I visited the campus last month. The train system is very impressive. The trains seem to come pretty frequently, even at night. They should also mention that now you can get to the Airport, or Mall of America or downtown St. Paul from Campus without needing to have a car.
I don’t think U of M could have made the light rail line through campus any more ugly and backwards thinking. Light rail lines weave through cities all over the world without the need to sink them and build hideous bridges and barriers around them. What the university did was no different than if a heavy train line went through there. Cities today are reconnecting with their streets and communities. They are removing tunnels that create psychological barriers. What the university should have done was raise the tracks so that one plain would exist across that void. Small fences could redirect people across the tracks. University students aren’t children. They know how to cross streets.
I visited the campus last month. The train system is very impressive. The trains seem to come pretty frequently, even at night. They should also mention that now you can get to the Airport, or Mall of America or downtown St. Paul from Campus without needing to have a car.
I don’t think U of M could have made the light rail line through campus any more ugly and backwards thinking. Light rail lines weave through cities all over the world without the need to sink them and build hideous bridges and barriers around them. What the university did was no different than if a heavy train line went through there. Cities today are reconnecting with their streets and communities. They are removing tunnels that create psychological barriers. What the university should have done was raise the tracks so that one plain would exist across that void. Small fences could redirect people across the tracks. University students aren’t children. They know how to cross streets.