Twin Cities’ Target Field area could be transit hub
Written by jrood
Target Field already is the capital of Minnesota baseball. Now it may spawn Minneapolis' answer to Grand Central Station, the Star Tribune reports.
Plans for what’s being
called the Interchange — a transit hub next to the ballpark through which thousands
of commuter rail, light rail and bus passengers would pass each day — are
being publicly aired, another step in preparing for various transit lines that
could someday run through downtown.
On May25, Hennepin County
held an open house to display plans for the commuter and regional rail segment
of the project. They include a third track, an additional passenger platform
and an extension of the existing Northstar rail platform. Two possible layover yard
sites for parked trains also are identified.
The designs were prepared
by engineering consultants from Parsons Brinckerhoff with help from officials
with BNSF, which owns the tracks.
The plans involve a
different part of the Interchange from the light-rail area, which also is being
prepared for a redesign. There, the county is contemplating an $80-million
project to build a new light-rail platform, a large plaza and elevated tracks
to accommodate more light-rail lines.
Hennepin County
Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, chair of the county’s Regional Railroad Authority,
says the long-term goal is to make Target Field one of the metro area’s two major
transportation hubs, along with Union Depot in St. Paul.
Ultimately, officials
hope the area will attract private-sector investment.
The heart of the Interchange
would be across 5th Street from Target Field, where a large depot structure
would be built to enclose platforms and escalators headed down to the trains or
up to street level. From there they could reach nearby parking garages, bus
stops, light-rail platforms, even a city-suburban bike trail.
The design makes room for
regional rail lines that may one day find a home at Target Field, including the
proposed Red Rock Corridor from Hastings and the Northern Lights Express high-speed
line from Duluth.
A stop also could be
added for Amtrak, which has its Twin Cities station in St. Paul’s Midway district.
