What's a trolley on University Avenue?

At the June 13, 2007 meeting of the Central Corridor Management Committee (CCMC), Mayor Rybak appeared to suggest that the one-size fits all approach may fail to satisfy both the need to serve all the residents and businesses along University Avenue and the desire for fast service for the 5 major access points along the route. In his State of the City address, the Mayor recommended replacing frequent and heavily used bus service on Lake Street with streetcars. Why is Rybak "white-hot on-fire" to put an expensive light-rail line in St. Paul when he's advocating streetcars costing half as much for Minneapolis? University Avenue looks a lot more like Lake Street than Highway 55.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• light-rail
• lrt
• trolley
• streetcar
• minneapolis
• st.
• paul
• minnesota
• Rybak

[centralcorridor]

me too. Unfortunately, the Mayor only raised the question for future consideration. There was no further discussion. Not only was the issue, although raised, not addressed at the last Central Corridor Management Committee meeting, I suspect that the issue has been largely ignored at virtually every other meeting.

[rayofminneapolis]

As it becomes more practical to restore our Trolly lines, the political control struggle seems in WHO will implement the service. Do you think this is a local vs national interest thing? Can we not have a mix of city trains and larger lrt? University? Thats Gopher Stadium to the capital... I know where the Minneapolis station would be, but St. Paul... hmmm. [Opens Google Earth]

[rayofminneapolis]

Electric Trains will be as good, and better for us now, as they were 50 years ago. Whereas they've unearthed Trolly lines all year, from Central Ave to Lake Street, University Avenue was probably built on that infrastructure as well.

[eluko79]

Marshall Ave, Grand Ave, Rice St, and Payne Ave would be perfect for a trolley, but University Avenue would do better with the LRT. Its where it should have been built in the first place.

[wabbitoid]

This is especially cynical when you look at reality. University Ave (16&50) handles about 25k riders per day, but Selby/Marshall/Lake (21) handles about 20k. They are not much different. If trolleys are good for Lake, the ARE good for University.

Keep in mind that the "Central Corridor" as they have defined it runs (about) from Randolph to Front, and about 100k people per day ride buses east-west in that corridor. Only a quarter of them are on University.

[rayofminneapolis]

hmm, i wish this video was longer...