From the Pioneer Press, 2/28/2008

We have a route.

Not proposed, not envisioned, but planned — and supported by just about every public official with a say in it.

That's the bottom line after two votes Wednesday chose the route of the Central Corridor light-rail line linking downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis via University Avenue.

What we'll get is a $909.1 million, 11-mile, 20-station train running every 7 minutes, 30 seconds, 21 hours a day, seven days a week for a fare price that likely will be comparable to a bus ticket.

Decades of on-again, off-again hopes for such a connection coalesced in recent weeks as political, civic and business leaders compromised under the hammer of a looming federal deadline.

"This is a quantum leap forward," said Peter Bell, chairman of the Metropolitan Council, which will build the line beginning in 2010 and run trains starting in 2014.

"To get Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, leaders of the Legislature, the University of Minnesota and the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) anywhere near the same page, much less on the same page, is amazing."

While many leaders called the votes historic, plenty of questions remain.

If the federal government signs off on the plan, the line will transform areas in its path, and no one has yet figured out exactly how. For example:

-- A six-block stretch of Washington Avenue through the University of Minnesota will be closed to cars — and possibly buses — to make wayfor the two-car trains. Streets surrounding the U's East Bank and West Bank campuses will be significantly altered to handle the traffic; no one yet knows how.
-- University Avenue will be ripped up and resurfaced to accommodate trains running down the middle. Bus schedules will be altered, with some service being eliminated, some scaled back and two north-south routes added. Of the 1,156 curbside parking spaces now serving the thoroughfare's businesses, many will be gone. No one knows how many or how to deal with it. No parking lots are planned.

-- Downtown St. Paul will see trains running along Cedar Street, with parking eliminated and southbound traffic reduced to one lane. The block bounded by Cedar, Minnesota, Fourth and Fifth streets will be diagonally bisected to accommodate the tracks and a station. Along Fourth Street, parking will be eliminated and traffic reduced to one lane — no one knows which way yet — as the train travels to Union Depot in Lowertown, where more roads and potentially buildings will be altered by tracks leading to a train maintenance yard near the Lafayette Bridge over the Mississippi River.

-- The previously rail-less region will have a virtual transit party at the new Minnesota Twins stadium in downtown Minneapolis. There, riders from the Hiawatha Line (serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America), the planned Northstar Line (serving Hennepin and Anoka counties and points northwest) and the Central Corridor will share a station.

It took plenty of compromising to get there.

The U gave up on hopes for a tunnel beneath Washington Avenue on the East Bank campus.

Ramsey County gave up, at least for now, on plans to bring the train to the backside of Union Depot, where it could link with other envisioned transit lines.

And St. Paul and Ramsey County leaders agreed three additional stations along University Avenue — at Hamline Avenue, Victoria Street and Western Avenue — must take a back seat.

Infrastructure for them will be "roughed in," but the only way any will be built before 2014 is if the federal government changes its funding formula, or if other parts of the project appear to be cheaper than now thought. If that happens, building at least one of the stations is top priority, leaders agreed Wednesday.

The Met Council overwhelmingly approved the route Wednesday evening. Hours earlier, a key advisory panel, which includes St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and representatives from the Hennepin and Ramsey county boards and the University of Minnesota, unanimously approved the route.

On Monday, key leaders from the state House and Senate signed off on it during an informal meeting. Bell is appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has said he'll support the plan if everyone involved agrees, though a funding plan for the state's share of the cost — about $300 million — has not been formed.

The federal government, which will pay half the construction cost, must give its approval — a lengthy process that will formally begin in September, when the Met Council submits detailed engineering studies of how the project will be built. Officials are confident the plan has a good chance because the route approved Wednesday meets the FTA's complex funding formula.

"Transit funding can have more drama than Lindsay Lohan's social life," Rybak observed.

Indeed, a lot must be done before September, Bell said, "particularly at the university."

The U's Board of Regents has yet to address the route approved Wednesday, and Kathleen O'Brien, vice president for university services, said her vote in favor of the plan was "with reservations."

The U plans to continue studying its preferred options, a pair of paths through Dinkytown and along the northern edge of campus, where a series of new research and academic facilities are planned. Detailed studies on that route won't be available until May or June.

If it turns out that such a route is cheaper or better, officials could decide to go with it, but the move would delay the project at least a year.

O'Brien said her vote in favor of the Washington Avenue ground-level route was largely because the U doesn't want to force an unwarranted delay.

Bell said he's especially concerned about the impact of the so-called "transit mall" that would replace Washington Avenue between Coffman Memorial Union and McNamara Alumni Center.

Although it is not definite, Bell and others involved said it is unlikely cars would be able to use the Washington Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River, creating a traffic engineering imbroglio.

The plan adopted Wednesday calls for $39 million to deal with traffic snarls created by trains along the entire length of the line, and Bell said he fears, given the scenario at the U, the amount is "woefully inadequate."

The issue could be clarified by March 12, the next scheduled meeting of the advisory panel and the Met Council.

The Central Corridor will be the region's second light-rail line since streetcars disappeared half a century ago. The Hiawatha Line opened in 2004 and has exceeded ridership projections by 65 percent, according to the Met Council.

Posted by University Relations at 03:35 PM | Permalink

They did it - the Met Council approved stations and an alignment for the Central Corridor light-rail line.

Life could be quite different once the line is in place. The plan approved yesterday calls for removing automobiles from Washington Avenue on the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus and includes $39 million for “mitigation” along the line to deal with traffic that flows elsewhere. The U would also like the pedestrian mall to have only trains and people, so some 1,500 buses a day could be spending their time differently. And East River Road, a historic parkway owned by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, may end up with some of the 25,000 cars a day that will be displaced.

