The Green Line (St. Paul, Ramsey, Lake City: movers, maintenance, to live)

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

The next line should connect the MOA & MSP airport with DT St Paul/Green Line, not the Eastern burbs. My .02

The green line is connected to MSP/MOA...just not a direct route.

[Mdcastle]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

- Absolutely not. What out of town visitors go to the Capital or DT St Paul?

- Why would you take a train for 40-65 minutes when you could take the express bus with no stops in 24-28 minutes?

I would, whether here or in a city I'm visiting. I have no idea how to use a bus, but rail lines are easy to pay for and understand, and are more classy.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

I would, whether here or in a city I'm visiting. I have no idea how to use a bus, but rail lines are easy to pay for and understand, and are more classy.

I would, too. And a train going down a commercial corridor gives you more opportunities to see the city than does an express bus on a freeway. And I definitely agree that it's easier to figure out a train system than the bus -- there are fewer stops and they are very well marked.

Not to mention that there are also destinations of interest to tourists along the Green Line.

For what it's worth, even as a local I am now going to be exploring St. Paul now; the Green Line is inspiring me to cross over 280 and head over to St. Paul to explore the different station areas and check out new (to me) businesses and restaurants. Could I have done that with the bus? Sure (and I have, some) -- but the train just seems more pleasant, not to mention that having the stations makes it easier to think about different destinations in a more "packaged" way, for lack of better word. In other words, while I may not have spent much time thinking about some of the station areas in the past, now I perceive the area around the station as having a distinct, unique identity. Not that it didn't exist before -- but it wasn't necessarily as obvious to those of us not already familiar with the neighborhoods in question.

[Tom Dempsey's Left Foot]

Originally Posted by Mason3000

- Absolutely not. What out of town visitors go to the Capital or DT St Paul?

Unfortunately, there aren't fantastic statistics for either of those two. However, I think it would be wrong to assume that either of them are not tourist-friendly, especially for people who live in Minnesota. For the Capitol, coming from someone who actually worked there a few years ago, I've seen and met quite a few out-of-towners that come in to take a tour of the place (even during the last weekend of session, when everyone working there is pretty much dead from exhaustion), and according to their Facebook page, they can get up to 1,000 students (JUST students) per day during Statehood Week.

As for Downtown...again, stats aren't that thorough, unfortunately, but considering the tourism/hospitality industry makes around 1.75 billion dollars in Ramsey County, and Downtown STP would be the tourism hub of Ramsey County, AND that all that money isn't being spent by the people currently living there...they apparently get some out-of-towners to show up.

[rzzz]

I would guess out of towners make up most of the people who go to the science museum and children's museum. Locals everywhere are notorious for not visiting their own museums.

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by golfgal

White House gives Gateway Corridor permitting fast-track status - TwinCities.com

Looks like the SW Corridor burned it's own bridge and the eastern suburbs are getting rapid transit...but not until 2022.

I hope we get the same type of bus Apple Valley got on Cedar.

Light rail? lol
no thanks.

[StanleyVegas]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

For what it's worth, even as a local I am now going to be exploring St. Paul now; the Green Line is inspiring me to cross over 280 and head over to St. Paul to explore the different station areas and check out new (to me) businesses and restaurants. Could I have done that with the bus? Sure (and I have, some) -- but the train just seems more pleasant, not to mention that having the stations makes it easier to think about different destinations in a more "packaged" way, for lack of better word. In other words, while I may not have spent much time thinking about some of the station areas in the past, now I perceive the area around the station as having a distinct, unique identity. Not that it didn't exist before -- but it wasn't necessarily as obvious to those of us not already familiar with the neighborhoods in question.

Welcome! It's not a wasteland. There's lots to see, even in the dreaded (by some) Frogtown. Check out Ngon Bistro by the Victoria Station. Cool little patio in back. The owner is a vintage motorcycle and bike buff and has meet ups some sunday afternoons. Next door folks are trying to rehab the old Victoria Theater into a performance space.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by golfgal

White House gives Gateway Corridor permitting fast-track status - TwinCities.com

Looks like the SW Corridor burned it's own bridge and the eastern suburbs are getting rapid transit...but not until 2022.

Um...where are you getting the idea that Southwest burned its own bridge? It's still the next project in line. The Gateway line has effectively jumped queue of the Bottineau line, but that's not the same as the Southwest project.

Originally Posted by iNviNciBL3

I hope we get the same type of bus Apple Valley got on Cedar.

Light rail? lol
no thanks.

Why would you want a copy of the Red Line for Gateway?

Sure, it's better than normal buses thanks to some slight upgrades and fancier stations. But the system clearly isn't working as it should just yet...ridership is poor, so clearly people aren't all that interested (again, at least yet).



Not that I'm against true BRT for the Gateway corridor. I think it might be a smart option (economics-wise) depending on ridership numbers. But given the option of what I'd prefer to be riding in? A train car. Every. Single. Time.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by golfgal

The green line is connected to MSP/MOA...just not a direct route.

You know what I meant, lol.

Many visitors & business professionals use the Hiawatha Line to get to their DT Mpls hotels & many DT Mpls visitors will use the Hiawatha line to visit the MOA while they're here.

Realistically, no out of town visitors to DT STP are going to take the Hiawatha line to DT Mpls, then transfer to the Green line to DT STP. That's a 1.5 hour trip under the best case scenario, with a transfer involved. Also, realistically even the greatest advocates in STP aren't going to take the Green line to DT Mpls, then transfer to the Hiawatha line in order to get to MSP Airport or the MOA when MSP is 10 minutes from DT STP by car & the MOA is 15 minutes.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

I would, whether here or in a city I'm visiting. I have no idea how to use a bus, but rail lines are easy to pay for and understand, and are more classy.

I'm not debating whether or not tourists prefer a train to a bus. What I'm saying is tourists to the Twin Cities aren't drawn to visit the state Capital or DT STP with any frequency. I've visited half the states in the union and have never once gone to see their state capital.