Tag Archives: transit

Guest Post: First Impressions Of The 46th Street “Online” Transit Station

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This is a guest post by a Minneapolis resident and planner who has recently begun using the new 46th Street “online” transit station to commute to and from work.  The opinions expressed here are solely his or her own, and do not reflect those of his or her employer.


Freeway-level boarding area

Monday morning I tried out the new I-35W and 46th Street Station, on opening day of the bus stop in the median of the freeway beneath the 46th Street bridge. The station was constructed at the same time as the major Crosstown Commons project, and is expected to serve future bus rapid transit (BRT) routes on 35W and Highway 77. For now, it’s the only one of its kind in the Twin Cities transit system. Passengers walk down stairs or take an elevator in one of two towers from the bridge deck down to freeway level, where buses traveling on the freeway’s new high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes can quickly pull over without completely exiting the freeway.

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Minnesota’s First “Online” Bus Station Opens In Minneapolis

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This week, Metro Transit opened a new bus station at 46th Street and 35W in Minneapolis.  The design of the station, including boarding at freeway-level, is a first of its kind for Minnesota.  Local buses drop off passengers on 46th street, who then take an elevator or stairs down to the freeway level for boarding.

The idea is to increase the speed of buses: they no longer have to pick up passengers on freeway on- and off-ramps, but instead use special lanes in the center of 35W to enter the station area.  The station is part of a larger plan to improve Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between southern suburbs and Minneapolis.

However, one or two local routes in Minneapolis may have actually had their travel time increased during certain times of day since passengers now need to transfer at 35-W rather than local streets.  I’m getting most of this information anecdotally, but the Metro Transit overview of the changes seems to indicate the same (see Route 146).

Later this week, I hope to post a first-hand account of the using the new station from a regular bus rider in south Minneapolis.

How far will public transit take you in 15 minutes?

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Mapnificent answers this question by drawing travel-sheds for trip lengths you select.  They dynamic slider to change trip travel time is really cool.  You can also change the settings to include biking to/from stations (rather than walking) and you can compute the intersection between two or more travel sheds.

I’d love to see them add bike and car travel sheds to this map.  Presumably the data could be pulled from Google in the same way as transit information.  Pairing this information with NAICS data could provide a really powerful accessibility map.

One drawback (at least for the Twin Cities), they don’t appear to have any data for opt-out transit services (Southwest, MVTA, etc).

The Rest Of The Story On Robot Cars

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The City Fix scooped me on using the Johnny Cab image, but tribute must be paid to such a forward-looking film.

The internet seemed to resound with almost unmitigated delight when Google announced their progress on driverless cars last week.  German scientists see a “golden future” for their driverless vehicles.  There are, however, some key implications that are being missed about what it means if our cars are driven by robots.  I’ll preface the rest of this post by saying that I think the benefits of robot cars probably outweigh the drawbacks.  However, robot cars are not a panacea, and we shouldn’t overlook unintended consequences.

David Levinson at The Transportationist does an excellent job summarizing why robot cars matter, but in my opinion doesn’t go far enough explaining the potential downsides.  Here are some of my thoughts on why we should adopt robot cars carefully, even with their myriad advantages.   Continue reading →

Minneapolis seeks funding for analysis of streetcar “starter” lines

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The City of Minneapolis is applying for TIGER II grant funding from the US DOT for an alternatives analysis for Central Avenue and Nicollet Avenue, two routes the city prefers for a new streetcar system.  How they can prefer streetcar as the mode without an alternatives analysis is puzzling to me since the previously completed streetcar study did not consider any other transit modes.  The Metropolitan Council also recommends arterial BRT, not streetcar, for the Nicollet and Central Avenue corridors in the 2030 Transportation Policy Plan.  As explained by a guest here at Net Density before, arterial BRT can offer significant travel time savings and increased ridership at a much lower cost than either LRT or streetcar.

According to the FTA, an alternatives analysis is supposed to answer some key questions: What are the problems in a corridor? What are their underlying causes? What are viable options for addressing these problems? What are their costs? What are their benefits?  If all of these questions are fairly explored and answered and streetcar turns out to be the best option, so be it.

