The next proposed leg of Twin Cities light rail service is the Central Corridor, between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. For the fans of light rail, this is the obvious next step. But there’s a hang up over the cost and disagreement over the most effective way to address traffic congestion on that route. High speed bus is the alternative option.
I suppose it may be tougher to justify the utility of the light rail line as a standalone project, but as part of a grander plan to expand public transit in the metro area, I see it as a good thing. To me, as someone who lives in Minneapolis and doesn’t really go to St. Paul except to go to the Ordway or the Xcel Energy Center for a show or a concert or a game, the idea of parking and riding to St. Paul is appealing. Especially because I invariably get lost in downtown St. Paul. (Although, that would be me prior to Fly Girl, who lives in St. Paul.)
That Central Corridor website details the pros pretty well, but I haven’t seen much on the cons. Based on the success (or not, depending on how you look at it) of the Hiawatha line, I’d say the Central Corridor line’s chief problems would be ridership and traffic flow where the train crosses major north/south roads. Really, I wonder who exactly they expect to use this line. Because Minneapolitans going to selected St. Paul nightlife spots aren’t gonna keep the line up and running.
And the argument doesn’t necessarily need to be that the train is great, but that the bus doesn’t suck. I think the higher upfront cost is worth it, but I don’t know where it’ll come from. The only thing I like about Governor Pawlenty is that he pushed hard for the Hiawatha Line, so I’m curious to see how this pans out.
