Green Line Extension - Southwest LRT

[Anondson]

The appeal of connecting the 394 blobs of jobs is why 394 was built with the HOV lanes instead of any kind of rail. The communities along it elected for HOV at the time. Maybe some year in the distant future we'd get a rail line along the 394/55 corridors?

[acs]

MinnPost article making the case for SWLRT on a job distribution basis:

https://www.minnpost.com/community-voic ... nd-metro-j

It's ironic that many, maybe even most, of those jobs for reverse commuters are in industrial sites targeted for redevelopment into mixed use residential. So if everything goes according to plan all those poorer minorities we need to help will end up with a shiny new affordable housing complex in the SW suburbs, but their job is now in Rogers.

[Tiller]

Make that Big Lake instead of Rogers, and Northstar will have a purpose!

[RailBaronYarr]

The appeal of connecting the 394 blobs of jobs is why 394 was built with the HOV lanes instead of any kind of rail. The communities along it elected for HOV at the time. Maybe some year in the distant future we'd get a rail line along the 394/55 corridors?

I mean, they've got both planned in the highway bus transit corridor study + Hwy 55 supplement. Rail is great and I know there have been some amateur proposals using old corridors to get out west. But man, both of those highway BRT projects would cost ~$100m ($2013) total to build. A couple local routes running up/down Winnetka/Louisiana (Rt 604-ish), Hopkins Crossroad/Zachary Ln (615-ish), and maybe Douglas/Xenia/???to Beltline (the last one is a shit-show with no non-highway RR crossings from Ewing all the way to Louisiana. ugh.) would do a nice job feeding people to/from these trunk E-W highway routes AND SWLRT stations. To say nothing of jobs along those streets outside the major bus/LRT station areas themselves.

And, a point on Bottineau... While the map shows vacancies, it's a pretty good proxy for total jobs. I'm not so sure the green area is as representative of population density since it represents unemployment clusters, but that's still important. In any case, Bottineau manages to miss both employment and unemployed people for almost its entire length, which is a bummer. And the lack of serious talk of an improved transit service to the greater Southdale job center (aside from the Orange Line just skirting the eastern edge) is pretty frustrating.

[DanPatchToget]

Center of the American Experiment opposes Southwest LRT based on myths they believe are facts, but surprisingly they support the Orange Line-http://www.startribune.com/editorial-co ... 390242991/

[Anondson]

They support Orange Line as policy to undermine SWLRT, not because they are for any variety of busing, IMO.

I can't recall them ever showing up to a transportation policy discussion in order to promote busing because of busing, ever. They seem to show up to shout out "But BUSES!" when there is a policy debate over rail.

Then when rail is out of the picture, they turn on busing and want it privatized so that it doesn't suck up government subsidies.

It's like Lucy with the football. I might be cynical though.

[David Greene]

No, you are spot on. Seen it on display many times at the legislature.

[mattaudio]

It's quite telling that they say "buses are a cheap investment when you decide they don't work and you shut down the service."

[BikesOnFilm]

Especially when the only metric for success is whether or not it turns a profit.

[Archiapolis]

So, is there just too much doom and gloom around SWLRT right now to even discuss? I'm a little surprised that this thread has been so quiet...

[DanPatchToget]

Should we expect to hear an announcement soon from the Met Council on whether the funding gap can be filled or not?

[David Greene]

I'm eagerly awaiting the next CAC meeting. They've canceled the past couple. I would be utterly shocked if they can't find a solution. The politics is another question. Republicans are going to make SWLRT this year's Senate Office Building. The legislature rejected it and if Met Council goes ahead and funds it (as I expect they will), the DFL will get hammered for it. I don't think that will affect them that much in the suburbs. I'm less sure about the exurbs and Greater MN.

I really hope the DFL learned from its last such disaster. They refused to fund transportation when they controlled all three branches, thinking that if they did so they'd get hammered for tax increases. They got hammered anyway and lost the House and the opportunity to pass meaningful legislation. In my mind there is absolutely nothing to be gained from *not* doing things and lots to lose.

[BikesOnFilm]

So the best course would be to publicly stay quiet until after the election, and then announce their funding plan once they have a few years of breathing room. With all the "Disband the Met Council/Elect the Met Council" rabble, they've got as much to lose as the DFL.

[Anondson]

Can SWLRT wait until the election? I thought there was a deadline came coming in September.

[RailBaronYarr]

Yeah my reading of the politics is basically:
1) SWLRT needs funding committed before the election
2) GOP refuses to let Hennepin County pay for it (or, a metro sales tax in lieu of state dollars)
3) Met Council has authority to bond for it and levy the metro, they do so
4) GOP hammers unelected bureaucrats for doing what elected officials could have done with elected state legislators' permission

[Archiapolis]

5)GOP gets to tie unelected bureaucrats levying taxes to Democratic appointments thereby hanging a "taxes" albatross around the neck of the Democrats (anyway)

Yay politics!

[David Greene]

The GOP is going to hammer the DFL either way. Either because they funded SWLRT or because "they killed the bonding and tax bills" by pushing for SWLRT.

It literally does not matter politically what the Met Council does. I just hope people in power understand that.

[Qhaberl]

I was thinking about this the other day. As cycling becomes more popular, I hope that each one of the Southwest light rail station this is equipped with adequate bike storage. That people who live in the suburbs can bike to the light rail, leave their bike in the secured location, and return for it after work. I'm not just talking about bike racks. I think there needs to be indoor storage and bike lockers at each of the stations. Anyone have any information?


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[SkyScraperKid]

I was thinking about this the other day. As cycling becomes more popular, I hope that each one of the Southwest light rail station this is equipped with adequate bike storage. That people who live in the suburbs can bike to the light rail, leave their bike in the secured location, and return for it after work. I'm not just talking about bike racks. I think there needs to be indoor storage and bike lockers at each of the stations. Anyone have any information?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

yea, they are already building a new bike park and ride on the blue line, which should be a good test to see it's usefulness.

[jebr]

I also think the DFL needs to get ahead of the game and be willing to call out the GOP if they were being unreasonable. When the controversy first came out, the GOP was stating that they wouldn't give it up or set it aside to get the rest of the work done. The DFL doesn't seem to have countered with any strong response that they tried to find ways to make it acceptable to the DFL but they wouldn't take anything but a "no way, no how" for an answer.