A recent Star Tribune article by Jim Anderson had an interesting update on the Gateway Corridor fiasco. According to the article, the plan is to run "along I-94" with "a BRT route -- or possibly light rail, if funding allows."
If funding allows?!?
That's the deciding factor -- for either a bus or a train -- how much money is available?
That's not how to make decisions.
If funding allows, use golden rails and call it the gold line. The Gateway Corridor has been renamed the Gold Corridor or the Giveaway Corridor.
But then, these are the people who wanted to put light rail trains on residential streets.
Showing posts with label Lisa Weik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisa Weik. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Winning
A bus driver commented on the previous post to say that I've won.
I have great respect for bus drivers. Bus drivers are the public transit backbone of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. They are the host, cashier, security guard, information desk, and driver with full steering and braking capabilities. Next to teachers and farmers, bus drivers have the most thankless job.
About winning, I respectfully disagree.
The current concept of the Gateway Corridor is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Hudson Road with light rail as either a secondary choice or a future replacement of the BRT.
The concept is flawed and likely to change.
Hudson Road in Saint Paul is mostly residential, although less residential than previous alternatives (3rd Street East, 7th Street East, & Minnehaha Avenue). Hudson Road has families, kids, and the elderly.
Rapid transit does not belong on residential streets.
Here's a Google satellite view of houses on Hudson Road.
Interstate 94 used to be US Highway 12, a highway that climbed the eastside hills instead of cutting through them. Before it was US Highway 12, it was Hudson Road. Remnants of old Hudson Road are a dashed line. They are incomplete. How would a transit line connect the pieces? How would Hudson Road and Old Hudson Road connect? How would a transit line bridge the Johnson Parkway valley at I-94?
Buses can be steered and are expected to stop on a dime. Buses make sense for residential neighborhoods. But the concept of Bus Rapid Transit is to have the bus lanes separated from other traffic. Picture two lanes with bordering curbs on either side. It has been said that BRT hasn't been done before in Minnesota, but I disagree. The University of Minnesota campus bus runs between the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses. It runs on a road with no other traffic south of the State Fairgrounds.
If I were a bus driver, I would like the bus separated from other traffic, yeah, providing the snow plows can differentiate between short curbs and snow piles, and not chop the curbs up into the road. I would want to be able to steer around obstacles, a ball or a kid, and not be forced to hit them like a train would. How fast is Rapid on a residential road?
The Gateway Corridor Commission says the bus will travel 9.8 miles (from Oaks Business Park to Union Depot) in 17 minutes. That's an average of 35 mph. That's too fast for a residential road and too slow for rapid transit. Light rail would take 15 minutes at an average speed of 39 mph. Public transit buses (MTC) currently crisscross the eastside of Saint Paul. Buses drive 55 mph on I-94 (that's bus rapid transit). What is the purpose of the Gateway Corridor?
▼ What is the justification of spending millions of dollars on transit consultants?
▼ What is the justification of a construction project that would disrupt lives and businesses?
▼ What is the justification of half a billion dollars for a bus or a billion dollars for a train?
▼ How could they possibly imagine that rapid transit could be safe on residential streets?!?
Maybe the Gateway Corridor Commission works on commission. It's tough to understand why Lisa Weik, Kathy Lantry, and the others are doing this. Their materials mention Oaks Business Park in Oakdale, at 7755 Third Street North, Oakdale, MN 55128, which is owned by the Carlson Real Estate Company of Minnetonka. What is their connection to the Gateway Corridor? Is this the development that the Gateway Corridor will help?
The latest Gateway Corridor plans estimate 9,000 daily riders whether the vehicle is a bus or a train. The Gateway Corridor Commission says 90,000 vehicles cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge every day, but the Gateway Corridor will not cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge. The ridership is fictional. Conrad deFiebre says the bus ridership would be closer to 6,000 which sounds closer to actual ridership.
None of this makes sense. The Gateway Corridor Commission has not inspired confidence that they know what they're doing, like when their leader Lisa Weik confused light rail with 1950s streetcars.
It's like arguing on the Internet. How could anyone win?
I have great respect for bus drivers. Bus drivers are the public transit backbone of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. They are the host, cashier, security guard, information desk, and driver with full steering and braking capabilities. Next to teachers and farmers, bus drivers have the most thankless job.
About winning, I respectfully disagree.