Posted by University Relations at 03:33 PM | Permalink

From the Star Tribune, 02/28/2008

The Met Council OK'd a light-rail plan that includes a transit-pedestrian mall at the U, and possibly more stations in St. Paul.

With reservations and relief, the Metropolitan Council signed off Wednesday on a plan to build the metro area's second light-rail line.

"This probably isn't the best line that we can build," said Council Member Tony Pistilli of Brooklyn Park. "But in reality it's probably the best line that can be built."

The approved alignment for the 11-mile, 15-station Central Corridor line turns Washington Avenue into a transit and pedestrian mall at the University of Minnesota and includes "roughing in" three additional stations that would be built later along University Avenue in St. Paul.

The $909 million line, to begin service in 2014, is projected to have 38,000 weekday riders in 2020 and nearly 44,000 by 2030.

The university had hoped for a tunnel through campus but endorsed the plan "with reservations," said Kathleen O'Brien, a vice president at the U. Specific concerns include traffic congestion and patient access to health services on campus.

Another concern is the effect vibrations might have on U research facilities near the line.

O'Brien said that the university would still prefer a northern route through campus, one that would run via the Dinkytown area instead of on Washington, but results of a university-funded study of that alignment won't be available until late summer.

If that alignment meets federal requirements, the Met Council would have to decide whether it's preferable to the Washington Avenue plan. There wouldn't be sufficient time to complete the necessary engineering by the September deadline, so the entire project would be delayed a year.

If the transit mall goes ahead, the university would prefer to keep buses off it. A total of 1,500 buses use that stretch of Washington daily.

Peter Bell, chairman of the Met Council, was pleased with the vote and grateful to all the parties. "There hasn't been one transit line built in probably the last 30 years where compromises didn't have to be made," he said.

Many of the compromises on the Central Corridor have been made in St. Paul, where residents have been vocal in their desire for more stations on University Avenue. Some stops will be a mile apart. About a dozen citizens held signs calling for the additional stations during Wednesday's council meeting.

One of them was Linda Winsor of University United, a coalition of neighborhood groups, who said that rail stations bring investment, and "these neighborhoods need it more than any other area."

Under the approved plan, foundations for the three additional stations -- at Hamline Avenue, Victoria Street and Western Avenue -- will be installed. If full stations were built right away, the plan wouldn't meet federal cost-effectiveness guidelines.

And as engineering continues between now and September's deadline to apply for federal funding, costs will be recalculated and the federal government could alter its formula.

The Met Council agreed that, if the financials end up working out, one or more of the stations should be added to the plan and submitted with the application.

Met Council Member Annette Meeks of Minneapolis cast the lone dissenting vote. She said that it's "unconscionable" to cut bus service in order to bring in light rail and that bus rapid transit would be a better fit for the corridor, which has high numbers of people who rely on transit to get around.

The plan includes about $39 million for traffic, noise and other mitigation efforts along the line. Much of that money would go for the university area, where the mall would displace some 25,000 vehicles a day and adjacent neighborhoods are worried about being flooded with cars.

The federal government would pay for half of the line's total cost, with the state and county governments covering the other half.

Posted by University Relations at 03:24 PM | Permalink

From the MN Daily, 2/28/08

The vote came after months of debate over which features of the plan would make the cut. The 11-mile light-rail line will travel at street level through the East Bank of the University via a transit and pedestrian mall, before crossing the Mississippi River on the Washington Avenue Bridge.

The project is required to meet the Federal Transit Administration's cost-effectiveness index in order to receive federal funding for half of its total cost.

CENTRAL CORRIDOR
Features of the winning plan include:
• A transit mall on Washington Avenue through campus
• Washington Avenue Bridge modifications
• Fifteen new stations along approximately 11 miles of track, with a western terminus at the Minnesota Twins ballpark, and an eastern terminus in front of the St. Paul Union Depot
• Infrastructure for three future stations at Hamline, Victoria and Western avenues
• Total project mitigation costs of approximately $39 million
• Total project cost of approximately $909 million
At a total cost of about $909.1 million, the project will include infrastructure for three future stations along University Avenue and $39 million to offset the effects of the line's creation.

The line is slated to connect downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul by 2014.

For the past several months, Central Corridor planners have been forced to decide which features would make the cut.

Some Metropolitan Council members said they approved this plan even though they have reservations about the alignment.

"This is probably not the best line we could have built," said Councilman Tony Pistilli. "But it's probably the best line that can be built."

Vice President for University Services Kathleen O'Brien, a member of the Central Corridor Management Committee, voted to recommend the Metropolitan Council adopt the plan.

However, she said she voted in favor for the sake of progressing project planning, but was not in favor of the line's route through campus.

The University fought hard for a tunnel underneath Washington Avenue, but that feature would have added significantly to project costs.

In spite of Wednesday's decision, there are still details that need to be worked out.

The transit and pedestrian mall on campus could be open to light-rail, pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Another possibility would only allow emergency vehicles, busses and pedestrians on the Washington Avenue segment of the route, pushing other traffic onto surrounding streets.

Studies will be completed later this year to see what is feasible.

Also, the University is in the process of studying another possible alignment. Putting the line farther north through Dinkytown would avoid Washington Avenue altogether.

Peter Bell, chairman of the Metropolitan Council, said the University-funded study will be considered if it meets the federal cost-effectiveness guidelines, although that would not guarantee the plan would change.

Bell said that Wednesday was a historic day, but planning is far from over.

"There is still more work to be done, particularly in regards to the University," he said.

Posted by University Relations at 03:16 PM | Permalink