Well, the apocalypse happened Saturday night. And it only took less than six weeks of baseball for that to happen.
Northstar commuter train-riding Twins fans who attended Saturday's 12-inning marathon of bad pitching vs. the Milwaukee Brewers were faced with this situation as the 11th inning approached:
Either they had to:
a) Stay to the end of the game and be stranded in Downtown Minneapolis, or:
b) Run like hell to catch the train (it's just outside Gate 6) and make the 7:00 PM departure, missing the last two innings of the ball game.
Metro Transit's dogged insistence on one operating crew (only) on weekend days is not making friends of Twins baseball fans. The unbelieveable short-sightedness of Metro Transit underestimating the popularity of Northstar for Twins baseball games is yet another reason the schedule for Northstar needs to be expanded.
Now.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
New Schedule for Northstar, Route 889 Blues
Northstar commuter trains are on a new, more 'Twins-friendly' schedule, as the baseball season plods on, and the trains arrive Target Field standing-room-only, for nearly every game they run for. The ridership figures for days when there are Twins home games, as opposed to days when they do not run are way, way up. Now if they would only do something to encourage more off-peak, non-game-day ridership?
They have, in part. No longer are some (not all) Northstar riders stranded all day weekdays downtown, as the No. 889 'Northstar replacement' bus has changed its' schedule to a much more useful 1:05PM departure from Downtown Minneapolis, as the public had spoken -- LOUDLY -- about operating a mid-day trip to Coon Rapids (Riverdale) and Anoka stations.
Now, could we get this same 889 bus to continue to Elk River and Big Lake, in order to serve ALL Northstar patrons? (Fridley station is already also served by Metro Transit bus route No. 852). As long as the bus is deadheading back anyhow (another mistake,) you might as well make it available for all potential Northstar patrons to use.
If you make the train service at least palatable to use one direction, you would draw more passengers to the afternoon trains outbound from Downtown (and the 5 PM 'turnback' inbound) if you had another way to get there at times outside of the rush hours.
But what do we consumers, who use the service (and want to use it more) know?
They have, in part. No longer are some (not all) Northstar riders stranded all day weekdays downtown, as the No. 889 'Northstar replacement' bus has changed its' schedule to a much more useful 1:05PM departure from Downtown Minneapolis, as the public had spoken -- LOUDLY -- about operating a mid-day trip to Coon Rapids (Riverdale) and Anoka stations.
Now, could we get this same 889 bus to continue to Elk River and Big Lake, in order to serve ALL Northstar patrons? (Fridley station is already also served by Metro Transit bus route No. 852). As long as the bus is deadheading back anyhow (another mistake,) you might as well make it available for all potential Northstar patrons to use.
If you make the train service at least palatable to use one direction, you would draw more passengers to the afternoon trains outbound from Downtown (and the 5 PM 'turnback' inbound) if you had another way to get there at times outside of the rush hours.
But what do we consumers, who use the service (and want to use it more) know?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Target Field opens, Northstar trains arrive SRO
Needless to say, the Twins baseball plan worked TOO well.
Trains packed with baseball fans pushed ridership on Northstar commuter trains up over 75% last week, according to Metro Transit, the service's operator. In fact, the first baseball special train on Opening Day was so popular, the train was discharge only after the stop at Coon Rapids - Riverdale, meaning the over 100 passengers at the Fridley station were left to ride dedicated buses fron Fridley station to Target Field. This also caused the normal last train outbound on Monday to leave with an estimated 1,000 riders, as the baseball special train operated behind the normal 6:15 PM departure.
Special trains will operate for 53 of the 81 Twins games this season; other weekend games will be covered by Northstar's regular service, the schedule of which has been tweaked to serve home games at Target Field. The new schedule is available now online only; the printed schedules will not appear until early May.
The new schedule will also have a major change to the bus route #889 schedule, the 'Northstar replacement' bus which operates to Coon Rapids-Riverdale and Anoka stations. The new schedule will fill the 'mid-day gap' for those patrons who work only half-days, and beginning May 15th, will leave Downtown Minneapolis at 1:10 PM, as opposed to the current 7:10 PM.
Now, if they'd only run that bus to Elk River and Big Lake...