The current concept of the Gateway Corridor is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Hudson Road with light rail as either a secondary choice or a future replacement of the BRT.
The concept is flawed and likely to change.
Hudson Road in Saint Paul is mostly residential, although less residential than previous alternatives (3rd Street East, 7th Street East, & Minnehaha Avenue). Hudson Road has families, kids, and the elderly.
Rapid transit does not belong on residential streets.
Here's a Google satellite view of houses on Hudson Road.
Interstate 94 used to be US Highway 12, a highway that climbed the eastside hills instead of cutting through them. Before it was US Highway 12, it was Hudson Road. Remnants of old Hudson Road are a dashed line. They are incomplete. How would a transit line connect the pieces? How would Hudson Road and Old Hudson Road connect? How would a transit line bridge the Johnson Parkway valley at I-94?
Buses can be steered and are expected to stop on a dime. Buses make sense for residential neighborhoods. But the concept of Bus Rapid Transit is to have the bus lanes separated from other traffic. Picture two lanes with bordering curbs on either side. It has been said that BRT hasn't been done before in Minnesota, but I disagree. The University of Minnesota campus bus runs between the Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses. It runs on a road with no other traffic south of the State Fairgrounds.
If I were a bus driver, I would like the bus separated from other traffic, yeah, providing the snow plows can differentiate between short curbs and snow piles, and not chop the curbs up into the road. I would want to be able to steer around obstacles, a ball or a kid, and not be forced to hit them like a train would. How fast is Rapid on a residential road?
The Gateway Corridor Commission says the bus will travel 9.8 miles (from Oaks Business Park to Union Depot) in 17 minutes. That's an average of 35 mph. That's too fast for a residential road and too slow for rapid transit. Light rail would take 15 minutes at an average speed of 39 mph. Public transit buses (MTC) currently crisscross the eastside of Saint Paul. Buses drive 55 mph on I-94 (that's bus rapid transit). What is the purpose of the Gateway Corridor?
▼ What is the justification of spending millions of dollars on transit consultants?
▼ What is the justification of a construction project that would disrupt lives and businesses?
▼ What is the justification of half a billion dollars for a bus or a billion dollars for a train?
▼ How could they possibly imagine that rapid transit could be safe on residential streets?!?
Maybe the Gateway Corridor Commission works on commission. It's tough to understand why Lisa Weik, Kathy Lantry, and the others are doing this. Their materials mention Oaks Business Park in Oakdale, at 7755 Third Street North, Oakdale, MN 55128, which is owned by the Carlson Real Estate Company of Minnetonka. What is their connection to the Gateway Corridor? Is this the development that the Gateway Corridor will help?
The latest Gateway Corridor plans estimate 9,000 daily riders whether the vehicle is a bus or a train. The Gateway Corridor Commission says 90,000 vehicles cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge every day, but the Gateway Corridor will not cross the I-94 St. Croix River Bridge. The ridership is fictional. Conrad deFiebre says the bus ridership would be closer to 6,000 which sounds closer to actual ridership.
Friday morning traffic on I-94
None of this makes sense. The Gateway Corridor Commission has not inspired confidence that they know what they're doing, like when their leader Lisa Weik confused light rail with 1950s streetcars.
It's like arguing on the Internet. How could anyone win?
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saint Paul's Trouble Comes From Woodbury
Common sense says that you don't put light rail trains on residential streets with children, schools, and the elderly. But what if the chair of your transportation commission doesn't know the difference between a light rail train of today and a streetcar from the 1950s?
The Washington County Commissioner representing Woodbury is Lisa Weik, who is the chair of the Gateway Corridor Commission. The Gateway Corridor is a set of transportation concepts in search of a goal that often shows light rail running on the residential streets of St. Paul. According to the April 2012 commission meeting minutes Weik stated, "This is something very real and the timing is right if the east metro comes on line now with a transit system that they haven't seen since the 1950's and the streetcars."
The streetcars of the 1950s and earlier are not the 49,000 lb. (when empty) Bombardier Flexify light rail trains used on the Hiawatha Line. Light rail trains cannot stop quickly; that's not their purpose. Accidents happen.
Nancy Remakel is running against Weik for Washington County Commissioner this November. She states that she knows the difference between a streetcar and a light rail train.
Lisa Weik is competing with the rest of the Twin Cities for light rail money, when she isn't bickering with other Washington County commissioners (video June 2011 & July 2011).
