September 27, 2021 Downtown, Lowertown, Dayton’s Bluff 20.1 miles The route map of my September 27, 2021 ride. The map is zoomable. A sunny late September day with the temperature in the mid-70s is a day to ride. And so I was winding my way east on Kellogg Boulevard Downtown toward Dayton’s Bluff. At the […]
Contributor Ian Gaida offers musings on how to make the Northstar a more useful – and utilized – system.
Taking a closer look at passenger rail routes that have mostly gone unstudied by MNDOT.
From the beginning, the key to coexistence of rail and river traffic has been a half dozen movable swing and lift bridges. Unlike Duluth’s and Stillwater’s lift bridges, many Twin Cities lift and swing bridges operate in underappreciated obscurity. Let’s take a bicycle tour!
By Sam Ding In December 2012, after two years of renovation, the brand-new Union Depot in Downtown Saint Paul revealed itself. Situated in the Lowertown neighborhood, this train station has transformed into a multimodal transportation hub while serving the people of Saint Paul as a public space. It was a heavy investment— from both the […]
The Blue Line Extension hit a major roadblock when BNSF Railway refused to allow part of the light rail route on their right-of-way. This means delays and a higher cost to the project, but it’s also been an opportunity to reroute the light rail through North Minneapolis. What hasn’t been talked about however, is the […]
A look at the future of Minnesota’s intercity rail beyond Duluth and Chicago
Back in the late 1990s, MnDOT analyzed several existing freight rail corridors in the Twin Cities region for the possibility of implementing commuter rail service. Three routes were chosen for their cost effectiveness and best potential ridership: the Northstar Line to St. Cloud, the Red Rock Corridor to Hastings, and the Dan Patch Corridor to […]
September 23, 2019 23 miles Summit-University, Frogtown (Thomas-Dale), Downtown, Railroad Island (Payne-Phalen), North End, Midway, Lexington-Hamline, Macalester-Groveland, Highland Park Downtown Minnesota’s stunningly beautiful and recently renovated Capitol building obviously is the center piece of the Capitol Complex. However, the Transportation Building, Senate and State Office Buildings, the Judicial Center, and some 10 other structures (and […]
Now that Joe Biden is president-elect, he must ask Congress to include a rail infrastructure package in any upcoming coronavirus relief bill. For the sake of the economy—and the climate—any economic relief bill must fund rail infrastructure investments at a massive scale. The United States has underinvested in passenger rail for decades, leaving our country […]