MinnPost guide to the Minnesota Legislature’s 2023 ‘done’ and ‘undone’ lists
For just the eighth time in 40 years, a budget session did not require a special session to finish its work. There were many policy changes, too.
Light Rail
South Minneapolis residents air concerns about Metro Transit safety at listening session
Several residents shared their experiences and concerns at the Chicago Lake Transit Station, the Lake Street/Midtown Station and on the trains themselves. They recounted witnessing large groups of people doing drugs openly, unhoused people congregating at the stations and violence, like a shooting on a downtown light rail station.
Minnesota lawmakers ‘speechless’ after scathing legislative audit report on Southwest light rail transit
The report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found the Metropolitan Council committed itself to spending money it did not have, added or changed substantial work after the project was bid, and was not fully transparent.
After years of stagnation along the Blue Line, new housing booms in Longfellow
At the corner of 46th Street and Minnehaha Avenue, a landscape that was once gas stations, parking lots, and windowless warehouses resembles a real city.
What’s new – and not new – in Southwest light rail auditor report
Rather than follow the normal pattern of findings and recommendations, the review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor was instead an explanation of a lot that was already known about how the project’s budget and timeline expanded.
Met Council chief vows to improve safety on Twin Cities buses, light rail
Meanwhile, at the Legislature, bills by Republicans and DFLers are also seeking to respond to the reality and perception that Metro Transit trains and buses aren’t safe.
Are GOP lawmakers at the Legislature ‘focusing on roads and bridges’ or waging a ‘war on transit’?
Minnesota House and Senate Republicans aren’t buying what the Met Council is selling regarding bus rapid transit, leading some DFLers to accuse the party of having an anti-transit bias.
Turns out, killing off CTIB kinda screwed over the city of Minneapolis
The city of Minneapolis will collect between $1.6 million and $1.8 million less each year in lodging taxes as a result of the dissolution of the regional transit board know as the Counties Transit Improvement Board.
Streetcar desire: transit options for Riverview Corridor may not include light rail — but they do include rail
Four of the six options to be studied for the route between downtown St. Paul and the MSP airport would use what are called modern streetcars: shorter electrified trains that run amid existing vehicle traffic.
The Republican war on trains is drastically misplaced
A good mass transit system’s dividends: less pollution, fewer traffic jams, fewer single-occupant cars, more development around rail, lower maintenance costs (as compared to roads), and more construction jobs.
Blue Line’s public art project still hanging in there, surviving the cold
Called “Small Kindnesses, Weather Permitting,” the short recordings are a 2004 light-rail-station project by Janet Zweig.
Want to get more cars off the road? Improve bicycling infrastructure around transit hubs
If the Twin Cities wants to get more cars off the road, it needs to focus on making the two-mile “catchment” zones around transit hubs as bike-friendly as possible.
Does the future of the Riverview Corridor include light rail?
A decade and a half after falling victim to neighborhood objections and recession-era budget cuts — the Riverview Corridor has been resurrected as a possible option for the expansion of light rail.
Nine ways of looking at Southwest LRT
Even as the city moves toward approval of SWLRT, both supporters and opponents used a public meeting to say why officials should side with their point of view. Here’s what they said.
Forgivable loans helped Central Corridor businesses during LRT work, but some still suffer
Forgivable loans were a safety net for many businesses that suffered during construction of the soon-to-open Central Corridor line.
Obama proposes $302 billion investment in infrastructure in St. Paul speech
The Union Depot in St. Paul — a project that received considerable federal funding — was the backdrop for the president’s push for more transportation spending.
Ovation greets St. Louis Park mayor’s stand against freight-rail move
St. Louis Park residents and officials cite noise, classroom disruption and safety concerns in heated meeting with a Met Council panel.
Streetcars belong safely tucked into our most cherished memories
Our nostalgia should not get in the ways of the facts around cost, usability, safety and climate.
Identity crisis: Names of places in Twin Cities lack creativity
We’re adding blandness all the time: What’s the LRT “Blue Line” tell you about where you’re going?
Disabilities activist Rick Cardenas championed downtown St. Paul LRT access with skyway elevator
City officials and advocates for disabled people say Cardenas kept on the pressure for the elevator, which they consider crucial to access.
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