Southwest LRT Community Input Open Houses Coming Up!

(Population density in relation to routing options for the SW LRT (Credit: Net Density))

Yes, back to transit.

A series of open houses and community input sessions are being held on August 11, 13, 18, and 19 in Minneapolis, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie.

The Minneapolis meeting will be at the Central Library on the 13th.

These meetings are the last chance for public input prior to the routing recommendation which will be issued at the end of the month. PLEASE attend and push for one of the 3C routes! Get out there and make your voice heard; you city needs you.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the line will also be released at these meetings. I expect the new, more accurate numbers to show 3C as a clear victor over 3A.

Meeting Info.

For anyone still not convinced of the merits of the 3C routing, check out this wonderful post on Brendon Slotterback's Net Density blog.

A Mixed Bag: NIMBYism falls flat in St. Paul, Biden Makes a Promise, Southwest LRT Opposition, and more!

First off, the St. Pauls City Council voted on Wednesday to approve the final design for the Central Corridor, including the maintenance site in the Diamond Products building! w00t! Failure for NIMBYs! Success for urbanism!

Last week Vice-President Joe Biden spoke in St. Cloud in front of a crowd of about 400 people. He promised that he would secure federal funding for the Northstar extention to St. Cloud. Though he didn't give specifics, this is probably indicative of the new administration's dedication to seeing mass transit get properly funded.

Bidding is out for the platform extensions on the Hiawatha LRT, as well as 17 new cars and the new station in Bloomington, so look for this in the future!

Apparently, the Whitter Alliance has passed a resolution in opposition of ALL the newly-proposed 3C sub-alternatives for the Southwest LRT. No vote was passed in opposition or support of either the 3C or 3A routes, presumably because neither had a clear majority. I personally think that a blaisdell route as per the below map is by far superior to any other routes (I created the map below out of a 3C sub-alternative that I created). CARAG, on the other hand, has passed a resolution in favor of the 3C route. On the below map, the route I propose is shown in blue, while the 3C sub-alternative is shown in red. Note: The furthest station west (Lynlake), while appearing red, is in the same location for both routes.


View Larger Map


Today's image is of a car for the Northstar line that was spotted sitting outside Bombradier's Thunder Bay plant. (from Canadian Public Transportation Forums )

Thanks for reading!