit in the Twin Cities? How late does it run? How is the light rail? How extensive are the bike trails? How safe are they?

[Ben Around]

Hatless--Public transit in the Twin Cities is OK, but many cities that are smaller have much better systems. Light rail is good, but it only operates one line. Bus service in the cities has been cut back over the past several years. There are a few lines that operate 24 hours a day. But many other lines right in the middle of the city only operate 5 days a week and only once an hour. You just have to choose the right neighborhood to live in and hope Metro Transit doesn't decide to cut your service.

The bike trails are excellent. From our city neigborhood we can connect to a vast network of trails that go all over St Paul and Minneapolis. Many suburbanites haul their bikes into the city on their SUVs so they can ride on our beautiful city trails. They are very safe, I haven't heard of anyone assaulted on a bike trail in the TC.

[yellowsnow]

I think it's doable but our public transportation isn't as good as a lot of other cities. And remember, it's darn cold waiting on a bus here! The bike trails/paths are great but it's too cold to use them part of the year. You will be inconvenienced not driving here.

[Slig]

yeah, the only viable way I see surviving without a car in the winter is if you lived downtown and worked downtown. Then you'd be able to get pretty much anywhere you'd need to go through the skyline system. It wouldn't be that bad during the warm months though.

[Ben Around]

Lots of people ride the bus on a daily basis in the winter, including myself. If you are in normal health and physical condition, it's not a problem. Move into the city near a good transit line and you won't need a car.

[Minnehahapolitan]

It's not even a matter of living on a bus line. Some are pretty infrequent. You will not only have to live in an urban city, but a more urban part of the urban city. I don't think you can pull off not having a car if you live too far south of Lake Street. If you live Uptown, Downtown or Northeast is is doable. Met. Tran. has high frequency lines (Metro Transit - Hi-Frequency Network) which are more reliable and frequent. There should also be hour-car rental areas around the city for when they are absolutely nec. I wouldn't recommend it, but it is certainly done.

[golfgal]

There are express buses from many of the suburbs that might make it possible to live in MN without a car too. Apple Valley has many, many townhomes withing walking distance of their transit station and they are also convenient to the shopping areas for groceries, Target, the movie theater, etc. You could live in Apple Valley and not own a car if you don't mind walking. There is also a city bus system in AV if you need transportation to other areas that you can't walk to or if the weather is bad.

[Minnehahapolitan]

/\ That is REALLY far fetched. I would rather walk 20 miles in the Sahara than 42 and Cedar. At least I won't get hit in the former. Imagine having to walk a mile from your house and take the Cedar Express bus 65 minutes each way after so you can have the "priviledge" to walk to Target. No thanks. Apple Valley is real nice, for those who drive a car. Thats nothing against AV, but it is certainly no Boston.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

/\ That is REALLY far fetched. I would rather walk 20 miles in the Sahara than 42 and Cedar. At least I won't get hit in the former. Imagine having to walk a mile from your house and take the Cedar Express bus 65 minutes each way after so you can have the "priviledge" to walk to Target. No thanks. Apple Valley is real nice, for those who drive a car. Thats nothing against AV, but it is certainly no Boston.

Like I said, there are townhomes within EASY walking distance of most of the shopping in AV--like 2 blocks away. There are sidewalks all along Cedar and 42 as well. How is it any different then walking 6 blocks in Minneapolis to get to a grocery store where you pay 2 times as much as you would at Cub because they don't have the buying power Cub has. There are tradeoffs. Heck, you can live in Rosemount and do the same thing but the walk to the bus would be longer.

[Minnehahapolitan]

First off, I lived in Lakeville for a dozen years. I have some vague conception of what i'm talking about. Alot of places have a sidewalk, you still have to cross the street. Crossing 42 is not something anyone would rationally do on a daily basis. Not because it is impossible, but quite uncomfortable. This person is from Boston and wants a comparable area. They are not moving from bumblestick Iowa. Secondly, Mpls. has a Rainbow in Uptown, 3 Cub Foods, Lund's, and a plethora of Supervalu's ON TOP of Whole Foods, Corner Markets, and Co-Ops. AV does not have a monopoly on that. It is not impossible or undone, but not what a Bostonian is thinking of when they say they want a walkable area where they don't need a car.