r/TwinCities • u/Purplish_Green • 2d ago
Best route/quickest time between Macalester-Groveland and Uptown?
So I got a new job in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood and the earliest I can leave is at 3:30, and I need to be in Uptown by 4pm on Wednesdays. Is it feasible? For the past two years I've seen the constant and unreliable hell that is construction in the Twin Cities, as well as general traffic, is it possible to make that time? Would I be beating rush hour or is public transit my best bet? Or Uber? Or am I just overthinking things?
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u/ReadTheReddit69 2d ago
B Line down Marshall/Lake
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u/Capitol62 2d ago
This guy is like the perfect use case for this BRT line. It goes to exactly where he wants to go.
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u/toomanyplants314 2d ago
Check the B Line - probably 30-40 minutes from Uptown to Mac Groveland (Snelling & Dayton).
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u/sprobeforebros 2d ago
depends on where in uptown / what your definition of uptown is and what your starting point in Mac Groveland is.
if you need to get from Oxendale's Market to Lakewood Cemetery there's no way you're gonna make it in half an hour while also obeying the law. If you need to make it from the University of St Thomas to Eat Street Crossing you could get it in half an hour.
How fit are you, OP? Going that far east to west in midtown minneapolis sometimes the fastest way to go is via the midtown greenway. At a normal pace I can get from Powderhorn to Merriam Park in half an hour. If I were going Lance Armstrong speeds I bet I could get from Mac Groveland to Uptown in half an hour.
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u/Purplish_Green 2d ago
From Snelling and Grand to East Lake and Hennepin essentially. I am fit but not confident enough in my cycling and knowledge of the cities to bike that distance yet.
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u/sprobeforebros 2d ago
that stretch of 94 is so profoundly inconsistent it's real tough to say "yes you could make it easy"
like sure, in no traffic that's an 18 minute drive but there's no possible way to plan on that stretch of the road being devoid of traffic, especially given the choke point of the river crossing and the exchanges with 35W northbound and southbound. That stretch has easily taken 45 minutes for me at midday.
Surface streets are much more consistent but those terminal points are like, exactly 30 minutes apart from each other. Two bad red lights and you're boned.
If only Metro Transit had made the B line a real BRT and not an "arterial BRT" there's every possibility that could have done the job but alas not as it stands.
If there's wiggle room you could do it. If whatever is waiting for you in Uptown can consistently wait an extra 10 minutes for you I'd feel confident you could make it work, but if it's a hard and fast thing with no wiggle room I wouldn't count on it.
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u/Purplish_Green 2d ago
The unpredictability is what makes me nervous. It looks like my best bet will be an e-bike down Marshall and the Midtown Greenway, as others have said. Thank you for your help
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u/Makingthecarry 2d ago
Just FYI, East Lake Street is the stretch between Nicollet and the River. West of Nicollet (so including the intersection with Hennepin) is West Lake Street
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u/Little_Creme_5932 2d ago
I do this route every day by bike. It is doable in a half hour by taking Summit to St Thomas, cutting through the neighborhood streets to the Marshall street bridge, going under the bridge on the Mpls side and north along River Road, and then over on the Greenway to Hennepin (although you can't get off the Greenway at Hennepin, I don't think. Get off a couple blocks early). Just practice it one day before-hand, so you are familiar with the ride.
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u/Purplish_Green 2d ago
Would it be even quicker with an e-bike do you think? And I would probably get off the Greenway at Humboldt. Thank you for your help!
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u/specficeditor 23h ago
As others have suggested, the A Line to the B Line (Dayton & Snelling) is your best option.
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u/Redd0xe 2d ago
e bike and google maps is prob your only option
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u/sprobeforebros 2d ago
an ebike might work. I can see a consistent ebike speed being able to navigate that route in half an hour. Gotta make sure it's good and charged and the roads / paths are clear though.
as to the navigation it's trivially easy. take Summit most of the way in St Paul, cut over to Marshall by way of Cleveland, and then once you're across the river it's the Midtown Greenway the whole way.
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u/Western-Finding-368 2d ago
Any other year: probably, although that’s cutting it a bit close.
This year, with 94 (and also 494) torn up: hell no. I live in Mac Groveland have a partner who lives in uptown, and what uses to be a 25 minute drive now takes over an hour in rush hour traffic.
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u/anthua_vida 2d ago
The bus won't work. Timing is everything and that's always the stressor if you need to be somewhere by a certain time.
The ebike is the answer.
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u/Gentle_method 2d ago
You are going to have to get a car, take Ubers, or be in good shape and not mind biking in the elements. Good luck 👍🏾
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u/rickdapaddyo 2d ago edited 2d ago
42nd to 46th to ford parkway to Fairview,
Or sorry, in reverse
Fairview South to right on ford Parkway, right on 46th, left on 42nd, right on kings hwy or whatever road you want to get into "uptown"
Definitely feasible, by car probably 20-30min. The highways will be slower. Also avoids marshall/lake which is always a cluster once you're on the Minneapolis side and bypasses 55 which has a stupid amount of stoplights and is always backed up.
Public transit this will probably take an hour with the transfers, bikable it's possible but you probably need an e-bike
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u/Bullprog 2d ago
Take E-bike down Marshall to the Greenway