I love
looking at the advertisements for the Jefferson @ Berry apartments up near
Prospect Park behind the WCCO Radio station along Washington. The ByMe website
(which became extremely popular after their BOGO Cane’s deal back in March)
constantly advertises Jefferson @ Berry, offering a money check, free parking,
free food, and other assorted gifts for just visiting the complex. Although
many of the other luxury apartments around campus advertise such luxuries,
J@B’s location to campus is what
makes it so different – it really is way out there. It’s tucked between an
undeveloped yard and light industrial warehouses, and it is technically in St
Paul, too. For any practical student, the walk or bike ride would be something
comparable to a location near Como, and with the Central Corridor construction
continuing, the desirability of its proximity seems moot. It makes me wonder
what the vacancy rate is for a place whose location is right along the Campus
Connector…
Oh wait,
that’s right. It’s literally right along the Campus Connector. It’s in the
perfect location for anybody who needs to go either the St Paul or Minneapolis
campus, right?
Not so
much. The University’s Right-of-Way along the famed exclusive route doesn’t offer any midway stops along
the old rail corridor, and probably for good reason. Other than the J@B
complex, there isn’t much around there that would be interesting for students.
But at the same time, why wouldn’t the Connector offer a stop near J@B? Is it
simply due to the express feel of the line and the University’s desire to keep
it as speedy as possible, due to city zoning code legal stuff, or is there
another underlying reason? The fact that the surrounding area is essentially
bare, it stakes claim to potential redevelopment, whether it’s for parking or
for a private development high-tech medical park. The
Connector Transitway would be a great artery for connecting all elements within
the two campuses.
In my mind,
the University is missing a grand opportunity for a commuter expansion in the
area. From my observation, any person who commuted to work by car since TCF
Stadium’s inclusion has had only but complaints about the congestion and
parking around the area, and I don’t blame them. The current location of the
Bank Stadium was the main surface lot for many years. From a simple Google Map
study, one can see that the Connector route went right through the middle of
the lot, and had several stops along the paved desert. (Note: Google Maps
updated the old satellite view earlier this week to an image from this year. Those
jerks…)
The light rail construction has
made it even worse, making it very difficult to drive to the U of M from anywhere. As a big promoter of New
Urbanism, I cynically think that it’s great that automobile drivers are being driven
crazy (bad pun intended). I love the pedestrian-centric feel the University has
been trying to advent in recent years. However, there will always be a market
for driving commuters, and not all of them necessarily want to pay for a spot
in an expensive ramp.
With the
Connector route already in place, the University’s grand opportunity would be
to buy that large undeveloped, create a surface parking area, and create a bus
stop right at the entrance of that lot. With the lot being 6.75 acres and
calculating 350 square feet per spot, the lot could sport around 660 spots
(Just to give an idea, the University Avenue Ramp near the Aquatic Center holds
521 spots).
Right along the Transitway... |
If the city removes the
blockade on Territorial/4th Street near J@B, drivers could exit
right off of MN-280 from both directions, drive several blocks west to the lot,
and then board the Connector for a short commute to either campus. In my ideal
picture of the situation, this would solve many problems, including:
1) Reducing
drivers on University/4th/Huron near campus, making it a safer and
quieter environment for the mostly pedestrian-oriented student population
2) Segregating
traffic away from the Central Corridor Light Rail mess which will be at the
University-Washington-Huron intersection, possibly improving the traffic light
timing for the busy area
3) Providing
driving commuters with a cheaper option of parking near campus, and allowing
them to have a less stressful entry from the already underused MN-280
4) Preventing
backlash when the University implements the entire East Gateway District Master
Plan and removes the parking lots near the stadium (caution: large file)