‘Transit’ Archives
You Can Gamble, Your Kids Can Have Fun
METRO TRANSIT By John Charles Wilson Are you any of the following: A transit dependent parent who wishes to be able to take his/her kids to Valleyfair? A teenager who”™d like to go to Valleyfair by his/herself without being driven there by a parent? An adult who”™d like to check out the races at Canterbury Park without a car? Or an adult who”™d like to go to Mystic Lake without a car and without being beholden to the casino bus schedule? If so, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) has a solution for you! Route 410, also known as the “4FUN” bus, is a new weekend express bus from the Mall of America to Valleyfair, Canterbury Park, and Mystic Lake. Buses leave the Mall of America every hour from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and again from 6:23 to 10:23 PM (though skipping the Valleyfair stop in the evenings). Return buses from Mystic Lake run 9:44 AM to 5:44 PM and again from 7:01 to 11:01 PM (though the last one to pick up at [...]
Transit Waves of the Future
METRO TRANSIT by JOHN CHARLES WILSON With the COVID emergency drawing to a close, and all the new transit coming to the Twin Cities in the near future, I decided it”™s time to write about exciting new concepts in transit that may benefit you someday. Bus Rapid Transit is making headway (pun intended for you transit insiders*) in South Minneapolis and the southern suburbs. The Orange Line is almost ready to start rolling down I-35W, the D Line is coming to Chicago Avenue next year, and the B Line is supposed to come to Lake Street in 2024, and may even have a dedicated bus lane. Another exciting new development for outer suburbs and small towns is called “microtransit”. Microtransit is a modernized version of dial-a-ride service; however, instead of having to call a day in advance, you now only need to use a smartphone app to order your custom ride, often only minutes before you need it. This will make the concept appealing to more people. In [...]
Re-Doing Lake Street
LETTER TO THE EDITOR By Shirley Heyer Metropolitan Transit continues its projects for improving bus service with a Lake Street Line B (Lake/Marshall/Selby/downtown St. Paul) fast bus. Work start is planned for this fall. Because longer wait times, increased walking distances, redesign of all traffic lanes are major changes, Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, Inc. (MPNAI) questions if the changes are equitable, necessary, beneficial, accessible, and include the Chicago Transit Station. Line B will make stops every 10 minutesLocal buses every 30 minutes, + 10 minutes leeway if late or earlyTraffic lane design varies from block to block; cross streets and less on-street parking can cause confusion, congestion MPNAI welcomes nearby neighborhoods, residents, workers, businesses, and organizations to 3 virtual engagements. Dates to come. Contacts: MPNAI shirleyconsults@gmail.comd_nestea@yahoo.comCody.Olson@metrotransit.org (He can send you a 15+ page PDF [...]
