Having already rode the light rail, I can tell you how I felt before riding it for the first time. I was so excited that Minneapolis was going to have light rail. After living abroad and taking public bullet trains, buses, street cars and gondolas I almost peed my pants that the Twin Cities Metropolitan area of 3 Million was about to build light rail. I did however expect the light rail to be slow and somewhat inefficent.
After riding the Hiawatha line I am very impressed. The cars are brand new, quick, efficent, and above all quiet. The passengers come from all cultural and economic backgrounds and no scary people who ride the 16 down University ride the light rail.
The station I got off on was the 50th and Minneapolis station near Minnehaha falls . The station has interesting different colors of glass and heavy use of metal sculpturing. It made the stop appear friendly and showed that the neighborhood treasured the arts. I belive that was the stations synecdoce in thay the art represented at the station represents the whole neighborhood.
Picture of light rail station on the web
http://www.metrotransit.org/images/rail/photoRail.jpg
Link to article about the light rail system. Article talks about art work at the various stops.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/10169378.htm?1c
Andrew Johnson
Story&Storytellers
November 30, 2004
Essay 2 Light Rail
One Rail of a Ride on the Hiawatha Line
Having already ridden the light rail, I can tell you how I felt before riding it for the first time. I was so excited that Minneapolis was going to have light rail. After living abroad and taking public bullet trains, buses, street cars and gondolas I almost peed my pants that the Twin Cities Metropolitan area of 3 Million was about to build light rail. I did however expect the light rail to be slow and somewhat inefficient.
After riding the Hiawatha line I am very impressed. The cars are brand new, quick, efficient, and above all quiet. The passengers come from all cultural and economic backgrounds and no scary people who ride the 16 down University ride the light rail.
The station I got off on was the 50th and Minneapolis station near Minnehaha falls. The station has interesting different colors of glass and heavy use of metal sculpturing. It made the stop appear friendly and showed that the neighborhood treasured the arts. I believe that was the stations synecdoche in they the art represented at the station represents the whole neighborhood.
Picture of light rail station on the web: http://www.metrotransit.org/images/rail/photoRail.jpg
Hot Link to article about the light rail system: Article talks about art work at the various stops. Excellent source to learn about how each stop portrays a metaphysical representation of a light rail stop and how it blossoms from each individual stop.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/10169378.htm?1c
. After reading a couple of my fellow classmates Blogs, I decided to pick Christina’s because I thought it was really well done and I thought her pictures were interestingly posed. The main differences between our two Blogs was Christina stopped at various stops and chose her favorite one where I just got out on 50th street stop since I needed to go to that neighborhood. I have also been on it before Christina was, so a bias exists in her Blog since she was exposed to the Hegemony of Walt’s teaching. Ideas about the line were programmed into her mind before she actually got on the Hiawatha Line. I on the other had already ridden the line and was apt enough to see through Walt’s hegemony. That was a stretch, but it was done to explain the definition of hegemony in the two blogs. Christina also used a metaphor to explain the imagery and symbolism used when describing her picture. I on the other hand I did not use such literary tools as symbolism and imagery. Similarities between the two are our positive experiences about riding the line and yearn for a broader more efficient public transportation system in the metropolitan area.
If I had the power to design a line from Minneapolis downtown to Saint Paul downtown I would be one happy gopher. I would first start out in Minneapolis on First Avenue and fourth. I would connect the line that stops at First Avenue to go on what is now route 3, 16, and 50. I would have it go from Fourth Street, which then merges to the mighty Washington Avenue. I would make Washington a one way street having light rail cars traveling East and West, but car traffic only traveling West, since the street has a continuous flow of smog breathing cars that make those buildings on Washington a nice jet black soot. I am sure that would also make the patients who go to the Moose Towers Hospital Clinic a little less at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and other airborne carcinogens. Going further east Washington meanders into University Avenue. I purpose the light rail should turn down on University Avenue heading not only East, but also have another line running West on University connecting to downtown Minneapolis. Going eastward on University I would build a light rail all through university until it reaches downtown Saint Paul. It would pass the once booming area of the Saint Paul Midway Area, the State Capitol, Excel Energy Center, the Science museum, downtown business district, and cross over the Robert Street Bridge to Saint Paul’s Westside and stop around my favorite fast food Mexican restaurant, the Taco House. The west bank station I would design it in front of Anderson Hall, but I would not put it under the bridge, have it more in the open where there is fresher air and less car exhaust that makes the bus stop sign already illegible due to CO2. I would design the bus stops on both sides of the streets so that they would be replicas of the social science towers. They would be so called “mini-me’s,” of the two big social science towers. They would function as a normal bus stop, but would have a brick towers on top of it resembling the two bigger ones. The stops would have two heaters which would heat up gopher students, but not so hot that they would barbecue their hands into gopher burgers. The stop would match with the ugly modern surroundings, but the idea of “Mini-Me” would be loved by students.
