‘Miscellany’ Archives
Transit Streetcars, Light Rail
BY JOHN CHARLES WILSON There is no directly Phillips-related transit news this month, so I”'d like to take this opportunity to write about streetcars. As you may know, the Riverview Corridor Advisory Committee is proposing a modern streetcar line down West 7th Street connecting the Green Line in downtown Saint Paul with the Blue Line at Fort Snelling. Modern streetcars are nothing like the old-fashioned streetcars that plied the Twin Cities until 1954. Essentially a modern streetcar is like a one-car light rail train. However, streetcars, both modern and ancient, have two major flaws that caused their abolition and should ring warning bells in the minds of those who advocate their return: 1) They run in the street, in the same lanes used for automobiles. 2) They can”'t be rerouted in an emergency; say, during a parade or when the street is being fixed. And what”'s the joke about Minnesota having two seasons? Winter and road construction. At least rail beats buses [...]
The Roof Depot Site: Thursday, Nov. 30th Mtg. at EPCCC 6:30 PM
What do we want? A Change for the Better or More of the Same? Come to a Community Meeting to express your thoughts and help us seek a positive and healthy future! Thursday, November 30th at 6:30 PM at the East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center. By Carol Pass, “Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.” (The first Core Principle of Community Engagement, endorsed by the Minneapolis City Council in 2007) Four years ago, the East Phillips Community began again trying to rid ourselves of the major pollution in the industrial sites on the South side of E. 28th St. East of Cedar Ave. This led to a look across the street at the 7-acre Roof Depot site. We created a research team, engaged a developer and began inquiries and negotiations with the owners to purchase it. The vision was, and still is, to create an Indoor Urban Farm with a bicycle repair facility, a [...]