Trains packed with baseball fans pushed ridership on Northstar commuter trains up over 75% last week, according to Metro Transit, the service's operator. In fact, the first baseball special train on Opening Day was so popular, the train was discharge only after the stop at Coon Rapids - Riverdale, meaning the over 100 passengers at the Fridley station were left to ride dedicated buses fron Fridley station to Target Field. This also caused the normal last train outbound on Monday to leave with an estimated 1,000 riders, as the baseball special train operated behind the normal 6:15 PM departure.
Special trains will operate for 53 of the 81 Twins games this season; other weekend games will be covered by Northstar's regular service, the schedule of which has been tweaked to serve home games at Target Field. The new schedule is available now online only; the printed schedules will not appear until early May.
The new schedule will also have a major change to the bus route #889 schedule, the 'Northstar replacement' bus which operates to Coon Rapids-Riverdale and Anoka stations. The new schedule will fill the 'mid-day gap' for those patrons who work only half-days, and beginning May 15th, will leave Downtown Minneapolis at 1:10 PM, as opposed to the current 7:10 PM.
Now, if they'd only run that bus to Elk River and Big Lake...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Think you'd try transit to a Twins' game?
Good luck to you if you do.
The lack of transit access to Target Field, the Twins' new, half-billion-dollar bet on Downtown Minneapolis, is going to be a major factor in the gridlock that will result, as the spring approaches and baseball season starts. In fact, the lack of transit for about 1/3rd of the Twins' schedule will eventually affect the Twins, as well as other Target Field events.
The lack of any extra transit operating for afternoon day games on weekdays (you'd only need a bus, one-way, from Northstar stations, as an example) will hamper fans from accessing what should be the region's newest jewel in the region's core -- Downtown Minneapolis -- and the fact that most of the connections (except light-rail) are primarily a shanks'-mare connection at best -- and that the area immediately to the south of the stadium, is one of the primary areas for the homeless -- will make it that much more doubtful that fans will attend, once the newness of the stadium wears off.
It is the hope of this blogger that Twins fans will indeed leave their cars at home and try transit into the stadium area. That is the Twins' hope as well. Is it the hope of Metro Transit that fans will leave their cars at home and use transit? Or will it be like everything else they are forced to provide service for? The 'well, we'll do it, but only because we have to, not because we WANT to' attitude?
We'll have to wait and see.
The lack of transit access to Target Field, the Twins' new, half-billion-dollar bet on Downtown Minneapolis, is going to be a major factor in the gridlock that will result, as the spring approaches and baseball season starts. In fact, the lack of transit for about 1/3rd of the Twins' schedule will eventually affect the Twins, as well as other Target Field events.
The lack of any extra transit operating for afternoon day games on weekdays (you'd only need a bus, one-way, from Northstar stations, as an example) will hamper fans from accessing what should be the region's newest jewel in the region's core -- Downtown Minneapolis -- and the fact that most of the connections (except light-rail) are primarily a shanks'-mare connection at best -- and that the area immediately to the south of the stadium, is one of the primary areas for the homeless -- will make it that much more doubtful that fans will attend, once the newness of the stadium wears off.
It is the hope of this blogger that Twins fans will indeed leave their cars at home and try transit into the stadium area. That is the Twins' hope as well. Is it the hope of Metro Transit that fans will leave their cars at home and use transit? Or will it be like everything else they are forced to provide service for? The 'well, we'll do it, but only because we have to, not because we WANT to' attitude?
We'll have to wait and see.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Northstar Twins' schedule announced
Metro Transit, operator of the Northstar commuter trains, have announced their schedule for extra trains for the Minnesota Twins' inaugural season at Target Field.
The schedule will include extra trains for:
Opening series vs. Boston (April 12, 14, 15)
All weekend (Saturday/Sunday) games
All weeknight games in June, July and August
In total, 53 of the Twins' 81 games will have extra Northstar service.
--WRT
The schedule will include extra trains for:
Opening series vs. Boston (April 12, 14, 15)
All weekend (Saturday/Sunday) games
All weeknight games in June, July and August
In total, 53 of the Twins' 81 games will have extra Northstar service.
--WRT
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Ever wonder why...?
OK, now I'm perplexed.
Ever wonder why our Government does things sometimes the way they do? Well, here's one for you in that department...
Recently, during a 3-inch snowfall, I came up alongside a MnDOT snowplow working on US Highway 10 in suburban Coon Rapids. This was mid-afternoon, prior to the afternoon rush hour, so I was surprised when I came up to the plow, that although it was dropping the usual car-eating mixture of sand and salt, the blades were in the UP position, and not clearing the roadway of the quickly accumulating snow which was falling.
