Initial Thoughts
I’m not going to lie, at first I thought the light rail system was nothing more than a huge pain in the ass. The construction made traffic seriously suck, especially over by the falls! I was definitely not a fan of the train.
Once they started doing the test runs I warmed up to it a little bit. The trains looked cool, the stations were all unique, and all the media coverage and hype was kind of fun. I was still skeptical however about the trains slowing traffic.
Now that trains are running the only real compliant I have about it is the light on Hiawatha take FOREVER when the train is going past. Other than that it seems great. I’ve used it a few times and it certainly speeds up public transportation. So long as you need to get to one of the limited areas that have stations, it is faster than the bus or driving, it’s reasonably priced, and runs at convenient times. I think it will be especially nice for students, and all city dwellers, once the rail is expanded to further areas around the city.
Reflecting On the Nicollet Mall Station
The light rail station located on Nicollet Mall has these tall steel columns protruding straight up from the top of it. I’ve seen this station before but I never made the connection between the design of the station and the skyscrapers that back drop it. The person who designed this obviously had this in mind. The funny thing is that with all the hustle and bustle of the downtown scene I highly doubt that many people have stopped to notice this. It just seems to blend in with the surrounding. Once I stopped to really look at the station I must say that it is very fitting of the downtown setting.