Fantasy maps

[DanPatchToget]

For the 2035 map the only thing I'd like added is the Orange Line extended to Burnsville Center. In reality I would hope within the next 5 years that'll happen, whether it's a quick hop on 35W, or (my preference) goes down Nicollet Avenue with a few stops in between.

[DanPatchToget]

Rapid transit and regional rail system in the Twin Cities: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

Regular bus services in the Twin Cities coinciding with the rapid transit and regional rail routes: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

Rail capacity in the Twin Cities with regional rail system: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

These are still a work in progress, especially the regular bus services part, but they're close enough to being done that I decided to share them for any questions and feedback.

I also have a longer-distance regional rail and intercity rail system map in the works, but that's still early in development.

[angrysuburbanite]

For the rapid transit map:
- The M6 segment to Wayzata and M9 through Northeast Minneapolis are almost verbatim what I have in my in-progress fantasy map, but as one combined line, I think realistically something like this should be the next light rail project to be proposed (outside of Midtown Greenway rail)
- M3 should terminate at SW Station, Chanhassen does not have very much transit demand in my opinion
- I don't quite understand what M5 is.
- Love the inclusion of a Lake Minnetonka ferry
- By the time M2, M6, and M9 are completed there will probably be demand for a continuation of M3 up 494

For the local route map:
- High Frequency routes are pretty much how they should be already...
- Extension of 539 to SW Station should have happened years ago, but should extend up Valley View and Dell road similar to the old 690A branch, and end in Excelsior (via 101 -> 7 -> Water Street). This would connect along Water Street with a reinvigorated route 667 (run as limited stop/all day service rather than express), which would retain the same routing except for its terminus in Excelsior rather than CR 62 in Minnetonka.
- Hopkins & Edina need more service, but I don't really know what... this region is the hardest to plan transit in, isn't it?

Otherwise, great maps, makes what I was working on look like child's play haha!

[Tom H.]

I have read that the St Anthony bridge (35W) was designed to be "LRT-ready", and your map obviously takes advantage of that, but I've always wondered what that actually means. Like one lane in each direction could handle the weight of LRT vehicles and rails?

[Korh]

Rapid transit and regional rail system in the Twin Cities: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

Regular bus services in the Twin Cities coinciding with the rapid transit and regional rail routes: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

Rail capacity in the Twin Cities with regional rail system: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit? ... sp=sharing

These are still a work in progress, especially the regular bus services part, but they're close enough to being done that I decided to share them for any questions and feedback.

I also have a longer-distance regional rail and intercity rail system map in the works, but that's still early in development.

Seeing the ferry from excelsior to wayzata make me wonder what happened to the old steamboat that used to make excursions on the lake. Last I heard it was dry docked because it lost access to the dock, but got some kind of grant awhile ago to help restore it/get it running again.

[angrysuburbanite]

I think the public launch they used to use got removed or their contract to use it expired. I think they had plans to construct a new one.

[MNdible]

I have read that the St Anthony bridge (35W) was designed to be "LRT-ready", and your map obviously takes advantage of that, but I've always wondered what that actually means. Like one lane in each direction could handle the weight of LRT vehicles and rails?

I think that's correct -- the dynamic loads of an LRT vehicle are much greater than even the heaviest of rubber tired vehicles, and it's not just "gravity weight" that's a problem, it's the potential racking that the moving vehicles can cause. The structural upgrades that they had to make to the Washington Avenue bridge give you some sense of this.

[mattaudio]

I have read that the St Anthony bridge (35W) was designed to be "LRT-ready", and your map obviously takes advantage of that, but I've always wondered what that actually means. Like one lane in each direction could handle the weight of LRT vehicles and rails?

I always figured this was just a token given to transit advocates to keep a high-criticality project moving forward without opposition, when the Federal government was footing the bill and money was no object.

I can imagine LRT crossing the river to Northeast/Southeast someday, but I can't imagine the 35W bridge is the place to do it given all the alternatives.

[twincitizen]

Minneapolis (led by RT Rybak, who had a pretty strong bully pulpit at the moment) demanded the bridge be 'LRT ready', in part because the final route of the Green Line had not been set. By that time in fall 2007, I'm guessing Washington Ave SE had been chosen as the preferred route, but there were still people pushing for it to hop into the RR corridor through Dinkytown and then cross the river into downtown on the new 35W bridge, before joining the existing Blue Line tracks. The Pawlenty admin pushed back, saying it could lead to delays and cost increases, but I believe they relented and the bridge was ultimately built to FTA spec for carrying LRT.

My own fantasy LRT route addition would use the Blue Line trackage from MOA up to 35W, then hop in the middle of 35W over the bridge with stops at Uni/4th (full city block freeway cap opportunity), Hennepin/Johnson (another cap opportunity), Quarry, and eventually Rosedale. The extension to Dinkytown would only be ~1 mile of new trackage! ~3 miles gets you to the Quarry. I'm normally not fond of LRT running in the center of freeways, but I would make an exception for this line as many of the stations would be integrated into large caps over the freeway.

[DanPatchToget]

Currently working on the regular bus route part of my fantasy maps and I'm stumped on the description for each bus route. Should it be very detailed by listing literally every street each bus route uses, or simplified with only listing key destinations on each route?

[Silophant]

Probably just key destinations, or routes like the 11 (Central-40th Ave-University-37th Ave-2 1/2 St-35th Ave-Main St-St. Anthony Parkway-Columbia-31st Ave... and that's just the half-hourly northernmost portion) will get pretty unwieldy.