Commuter Rail for Event Traffic

We need more transit choices. We need to get more people out of their cars. We also need to spend a lot less money on parking infrastructure.

A focus on facilities in the Midway area would help us achieve these goals. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul area has the best underpinnings for event traffic of perhaps any city in North America. The new Central Corridor LRT line will connect downtown parking in Minneapolis and Saint Paul with events at the U of M and the Midway area. For sporting events, there's probably no single rail line that connects more venues. (See the green line on the above graphic for the Central Corridor LRT route). There is one that matches it, though.

The proposed Red Rock Commuter Rail line (see the red line on the above graphic) would use the same station as the Northstar Commuter Rail line in Minneapolis, near Target Field, and Union Depot in Saint Paul. If desired, it could stop behind the Minnesota Science Museum, providing a quick walk to the Xcel Energy Center. This line runs right past the current AmTrack station in the Midway area. It also passes through the U of M East Bank Campus, providing access to their many sports venues.

This same line also passes through the heart of the Midway bio-science zone. If we want to connect bio-science workers to athletic facilities, this is potentially one good way to do it.

With very little additional investment, we could have a rail system that could carry thousands of passengers to events at the largest venues in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Even if we don't use the line as a link to Hastings, its primary purpose, opening it up for event traffic may make a lot of sense. The savings on parking infrastructure could be significant. There's no reason that major venues in the Midway area have to mean a significant increase in automobile traffic.