Short commute

Pioneer Press Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:17:35 -0600
Life at the old union depot will be picking up steam

Amid all the plans to turn St. Paul's Union Depot back into a working train station years from now, one thing is still unclear: How noisy will it really be for those living in it? Planners hope to get a feel for that over the next few months as they assess how the converted station will affect its Lowertown neighborhood. They'll gauge the potential for increased noise, vibration and traffic as the station takes on more trains and buses in the years ahead, a transportation official said. "I can expect for some people it would be wonderful" living in a station, "and for other people that's awful," said Stephen L. Morris, transit project manager for the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority. Union Depot Lofts developer Steve Frenz said he sees no problem. Any increase in decibels will be "minimal," he said, and the sounds of the station will be "like white noise." That said, he acknowledged the train station "is an urban location. People will choose to live there or they won't."

[[keywords: Living;Metro;]]