Now Exempt | streets.mn
Follow up on my Buses and Railroad Crossings post from August 11, 2014. At some point recently an "Exempt" sign was added, so buses need no longer stop here (the railroad crossing on Franklin Avenue adjacent to I-94). The line has been essentially unused since Bemis closed stopped getting shipments. The site is now being reconfigured as Brickhouse Lofts.
In short, streets.mn gets results.
Now let's make it a useful trail.
Railroad Crossing Exempt
Weedy tracks
The highest and best use of urban space is as a rail siding to park trains.
Aaron Isaacs writes:
The Exempt sign was posted after the last shipper up near Delaware Street stopped receiving rail cars. Metro Transit requested the sign. The sign means there are no longer regular train movements. However, the railroad is still in service and still uses the crossing occasionally to switch the yard south of Franklin. Those freight cars may be stored out of service, but they generate rental revenue for the railroad. Rail car storage comes and goes with the traffic demands of the rail system, and the railroad receives income for storing them. Unless someone wants to buy the land from the railroad, I don't see that changing anytime soon.