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I would be happy to post anyone's comments regarding either the status of the transportation action plan or in response to my own comments. Dialogue that can enlighten anyone's view including my own is welcome. E-mail me here and I will post your message (only message and name will be included in posting)

Mr. VanHeel,
It is interesting to read about your thoughts on future transportation options that the City of Minneapolis is studying. I found your linking to documents and overview very informative.

I’ve been disappointed that the Southwest Transitway’s Nicollet alignment has evoked an attitude from the community (neighbors and Midtown Greenway Coalition) that it’d prevent a Midtown Streetcar. While I agree that it wouldn’t be good for the City to have the SW corridor come through Nicollet and then ignore the section to the east – I’d argue that both the streetcar and the LRT could be done in combination.

Streetcars can run on LRT track and with proper engineering, a T-shaped intersection (tunnel) at the Greenway and Nicollet could deal with the issue of turning. This option could provide the areas between 35W and the west side of Lake Calhoun with extremely accessible and frequent transit service.

As for funding for this alignment, perhaps the City could agree to cover part of the cost of building this segment, as it would be more expensive than an option without a streetcar.

I think it would be a loss for the City of Minneapolis to decide to not provide Uptown and Lyn-Lake with quicker transit to downtown. Streetcars along Hennepin and Lyndale don’t seem like feasible options due to the on-street parking, very high traffic counts and the associated congestion that currently plagues the buses in these corridors. And as much as I love streetcars, I’m not convinced that their addition in the corridors would improve transit conditions (especially on Hennepin), as buses would likely continue to be present. The bus presence would create a situation where those going Downtown would have to choose between catching the bus or streetcar…and as mentioned before, with travel times insignificantly improved, waiting for a streetcar when a bus is approaching may not be attractive. Wonderful website and great comments. Just wanted to share with you some of mine.

Thank you for including me on your distribution list for the Ten Year Transportation Plan. I attended the streetcar discussion at HGA. My name is Karen Lee Rosar. I am a North Loop Neighborhood Association Board Member and an IP Candidate for SD 58B. The home page of my website gives you the basis of my platform and biography; http://home.mn.rr.com/karenleerosar . The initiatives that you so wonderfully outline on your website are in alignment with my platform.

I was inspired at the HGA meeting about the potential of streetcar in Minneapolis. I am very interested in ways to support circulator public transportation, inner and outer core, and I am also very interested in the revitalization of West Broadway (WB). The WB and Washington corridors are prime areas to begin. The new development along Washington from Downtown East to West, and the Twins Stadium in the North Loop makes Washington an essential area for new public transportation. These new corridors will be vital to support local circulator travel and travel from the N.W. Suburbs on Bottineau BRT into the core. WB would have many positive growth spin-offs from this project. WB is in need of just this kind of transportation initiative. The timing is great since WB revitalization activists are in a search for the heart and soul of a new vital North side corridor including housing, retail, entertainment, enrichment, education, and transportation.

Is there potential for Bottineau BRT to flow along Lowry into the core and thus allow WB to be streetcar? I believe the best place to begin streetcar in Minneapolis would be Washington and WB.