‘Transit’ Archives
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 [...]
Keep Taking the Virus Seriously, Seriously!
METRO TRANSIT By John Charles Wilson I caught COVID-19 last month and was out of commission for about two weeks. Even though vaccines are being rolled out and an end is in sight, please keep being careful! If you think masks and social distancing are government plots to take away your freedom, you are right! They are taking away your freedom to get so sick you wish you were dead. Trust me, you don”™t want this. That said, Metro Transit has liberalized the capacity limits on buses and trains. Regular buses now allow 20 people to ride; articulated “double” buses allow 30, light rail cars allow 33, and Northstar cars allow 70 (though I doubt overcrowding is a problem on Northstar; 90 percent of its ridership has abandoned ship, at least for now). Masks are still required on buses and trains, and while you are waiting for them. In other, more positive, news, construction on the D Line has begun. As I”™ve mentioned in this column before, the D [...]