The east bank one would be in front of the Coffman Union and would be similar to the ones near Anderson hall, but designed so that it was a “Mini-me,” of Coffmann Union. It would be an ingenious idea since once again students will like the marketing idea of “Mini-Me” bus stops.
The third east bank stop would be on University Avenue and Pleasant Avenue, right outside of Folwell Hall. Like the other two bus stops, it will be modeled after the old historic Folwell Hall in a miniature representation. It will also have a heater, but the main feature would be the multiple miniature chimneys giving off smoke from the heater representing the multiple chimneys on top of Folwell Hall. This stop would definitely blend into the historic buildings on the east bank.
This line would increase capital gain for a lot of businesses on University, more specifically in Saint Paul. It will make it very accessible for people to see Hockey Games and the night life in Saint Paul will go from dead to living. I will no longer be known as the guy from Saint Pathetic; a nickname coined by my witty Minneapolis colleagues. A perfect example for the soon to be success are previous examples of light rails around the country. The city of Portland, Oregon had before light rail little to no night life in downtown. After building the first light rail line they noticed a huge positive increase in commerce and night life. They know have multiple lines which continue to prosper. A very positive aspect of the Portland line was that after it was built the Portland Police noticed a drastic lowering of drunk driving violations such as DWI’s and DUI’S. This was purely due to the fact that people who went out for a drink got onto a light rail tram and not into their cars. To me that statistic alone would save not only lives, but also valuable police funding that could be spent elsewhere. That fact would help the University Line get passed through legislation.
I personally think little advertisement would need to be done to promote the use of the University/Washington line. Word of mouth would travel quickly around campus about the speed and efficiency of the new light rail. I believe students would use it as a quick way to go downtown on the weekends, do grocery shopping on University Avenue, go to sporting events in Saint Paul and Minnesota, and above all get intoxicated and not starting the ignition key. Handing out small flyers would make students aware of the new line and having the Minnesota Daily write up an article about the opening would be a well marketed plan. The Daily is a huge marketing solution to get to about every student on campus. Handing out or posting flyers is also an effective to get to the student body. I would also advise Metro transit to offer free transit everywhere in the Twin Cities so everyone can try the new line.
I believe that the light rail line connecting Saint Paul downtown to Minneapolis downtown is the future for transport in the Twin Cities. The metro area needs to jump on the bandwagon on supporting light rail, or the economy will fall behind not only in transportation, but also in economy. The new Light Rail Lane will create excellent transportation for America’s most visited tourist attraction, the Mall of America. A triangle to Saint Paul would attract even more tourists to see the Cathedral, the State Capitol, the Science Museum, and other historic landmarks. Japanese tourists already come to the Mall of America on the weekends to do shoe shopping, think of how they could fill the empty Dayton’s department store in Downtown Saint Paul! The University Line could also help the poor community of the Saint Paul Midway by giving easy access to the stores and the soon to open Aldi department store on Lexington and University department store, bringing hundreds of jobs to a highly unemployed community. To me trying to stop the building of the line would be an absolute paradox to improving neighborhoods in the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Communities. That is something that the greedy Republican State Representative Phil Krinkie needs to know before he states his hegemonic claims about how the taxes will cost his predominantly white suburban citizens so called outrageous tax hikes.
Posted by: Andrew Johnson at November 30, 2004 4:07 PM
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Posted by: ygjeg at February 2, 2008 11:01 PMThe expansion in my city regarding light rail for the past 10 years has been massive. However, it's got a huge price tag that I believe is too large to justify the overall cost savings.
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