Ignoring the Amtrak train that runs through the Twin Cities (stopping midway), the Hiawatha Line is $ 715+ million (what are the downtown changes that has it closed weekends?), the Northstar (commuter) is $ 317 million (with lower than projected ridership & five MP36 diesel locomotives by MotivePower & 18 Bombardier Bilevel coaches), the Central light rail is $ 968 million (so far), the Southwest is $ 1.25 billion to start, Bottineau light rail is one billion dollars (over objections of Golden Valley), Rush light rail is $ 959 million to start, Red Rock commuter has a $ 366 million price tag, and the Gateway zigzagging light rail is $ 1.3 billion. The total of all of these non-Amtrak trains is $ 6.875 billion.
Notice that the commuter trains (Northstar, Red Rock) seem to cost a third of their light rail counterparts. Isn't it odd that the commuter option was rejected by the Gateway Commission because it's too expensive? Maybe they should look at their numbers again. Imagine, putting a train on train tracks and a railroad right-of-way instead of on a residential street!
One of the random ideas of the Gateway Corridor is to relieve congestion on Interstate 94. This is Interstate 94 just east of downtown Saint Paul on a recent Friday morning. Many places would like to have this kind of weekday congestion.
Thanks again to everyone signing the petition on the previous post.
East metro citizens do not want light rail, according to signed petitions, open house meetings, and surveys taken by state representatives. "In a recent survey of her constituents, Rep. Andrea Kieffer, a Republican from Woodbury, [said] most don’t want light rail in the area. Rep. Kathy Lohmer said her survey had similar findings." - Woodbury Patch
To the international visitors of Rip Gateway Corridor:
Здравствуйте!
Guten Tag!
Olá!
Konnichiwa!
The Washington County Commissioner representing Woodbury is Lisa Weik, who is the chair of the Gateway Corridor Commission. The Gateway Corridor is a set of transportation concepts in search of a goal that often shows light rail running on the residential streets of St. Paul. According to the April 2012 commission meeting minutes Weik stated, "This is something very real and the timing is right if the east metro comes on line now with a transit system that they haven't seen since the 1950's and the streetcars."
The streetcars of the 1950s and earlier are not the 49,000 lb. (when empty) Bombardier Flexify light rail trains used on the Hiawatha Line. Light rail trains cannot stop quickly; that's not their purpose. Accidents happen.
Nancy Remakel is running against Weik for Washington County Commissioner this November. She states that she knows the difference between a streetcar and a light rail train.
 |
Lisa Weik is competing with the rest of the Twin Cities for light rail money, when she isn't bickering with other Washington County commissioners (video June 2011 & July 2011).
Ignoring the Amtrak train that runs through the Twin Cities (stopping midway), the Hiawatha Line is $ 715+ million (what are the downtown changes that has it closed weekends?), the Northstar (commuter) is $ 317 million (with lower than projected ridership & five MP36 diesel locomotives by MotivePower & 18 Bombardier Bilevel coaches), the Central light rail is $ 968 million (so far), the Southwest is $ 1.25 billion to start, Bottineau light rail is one billion dollars (over objections of Golden Valley), Rush light rail is $ 959 million to start, Red Rock commuter has a $ 366 million price tag, and the Gateway zigzagging light rail is $ 1.3 billion. The total of all of these non-Amtrak trains is $ 6.875 billion.
Notice that the commuter trains (Northstar, Red Rock) seem to cost a third of their light rail counterparts. Isn't it odd that the commuter option was rejected by the Gateway Commission because it's too expensive? Maybe they should look at their numbers again. Imagine, putting a train on train tracks and a railroad right-of-way instead of on a residential street!
One of the random ideas of the Gateway Corridor is to relieve congestion on Interstate 94. This is Interstate 94 just east of downtown Saint Paul on a recent Friday morning. Many places would like to have this kind of weekday congestion.
Thanks again to everyone signing the petition on the previous post.
East metro citizens do not want light rail, according to signed petitions, open house meetings, and surveys taken by state representatives. "In a recent survey of her constituents, Rep. Andrea Kieffer, a Republican from Woodbury, [said] most don’t want light rail in the area. Rep. Kathy Lohmer said her survey had similar findings." - Woodbury Patch
To the international visitors of Rip Gateway Corridor:
Здравствуйте!
Guten Tag!
Olá!
Konnichiwa!
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