Anna Flintoft, a transportation planner with the City of Minneapolis who is quoted in the Minnesota Daily article linked to above, told me in an email that the city does plan to evaluate multiple modes, including streetcar and “enhanced bus”.  This is a good sign, but the City Council seems to have already made up their mind about the mode without having seen any alternatives.

Bill to allow value-capture to pay for transit (with a streetcar bias)

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From the Transportationist, TC Daily Planet reports that a bill before the legislature introduced by Rep. Frank Hornstein would allow cities to capture property tax value (like TIF) from locations within one half mile of a transit line to pay for improvements (stations, streetscaping, etc).  However, the bill only allows captured revenue to be used for operating costs if the transit is a streetcar.

Why the authors would limit expenditures on operating costs to streetcars is beyond me.  Why not include all fixed-route transit?  Even if there is a rail bias, why not include LRT?  Are there fears about losing tax base along Central Corridor?

Minneapolis picks streetcars over busway improvements: spending more for less?

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The South Lake Union Streetcar Line in Seattle

Minneapolis is taking one more step toward putting street cars in major transit corridors in the city.  Friday the City Council voted to adopt the 30-year vision for these rail transit corridors. It also appears that the city is considering a “starter” corridor, and determining whether they should enter into the “federal project development process”.

Even though these corridors could certainly use transit improvements, and streetcars may in fact be appropriate for some of these corridors, more analysis of alternatives is called for before a streetcar is chosen as the best mode, especially along the transit-heavy corridors of Hennepin and Nicollet (which seem to be the favorites for selection as the “starter” corridor).

The long-term vision for these corridors is based on a 2007 Streetcar feasibility study, which seems to take as a given that streetcars are the preferred mode for bolstering transit in the corridors.  The study contains no alternatives analysis, but instead contains a few pages answering the question, “Why Streetcars?”  Many of the report’s conclusions about the advantages of streetcars (assumed over buses, and in the case of cost, over LRT) could also likely be said about enhanced bus service.  But the report never explores this, since it is dedicated to streetcars.

Potential "starter" corridors for Streetcars

Different vehicles, better signage (or some signage at all), real time arrival information, and higher amenity stations could all be said to achieve the benefits presented in the study, whether using a streetcar system or an enhanced bus system.  In a guest post by a Metro Transit planner here on Net Density, two examples of arterial Bus Rapid Transit, a form of enhanced bus service were highlighted.  These examples, from Kansas and LA, showed that ridership can be improved dramatically (60 and 40 percent, respectively), with a much smaller expenditure than streetcar or LRT would require.

Travel time savings of over 20% was also realized in both Kansas and LA.  A new streetcar system on Hennepin or Nicollet will likely have little or no travel time savings over existing bus service.  The study admits as much saying that buses are more flexible, being able to maneuver around parked or stalled vehicles, and that the only travel time savings with streetcars would be advance boarding, something that could easily be implemented with bus service.

One characteristic that we can compare is cost.  Minneapolis staff prepared a Funding Study, to explore potential options for funding a new streetcar system and looking at potential “starter” corridors.  According to this study, a Nicollet line would have a capital cost of $75 million, while a Hennepin line (only extending to the Walker Art Center) would cost $70 million.  A similar (but longer) line along Nicollet using enhanced bus service may be closer to $30 million.  Neither of these new streetcar lines would extend much beyond downtown initially, likely provide little or no travel time advantage over existing bus service and would likely cost double what a longer, faster enhanced bus service would cost.  The full Streetcar study also identifies a significant issue at Franklin Avenue for the Hennepin Avenue line, a grade over 6%.  Once the line was extended into Uptown, would the intersection need to be totally rebuilt?  This would likely bring costs even higher.

While it is clear that Minneapolis needs improved transit service, alternatives need to be studied.  Can we build a better, faster, more legible bus system for half the cost of a new streetcar network?  And one that will dramatically increase ridership and improve the experience for those who already ride?  If so, then this is the better option.  Building what basically seems like a downtown circulator, which moves people barely further than the distance of a comfortable walk, does not seem like the best investment of city or federal tax dollars.

