What will be the reactions when the soccer games happen? Depends on whether we
care about if traffic flows or not. Living 1 block away, I am personally not at
all concerned about traffic, I never have been. My nearest neighbors have not
expressed any concerns, either. Traffic concerns generally seem hyped. The
Starbucks traffic issue seems to be one over hyped. I do know people who have
seen it. Every time I walk by, I have not seen it. I have seen photos, but
seems like it is not all day long. As people said when people panicked about
the light rail delaying traffic- GPS is a thing and there are other routes. So
far, any "fixes" happening there seem to make things worse, so I hope we can
quell the hype on any traffic "concerns" for the stadium.
There will be traffic for the stadium's events, the world will not end.
Downtown St Paul manages with Wild games and the Opera on the same nights, for
example. One would hope that the upgrades to the light rail improves efficiency
there, but there will also be shuttle buses. Maybe the 94 bus can make a stop
in the Midway on event days. The A Line does a great job. There are plans to
put street grids in the site. I am sure that because people do drive, the
soccer team owners will make sure there are efficient routes for people to
leave. They want people to get to the games and not be frustrated. They will
make sure there are many ways bus, train, bike, walk, auto.
I think the neighbors in the area have a bigger concern that nothing will
develop around the stadium. I don't care if a parking ramp is built (because
traffic is not my concern) But I don't want the stadium to be surrounded by
surface lots, as renderings are now, or parking ramps, as Target Field is now.
Development around TCF Bank Stadium seems more in line with the neighborhood,
and I hope we get some offices, hotels, dining, and retail development. In
fact, a little increase in traffic might help the neighborhood again. I can
remember when it was much harder to drive (but much easier to bike and walk)
around the area than it is now.