Mass transit.
Old and busted: “it’s about moving people”
New and Fresh: “It’s about smashing racism”.
The Met Council released its new plans for yet another extension to the “Blue Line”, which would push the rail line – whose usage has plummeted since Covid – all the way up to Oak Grove.
And it would appear that the motivating factor was…equity?
“As a Hennepin County Commissioner and North Minneapolis resident, I’m excited about the transformative benefits light rail projects can bring to communities,” said Irene Fernando, Hennepin County District 2 Commissioner and chair of the Regional Railroad Authority. “The new direction of the Blue Line Extension is positioned to serve among the most racially and economically diverse communities in Hennepin, while also connecting transit-reliant residents to the broader regional transit system. This will change the trajectory of what’s possible for so many of our neighbors — connecting students to education, patients to healthcare, and workers to jobs.
“To pursue this work equitably, we must also recognize that large-scale public investments can accelerate patterns of residential and economic displacement, and work together to ensure this investment benefits corridor residents, builds community wealth, and meaningfully addresses decades-long patterns of disinvestment,” Fernando said.
I’d urge commissioner Fernando to come to the Midway and breathe in all the “equity” that the Green Line has brought to my neighborhood. Come with a group.
I heard Met Council commissioner Charlie Zelle on MPR over the weekend tie the change in plans to…
…you guessed it…
…George Floyd.
Is “George Floyd” turning into a progressive branding gimmick?
(The MPR News site’s search feature being apparently nearly worthless, I can’t quite find the clip from yesterday. I’ll keep looking).
“The MPR News site’s search feature being apparently nearly worthless, I can’t quite find the clip from yesterday. “
A feature, not a bug; that is how the new MemoryWhole™ software works. Internally for the MPR Cadre it retrieves everything, for the MPR Subjects(listeners) it operates in Gaslight Mode.
reading between the lines, compare
I’m excited about the transformative benefits light rail projects can bring to communities
vs
I’m excited about the transformative benefits light rail projects
It’s going to be interesting to see how this thing is supposed to work when the state is still pushing 6′ social distancing rules.
half the seats on the choo-choo for half the price, of course! Silly MO!
“It’s going to be interesting to see how this thing is supposed to work when the state is still pushing 6′ social distancing rules.”
It hasn’t been hard with current transit- every time I see the Blue Line go by at rush hour, which used to be heavily used, I now see a completely empty train. And as businesses are starting to pull out of downtown Minneapolis, I suspect ridership will remain down.
mjb003-
There is never a reason not go light rail!
Streets are too crowded? We need a people mover!
Streets are empty? We need light rail to bring in shoppers!
MO,
Yea! Those choo choo trains can be routed so many ways that everyone will be within five blocks of a stop! Oh. Wait! That’s buses, not light rail. Never mind.
it is interesting to compare adding a light rail system vs adding buses & bus routes. Light rail is blown out on capital cost, cost per seat, and cost per passenger mile.
New LRT objective: If the people won’t come to the thugs, let’s bring the thugs to the people.
Very OT.
Food for thought: CA and IL passed laws that if you wear a mask, you cannot carry. So if masks are mandatory and you carry, it is a felony. You STILL think libturds care about what YOU think about 2nd amendment? Death by a thousand cuts.
Sorry, maybe old news to you but I just came upon this nugget and decided to share. Now back to your regular programming about the benefits of choo-choo trains.
MO- re:never a reason to not go light rail- *face palm* yes, of course. I forgot about the streets too empty argument,.
The Met Council must be disbanded! At minimum make the members run for election to the council by people in their individual counties. No political appointed hacks!
Maybe they’ll name the blue line extension the “Fentanyl Floyd Line”. Will we be able to buy tickets for the choo-choo with counterfeit $20’s?
MO’s comment about a “People Mover” reminds me of the Detroit system that was and is a complete disaster. Really, we have something of an issue where the Mini Apple is becoming a colder Detroit.
With Target vacating their digs while lease is not up until 2032, what do you think will happen? Oh wait. I can see it now – the William J. LePetomane home for the insane gambler!
I can see it now – the William J. LePetomane home for the insane gambler!
Met Council: “We’ve got to protect our phony-baloney jobs!”
Media: “Harrumphs” in agreement (almost).
Gov. William J. Walz: “I didn’t get a ‘harrumph’ from that guy.”
Well listen, those cracka’s up in Oak Grove and St. Francis NEED some diversity, and some vibrancy…reeeal hard.
That’s a great idea! Name it the George Floyd Memorial Train. That way no one will be unwarned about to expect when they ride it — and the problem will not be “over – aggressive policing.”
The George Floyd Memorial Train: The MLK Blvd of the rails.
Great-extending the mugger-mover all the way to Oak grove…
With Target apparently leaving city center, the rationale for anyone but government workers and sportsball fans seems to disappear–there really isn’t much good shopping or restaurants there anymore. Also, looking at the map, it appears that they’re routing light rail in the same corridor as a bike path currently occupies. I can see a few little problems with that arrangement!