Secrets of the City

Go, Northstar!

If they would hurry on the Central Corredor light rail line, I could ride the rails to and from work every day.

Northstar rail receive funds, St. Paul still sad.

Maybe when it’s done I’ll move out there, get me some country land. Room for a real workshop.

Northstar is exciting. It makes it much easier to visit my parents without a car OR they can come to the city without driving.

I feel like I haven’t heard anything about central corridor since the bridge collapse. Anyone know what’s going on with that?

Northstar absolutely makes sense — the rails and right-of-way are already available. Too bad it won’t go all the way to St. Cloud, as originally intended.

Hey Bob — why did they shorten the line? Doesn’t seem to make much sense…

They’re leaving it open to a possible extension to St Cloud later on. I’m guessing to get the money for it they had to trim costs, and so they chopped that portion of the line off for a later day when the government might pull its head out of its ass and stop being such a biatch about funding transit.

oh, and the central corridor marches onward. they’ve been having public meetings about station area plans around midway lately. I think some preliminary engineering work is being done on a few stations too.

but yeah, don’t hold your breath for it. this town is slow slow slow when it comes to getting anything worthwhile done.

See more about Northstar’s sometimes bumpy road to today’s announcement here, from MPR:

My favorite bit comes from Molnau, who (reluctantly?) attended today’s ceremony:

Rep.Carol Molnau, R-Chaska, says she won’t support borrowing money for Northstar, especially when the state is looking at a more than $2 billion deficit.

“I don’t think it’s a good plan, and I don’t think it’s a full plan. And I don’t think the costs… when we are looking at deficits and we are talking about what we cut next… there is nothing in his (the Governor’s) budget that tells us how we are going to pay for it. ”

Poor Jesse. No one wants to support any of his ideas. Even the good ones.

will someone please fire that worthless molnau bitch already?

I suspect that will be one of the first orders of business in the Senate when the leg convenes, wayne.

hah, I love how worthless her wikipedia page makes her look

bitch without a diploma can be transportation comissioner, what a country. I doubt she even understands the physics of what holds bridges up.

She undressed the transportation funding whateverthef*ck show yesterday. It was wonderful.

huh? She undressed the show?

what does that even mean? I never ever ever want to think of that woman undressing anything.

also: you would.

I think he meant dressing-down.
But I am still not understanding who she was scolding?

Is there a text version of the ‘CCO story?

online video doesn’t do me any good.

that woman is not really in a place to be scolding anyone else, considering how ridiculously incompetently she’s performed her job duties thus far.

Dress down. D*ng, I knew it was something with clothing. I had it on in the background and all of a sudden she’s all revved up and so I look over and Pogemiller has this look on his face.

Pogemiller has this look on his face.

Did he look constipated? Because that is a typical look for him.

does she think that she still commands any respect in her position whatsoever?

also:

):

this place is dumb.

Here’s the text version of the WCCO story.

She should be thankful she doesn’t have Chief Dolan for a boss. Isn’t support for the Northstar an official position of the administration? A public anti Northstar tirade would be seen as insubordination by most bosses.

Carol Cownow is so out of touch with reality she would probably scold her fellow Trannies for not following her “high” grooming standards.

We’ll see who has the last laff when the Legislature reconvenes. All Cownow is, is a human Meat Shield for that coward Gov. Polenta anyways….

Bob’s quoted was from almost six years ago.

Raindog, as usual, with tremendous insight into the political and sexual orientation of our state leaders.

what, you think she’s changed her position kevs?

she seems like an unrepentant twat to me.

oh also, has anyone actually seen a design for the intermodal northstar/hiawatha station? I have been unable to even find something showing what the layout is going to be like.

And you seem like a sniveling whiny brat with a corn cob stuck up your a**. I guess we all suck, don’t we?

Bob’s quoted was from almost six years ago.

That’s true, and was intended as a look back at the project’s past, not as an acurate reflection of her views today.

That said, I think its fair to say she has never been a big fan of rail commuter projects.

well, I guess I hit a sore spot.

I think kevin has got a crush on carol-poo!

But you’re really not doing much for your cause supporting such a worthless sack as her to the end, man. It just makes you look bad.

I think it’s fair to say she’s never had a fucking clue how to take care of transportation after growing up down on the farm. Selling your farm off to developers to cash in does not somehow make you an expert in transportation, Carol.

Boys, language! There are better ways to express your views, folks. Save the profanity for another time.

You know, Chistmas, and all…

More accurate:

MS Paint is hard work

I think mostly the appointment of any Lt Gov to run MNDOT would indicate that Pawlenty considers running a billion plus dollar a year construction and maintenance company a part time job.

The multi-modal thing is part of the Twins stadium. Check there.

Transit Hub Plan

It’s not sure detailed but you get the idea where the various lines will run.

that was a nice link, thanks

but I still don’t see any actual schematics for platforms and access anywhere. this station is going to be a tacked-on afterthought clusterfuck, isn’t it?

I don’t know, wayne, I think the new Transit Hub’s “tiger traps” for unwary pedestrians and cyclists sould liven up the discussion around here. They bait them with tuna sandwiches!

Downtown Minneapolis Multi-Modal Station Area Master Plan

Here is the reseach from 2002 on the Transit hub.

yeah I found that SAP earlier too, but it didn’t discuss actual design of the station, only the neighbourhood around it.

It only got as specific as “trains will be below!”

I just figure that since they’re already building the stadium and have concrete going up, they should probably have a plan drawn up for how the rail station integrates with all the work going on. But for some reason no one has decided to put it on the internet.

I think it’s fair to say she’s never had a fucking clue how to take care of transportation after growing up down on the farm. Selling your farm off to developers to cash in does not somehow make you an expert in transportation, Carol

Oh my god I fully agree with Wayno. I live in that area and she is a dumb shit extraordinary. The city council in Chaska is no better a bunch of tax and spend republicans. They make the democrats look thrifty. She is trying to push the bridge expansion that would connect to 212 west. It is the biggest bunch of shit ever. No one even opposed the bridge just move the bridge west and screw the people over that do not derive the benefit from the god dam thing.