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Archive | Railroads

The Stagnant Investment in Amtrak, by Station Count

By on May 8, 2017 in Infrastructure, Railroads

Amtrak, the country’s intercity passenger rail company, has had its funding stuck in the doldrums ever since it was founded in 1971. There have been sporadic bursts of money to the government-sponsored company, mostly to invest in new locomotives and train cars and the occasional upgrade to the tracks on particular routes. However, there hasn’t […]

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The Resurgence of Trains

By on April 21, 2017 in Infrastructure, Land use, Railroads

This post originally appeared on theplanninglady.com. I recently read an from the Planning Magazine titled “Rail Relationships” which I found interesting because it acknowledged the necessity for cities to build adjacent to long standing rail infrastructure as they run out of available land but also addressed the economic need to preserve their operations. The most interesting facts […]

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Potential Paths for Passenger Rail in North Dakota

By on December 12, 2016 in Infrastructure, Railroads

My last few posts have looked at the rail networks in Minnesota and Wisconsin to look for opportunities for adding passenger service where little or none exists today. I also examined the system in Norway, a country with a similar population to Minnesota and Wisconsin, yet with a much more functional and robust intercity public […]

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Many Prospects for Passenger Rail in Wisconsin

By on November 4, 2016 in Infrastructure, Maps, Railroads, Transportation

  In my most recent two posts I looked first at the opportunities I see for passenger rail in Minnesota, followed by an entry examining Norway’s passenger rail network to make some comparisons. There are similarities between the two such as the fact that Minnesota and Norway have about the same population and have been growing […]

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Can We Save the Electric Steel Elevator Site in Prospect Park?

By on September 26, 2016 in History, Railroads

The current historic preservation issue in Minneapolis right now is not a campaign to save a building because its gingerbread ornamentation is too precious to lose. The slightly rusty and unornamented round steel sides of the Electric Steel Elevator complex in Prospect Park, part of a large complex of tall concrete cylindrical grain silos, may […]

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Just Ryde’n Around

By on August 30, 2016 in Bicycling, Bridges, Housing, Infrastructure, Neighborhoods, Photos, Railroads, Streets, Trains, Urban Design

  August 14, 2015 Macalester-Groveland, Merriam Park, Lexington-Hamline, Como Park 16.2 Miles   Cleveland Avenue, because of its proximity to my house, is the north-south street on which I ride most often. Despite that, I am still surprised by a sight or two on or near Cleveland. On Selby Avenue, three houses east of Cleveland, […]

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A potential rail map connecting cities over 5,000

A Broader Look At Passenger Rail Opportunities in Minnesota

By on August 23, 2016 in Infrastructure, Railroads, Trains, Transportation

I’ve spent a lot of time on mapping projects over the past several years, focusing in particular on rail lines through Minnesota and nearby regions. Since the state and national rail networks peaked in the 1920s, and have been shrinking ever since, a lot of that mapping has been a bit depressing. There have been […]

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Route 54 Ridership and Why We Cannot Skip the Route to the Airport

By on January 30, 2016 in Accessibility, Advocacy, Railroads, Transit, Transportation

Recently, posts about the Riverview Corridor have been generating a LOT of comments on streets.mn. One of these posts suggested that, in order to ensure the old Ford factory in Highland Park develops in a way that would not be thoroughly suburban, that the Riverview Corridor should be rerouted through Highland Park on the old […]

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Hidden, but Not Really

By on January 22, 2016 in Architecture, Bicycling, History, Neighborhoods, Photos, Railroads, Urban Design

June 26, 2015 19.96 miles (but I’m saying 20 miles) Macalester-Groveland, Summit-University, St. Anthony Park, Hamline-Midway When you mention Summit Avenue, most people think of the eastern part of the Avenue, home to the mansions built for industrialists like the Hills, Weyerhaeusers, and Ordways. Summit became the place favored to live by Saint Paul’s most […]

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