‘Transit’ Archives
Transit: The cacophony of the 6
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON In 1999, Jennifer Lopez released an album titled “On the 6.” Of course, she meant the New York subway line, not the Minneapolis bus line, but I digress: rather than being musical, the cacophony of letters on the southbound 6 are a pain in the neck. There are two versions of the 6 northbound: 6 and 6U. 6 goes downtown and 6U goes through downtown to the University of Minnesota. However, going southbound, we have eight letters to contend with. My friends at https://streets.mn think this is “Ludacris,” and I agree. I propose a Great Simplification: ”¢ 6A ”“ To 36th and Hennepin. Only runs twice a day, and is intended as a “helper” bus to relieve overcrowding in the Uptown area at the height of rush hour. This bus can be kept as is. ”¢ 6B ”“ Southdale via Wooddale. Hardly anyone gets on or off on the Wooddale branch except at rush hour. Move Wooddale buses to France Ave. off-peak and running an [...]
Transit Transit: Accessibility – a personal perspective
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON There really isn”™t any transit news to speak of in the Phillips neighbourhood this month, so I am going to write on a more personal, but transit-related, topic. If Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory rode the bus, he could be me. Since the age of 17, I have been considered by society to be mentally ill. Since my fanaticism about public transit is a part of my mental state, for years I lived in the irony of having a disability that, rather than impairing my ability to use transit on an equal basis with the general public, gave me an advantage over the average user because I know all the arcane details about how the system worked. Unfortunately, for the last few years, I have had back pain which has limited my ability to stand or walk for long periods of time without sitting down. My tolerable standing/walking time has gradually shrunk to where travel by bus is now a serious pain (pun intended). Whereas I used to think in terms of [...]
Transit: Wish the 53 ran all day?
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON Route 53 is one of the nicest bus routes in the Phillips neighborhood. While the 27 and 39 also deserve honorable mention, they are barely known by most people.However, almost everyone loves the 53.What”'s not to love? It runs down Lake Street like the 21, but only stops at intersections with other bus routes, rather than at every stop. In Phillips, the stops are: Hiawatha, Cedar, Bloomington, Chicago, 4th Avenue South, and I-35W. Unfortunately, the 53 runs only at rush hour, eastbound in the morning and westbound in the afternoon. There was a time about 10 years ago, when it ran more often and in both directions in both the morning and afternoon. Do you ever wish Route 53 ran all day? Are you tired of being stuck on a slow 21 for most of your forays onto Lake Street? Well, there”'s good news. In a few years, Route 53 will be replaced by the B Line, a Bus Rapid Transit line similar to the A Line on Snelling Avenue in Saint Paul. The B Line will [...]
