Tag Archives: baseball

Target Field light rail station will be crowded

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image CC licensed by flickr user dgwallick1

image CC licensed by flickr user dgwallick1

Way back in July I toured Target Field as part of a Sensible Land Use Coalition event.  Overall I was very impressed with the future home of the Twins (how can you not play baseball outdoors?), especially the entrance from First Avenue and the open concourse design.

One thing I heard made me do a spit-take though.  Our tour guide said that when surveyed, 40% of fans said they would like (or plan to, I can’t remember his exact phrasing) take the train to the game.  Four-Oh percent.  Our tour guide was kinda the project manager for the County, so I assume he knows what he is talking about.

Target Field holds 40,000.  If there is a sell out, that means 16,000 people say they would ride the train.  Knowing there is a difference between what people say they will do, and what they actually do, let’s assume only 30% actually ride the train (maybe a few stay late after the game to enjoy downtown).  That means 12,000 people will stream out of target field onto 5th Street after the ninth inning.  Each three-car train can hold 360 people.  That means 34 3-car trains would be needed to move all those transit-hungry baseball fans out of downtown.  If there is a 5 minute headway between trains that is 2 hours and 50 minutes.  If they somehow increase that to 2 minutes between trains it is an hour and 8 minutes.

The consultant that did the transportation demand management plan had a nifty simulation showing people streaming out of the stadium, and she said it could be done, but I still don’t understand how you can overcome the math.  Either people will soon realize that the train is too crowded (or, more accurately, the wait is too long) and move to other modes, or Met Transit has some tricks up its sleeve to quickly move all those people.

New Twins Stadium promises to get me to actually go to a Twins game.

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Looking west from the skyway

Farewell Dome, hooray outdoor baseball!  We just have to wait until April, 2010.  I have been to exactly two Twins games since moving to the Twin Cities in 2003.  I’m not a huge sports fan, but if I had to choose one to watch, it would  be baseball.  There is something special about an open-air stadium on a warm night with peanuts, beer and cheering fans.  The Metrodome just doesn’t cut it, especially since your seat often doesn’t even face the field.

I knew the stadium was in progress, but I was walking in the skyway last week and spotted the progress.  Last time I saw it, they only had some beams across the freeway.  Seeing the pedestrian plaza in person makes me think this is a really great piece of the design.  People will be funneled out right into the heart of downtown.

I still have a major issue with the eight-foot high wall keeping people from crossing Fifth street.  This is a short-sighted move that will limit the transit capacity at this station.  It will also prevent any development across Fifth street from the stadium from being integrated with the stadium development.  I’ll be interested to see how they handle the masses of people flooding onto Fifth after the game.