I think transit in the Twin Cities will see a major boost in the next few years, but a lot of that lies in this Tuesdays' election.
The transportation ammendment on the ballot that would dedicate all taxes levied from car sales to transportation says that at least 40% must be used for public transit and no more than 60% for highway funding.
The question is lengthy and difficult to understand. Many people from rural Minnesota are voting no because they think they will be short changed as public transit is not feasible in many areas. If you don't vote, it counts as a no.
Either way, all three gubernatorial candidates have now said they will work to expand transit projects in the state. Many of these plans are for a streetcar system in Minneapolis with 2 or 3 new Light Rail Transit lines to be built, one of them quite extensive (The SW corridor through Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Minnetonka) along with the central corridor.
Commuter rail is ready to be implemented on the Northstar route from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake with future expansions to St. Cloud and northward. Also, the Red Rock Corridor is being looked at to connect the southeastern suburbs to St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Personally, I would like to see Minneapolis/St. Paul get very serious about the public transit issue and develop a world class system that uses LRT, Street cars, and subways. Many European cities of smaller size that are comparable in density have much larger public transit systems. It will gaurantee a successful future for the Twin Cities to be ahead of the game on transit. Make it a world class city! Why not?