San Francisco of the Midwest?
And don't forget St. Louis, they have a pretty nice Public Transportation Network, we really enjoyed riding during our Gathering there two Years ago!
And while it's not really Midwest, The Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex is in the process of Expanding a really Impressive System also, very surprising in this Monument to Urban Sprawl and the Automobile!!
(well, Arlington, thanks to Jerry,"Show Me the Money!" Jones is an exception! :angry2: )
Yeah, in many ways, the Twin Cities are becoming what the Bay Area was in the 90s: a gay-friendly center of business and education, whose citizens are conscious of social and environmental issues, and are ditching the cars in favour of bicycles and public transit.
I'm glad you were impressed by St. Louis. It really is the best city in Missouri, not just in transportation but also in its historical sites, its museums, its public parks, and its cultural events. It has the best transit system of any Missouri city, and the people actually use it. Sometimes during rush hour it's actually pretty difficult to find standing room on Metrolink, let alone a seat. It doesn't compare to Chicago or Washington in coverage and frequencies, but it does well for the people who use it. As a visitor, I've never felt the need to have a car in St. Louis, and that means a lot for how well the system works.
The Twin Cities was much the same way. We drove to Minneapolis, but once we were there, the car stayed in the hotel parking lot the whole time, and we used public transit or walked everywhere. When transit works, people use it. It's sad when one man can hold up progress for 100,000 people, but I can certainly understand why Arlington would be afraid to lose the rather substantial income Cowboys Stadium provides.