NYC DOT Commissioner in Minneapolis March 30th

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New York City is becoming well known for it’s emphasis on improving pedestrian and bicycle mobility and accessibility, as well as innovative transit projects.  Just search Streetsblog.org for any transportation-related term, and you’ll find a wealth of projects and forward-looking thinking.

On March 30th, the Twin Cities will get some access to a decision-maker behind some of those improvements.  NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan will be giving a presentation at Open Book at 3:30 pm on March 30th.  From the TLC website:

For Elected Officials, Transportation Professionals, and ULI Members:

Please accept our invitation to a presentation by New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

NYC is increasing mobility and reinventing urban streetscape at express speed. Once car-clogged Times and Harold Squares are now interactive plazas. Innovative cycling designs traverse all boroughs and the goal is to double bicycle commuting by 2015. Bus shelters, bicycle parking, traffic calming, Summer Streets, new parking policies, bicycle wayfinding, bus rapid transit, Safe Streets for Seniors, the landmark Street Design Manual…NYC is on fire to improve the quality of life through sustainable streets.

Come to engage with Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and your local colleagues.

Co-sponsored by Transit for Livable Communities and the Urban Land Institute

Registration is required for the event.

NYC gets first separated busway, why not Southwest Minneapolis?

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Image: NYCDOT

Streetsblog seems pretty excited about the proposed new busway on 34th Street in New York City.  Rightly so as it is the city’s first separated busway, and would cut travel times across the city by 35%, according to the Transport Politic.  It’s not bus rapid transit (BRT), since it is still slow according to Freemark, but it does bring a number of welcome improvements.  Bus travel lanes are separated from normal traffic, pedestrians should be safer thanks to refuges and wider sidewalks, and the middle of the route includes a block-long pedestrian plaza.

I written here before and even entertained a guest who talked about what it would take to improve transit in the crowded Hennepin/Nicollet transit corridors of Minneapolis.  The key improvement of the NYC proposal, mode separation, would be a major boost to travel time, rider experience and a market signal on par with LRT or a streetcar.  So could it work?

Hennepin Ave with a crude busway model

There seems to be enough right of way.  Including parking, there are 6 lanes along most of Hennepin between Franklin and Lake Street.  This looks to be similar to the situation in New York City.  The key difference is that in NYC, the street is a one way.  Two lanes of traffic travel in the same direction, with a third lane mid block for parking and deliveries.  So if you kept Hennepin two-way, that would mean one lane of travel in each direction, with three lanes at the intersections (I suppose for turn lanes).  Much of the on-street parking would be lost, but some would be retained mid-block, perhaps one third of what currently exists.

So could Hennepin survive with a single travel lane in each direction?  The traffic engineers would have to weigh in on that.  If you highlighted Hennepin as a transit corridor, you could potentially reduce car trips and move cars to alternate routes.  This highlights a weakness of Minneapolis.  New York City is still a highly connected grid.  In Minneapolis, many of the connections to downtown and beyond have been severed by the I-94 corridor, so any attempt to reduce the access by car on one of the few remaining connections is bound to be met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

But that’s not to say it wouldn’t be possible.  Perhaps Lyndale becomes the main north-south car route through the area, and Hennepin is reconfigured to focus on transit and bicycles.  Car space would just be reduced, not eliminated, and the busway would only really need to go to Lake Street.  Drivers would soon adapt, and maybe even ride the bus a little bit more.

Could new FTA “livability” funding rules change Southwest LRT route?

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The two alignment choices in Minneapolis

The big news this week is that the planned Central Corridor LRT line will get three new stations between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and the reason seems to be the new FTA rules which relax the sole focus on cost-effectiveness from travel time savings to include broader goals of “livability“.  With the three new stations, the project would not have met a “medium” rating for cost-effectiveness, and therefore would not likely not have been funded by the FTA under the old rules.

What implication might this have for the planned Southwest LRT line and its contested route?  It’s hard to say, but it certainly seems like the alternative routes should be re-assessed under the new formula before telling the feds that 3A is the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).  More below the break.

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