A while ago, there was some discussion about I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul. The discussion related to covering the freeway and building above it for the purposes of expanding tax base, housing, shops etc. We are now discussion the feasibility of a rail line between the two cities. I use rail line to get away from the nuances used between the various rail and trolley systems. Most folks might agree that placing a rail line in the vicinity of I-94 would require significant rework of the current on and off ramps, the freeway itself and/or the frontage roads. How about the following scenario: Cover the freeway for development or maybe for parking. Add the rail system at grade level of the frontage roads and cross streets. The system could be built above the space that is between the edge of the freeway and the frontage road. Instead of using all of the new found space for development, create stops every � mile with appropriate parking etc. (Every � mile or so would allow persons who use bus service to get to a stop). You could run a combination of limited stop and full stop trains on these tracks. I would position the stops about a block away from the cross street so there wouldn't be any issue with blocking the traffic while loading and unloading passengers. I suppose its possible to defer to the railed vehicles. But I think a traffic engineer could figure out how this could operate with minimum problems. Mike Fratto Payne Phalen
_____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