I thought that when snow accumulates on the roadway, that the resulting accumulation would be enough to warrant snow removal to begin, not just sand/salt distribution. Any car that tried to change lanes in that particular stretch would have been a great candidate for winding up in either the ditch, nose first, or into one of those oh-so-close wire barriers which the State installed last summer.
In either case, when the plows come out, shouldn't the blades be down when snow is present?
One would think so.
Ever wonder why our Government does things sometimes the way they do? Well, here's one for you in that department...
Recently, during a 3-inch snowfall, I came up alongside a MnDOT snowplow working on US Highway 10 in suburban Coon Rapids. This was mid-afternoon, prior to the afternoon rush hour, so I was surprised when I came up to the plow, that although it was dropping the usual car-eating mixture of sand and salt, the blades were in the UP position, and not clearing the roadway of the quickly accumulating snow which was falling.
I thought that when snow accumulates on the roadway, that the resulting accumulation would be enough to warrant snow removal to begin, not just sand/salt distribution. Any car that tried to change lanes in that particular stretch would have been a great candidate for winding up in either the ditch, nose first, or into one of those oh-so-close wire barriers which the State installed last summer.
In either case, when the plows come out, shouldn't the blades be down when snow is present?
One would think so.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Cities vs Suburbs for Transit Funds
Well, Minnesota has indeed joined the 'big leagues' of transportation. There's infighting amogst the populace on who's transit ox is being gored.
On one hand, we have the outer suburbs, many of whom split off from the rest of the Twin Cities Metro area in order to start up their own transit services, which would more closely adhere to the needs of their own communities, as opposed to the 'one size fits all' Metro Transit, which is operated by the Metropolitan Council.
On the other hand, there are the core cities and inner-ring, older suburbs, who have the needs and the lack of resources of most large-city transit systems, despite the 2006 constitutional amendment dedicated the sales tax from the purchase of automobiles to the transit funding pool.
The outer suburbs, mushrooming with growth, want to expand their services, but say the needs of the core cities are stunting their growth. The inner cities are saying that any decrease in their funding will mean service cuts for people who, for whatever reason, are more transit-dependent than their suburban neighbors.
'Making do' has been a mantra for Minnesota transit for about 40 years. When the Met Council took over the old Twin City Lines in the early 1970's, most of the bus fleet dated from 1954, when they discontinued streetcar service. It took the better part of 10 years to upgrade the fleet with buses (not all of which were air-conditioned) which actually had parts available. The bus fleet now inclues transit versions of motor coaches for longer-haul routes, as the suburban operators do. To screw all of this up over a 'he said, they said' arguement would be transit suicide. The future of transit is in alternative modes (read: rail) not the local, all-stops on every corner bus route.
It is hoped that some semblance of order could be made out of this chaos; look at cities which finally got it (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth) and who have flourishing transit systems. They understood that cooperation is the key. They cooperated. And everyone benefits because of it.
Get it?
On one hand, we have the outer suburbs, many of whom split off from the rest of the Twin Cities Metro area in order to start up their own transit services, which would more closely adhere to the needs of their own communities, as opposed to the 'one size fits all' Metro Transit, which is operated by the Metropolitan Council.
On the other hand, there are the core cities and inner-ring, older suburbs, who have the needs and the lack of resources of most large-city transit systems, despite the 2006 constitutional amendment dedicated the sales tax from the purchase of automobiles to the transit funding pool.
The outer suburbs, mushrooming with growth, want to expand their services, but say the needs of the core cities are stunting their growth. The inner cities are saying that any decrease in their funding will mean service cuts for people who, for whatever reason, are more transit-dependent than their suburban neighbors.
'Making do' has been a mantra for Minnesota transit for about 40 years. When the Met Council took over the old Twin City Lines in the early 1970's, most of the bus fleet dated from 1954, when they discontinued streetcar service. It took the better part of 10 years to upgrade the fleet with buses (not all of which were air-conditioned) which actually had parts available. The bus fleet now inclues transit versions of motor coaches for longer-haul routes, as the suburban operators do. To screw all of this up over a 'he said, they said' arguement would be transit suicide. The future of transit is in alternative modes (read: rail) not the local, all-stops on every corner bus route.
It is hoped that some semblance of order could be made out of this chaos; look at cities which finally got it (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth) and who have flourishing transit systems. They understood that cooperation is the key. They cooperated. And everyone benefits because of it.
Get it?
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