If the Central Corridor never gets built, it won't be the U's fault.

The University of Minnesota's burden as the lone holdout against the planned 11-mile route of the light-rail line linking St. Paul and Minneapolis will likely be lifted today, when the institution's governing body is expected to endorse a route along Washington Avenue, President Robert Bruininks said Wednesday.

From the Pioneer Press, June 12, 2008

Armed with a written commitment to at least $27 million in traffic changes and other improvements to address the U's concerns, Bruininks paved the way Thursday for the Board of Regents to make the move, essentially a reversal from a controversial stance the U had taken since 2001.

"We did not want to be the principal that stood in the way of this getting built," Bruininks said after introducing a resolution supporting the route. He urged the regents to pass the resolution today.

Since 2001, the university's position has been that it wants a tunnel beneath Washington Avenue. If not that, then a detour around the northern edge of campus through Dinkytown. The tunnel proved too pricey, and a university-sponsored study found the Dinkytown detour would draw too few riders to meet a federal benchmark.

But until Wednesday, Bruininks had been holding out for the Dinkytown detour, a position that had drawn harsh criticism from regional leaders. Critics feared the U might undermine the entire project, or at least the goal of starting construction in 2010 with trains running in 2014.

Bruininks said he didn't regret the weeks-long holdout, though he acknowledged it did draw "a few bruises in new places."

He and other university leaders simply needed time to digest the results of the U-sponsored study, which concluded the northern detour would fail the Federal Transit Administration's ridership-cost formula. In the end, those results persuaded him to abandon hope.

"You have to respect evidence, and you have to respect the data that came out of these studies," he said. "That weighed very heavily on me."

Bruininks also said he didn't believe the U's delay caused any lasting damage to the project's timeline.

Before Bruininks' remarks Wednesday, regents questioned Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell, who is both a former regent and the senior official in charge of the Central Corridor. Several regents expressed long-held concerns about student safety, protections from the university being stuck paying for traffic fixes, and vehicle access to the Academic Health Center and other important — and revenue-generating — medical facilities.

After Bell gave his assurances, Frank Cerra, the U's senior vice president for health sciences — and a man whose approval was seen as key for the regents to get on board — heaped praise on the Washington Avenue route. He said the car-free stretch would improve the quality of life on campus, which suffers from an abundance of concrete and a dearth of grass.

"Nothing would please me more than to grab a cup of cappuccino, grab a Viennese hot dog and play a game of bocce on the way to work," Cerra told regents.

The U's turnabout was welcome news to leaders in Ramsey County and St. Paul, who have been hoping to resolve issues with the university so they can attend to concerns along the St. Paul portion of the line.

"This is a real positive step forward," said Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough, who chairs the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority.

Of course, the drama around the U could be nothing more than a historical footnote if the $892 million line moves forward. What won't be a footnote is how the campus will look when, as is now planned, several blocks of Washington Avenue are converted into a tree-lined pedestrian and transit mall. Trains, some buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed. But regular vehicles won't be.

Where 20,000 to 30,000 displaced cars a day will go is the subject of at least $20 million in traffic improvements.

ONLINE

Read University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks' resolution at CityHallScoop.com.

Posted by campb567 at 8:44 PM | Permalink

The University of Minnesota will set aside its long-held objections and support the running of light-rail trains on Washington Avenue, University President Robert Bruininks said Wednesday.

From the Star Tribune, June 12, 2008

"The university does not want to be in the position of bringing this project to a grinding halt or jeopardizing its possible future," said Bruininks, who will urge the Board of Regents to approve the route in meetings today and Friday.

In an interview at Morrill Hall, he said the university's negotiations with other public agencies have resulted in "enormous progress" on concerns such as traffic, hospital access and the impact on sensitive research equipment -- and who might pay for solutions.

Planners of the 11-mile Central Corridor light-rail line have twice voted in support of running trains through the East Bank campus on Washington Avenue, but in recent months the school has been vocal in its preference for a northern alignment that would take trains through Dinkytown, and it paid for a study of such a route.

The study "had some encouraging findings," Bruininks said, but acknowledged that the northern route fell short of meeting current federal requirements on costs and ridership.

The university's change of heart will help the project meet a September deadline for applying for the federal money that's expected to pay for half the line, which would open in 2014.

In 2001, the Board of Regents approved a resolution stating its preference that the line follow the northern alignment or be placed in a tunnel under Washington Avenue.

The tunnel was deemed too costly earlier this year, and on May 28, the Central Corridor Management Committee and the Metropolitan Council eliminated the northern alignment from consideration.

Posted by campb567 at 6:25 PM | Permalink

A land-grant university has a unique responsibility to take the long view. The preservation of the past and the realization of the future are inherent in our mission — and as a university, we have an obligation, greater even than that of our elected officials, to thoroughly analyze complex problems and their several solutions before drawing conclusions.

From MinnPost.com, June 10, 2008

As a result, our approach to problems is deliberate and nuanced. But throughout our history, the University of Minnesota has delivered time and again on the state's behalf — and we will do so again on the Central Corridor light-rail transit project.

The university saw great potential in a northern alignment for the Central Corridor line, including tremendous economic opportunity for communities destined to grow, expansion of new housing starts, a less disruptive path through campus, less traffic disruption for surrounding neighborhoods, and enhanced transportation options to key areas of the university for the 80,000 people a day who live, work, study and visit here. We felt strongly enough about the long-term potential of this route that, once it became clear that the long-preferred option, a tunnel beneath Washington Avenue, was not financially feasible, we agreed to fund and conduct a preliminary study of the northern option.

Our intention has never been to derail or delay this project, but to ensure that all feasible alternatives were thoroughly explored before a costly long-term decision was made. While it is disappointing that we have thus far been unable to share our vision in a compelling way, our goal remains to help build a working light-rail transit system that serves the needs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Hennepin and Ramsey counties, the university, and the millions of people who will visit our communities for decades to come.
Several specific concerns remain
To that end, I want to reiterate the university's strong support for the Central Corridor project, not only as an adjacent property owner but also as one of the biggest customers and advocates of public transportation in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. We initiated a strong mitigation plan for Washington Avenue. We are participating in fruitful negotiations with the Metropolitan Council and our partners in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin County and Ramsey County regarding the details of this plan, and I believe we have made considerable progress toward an acceptable solution. However, we cannot gloss over the significant challenges that face a street-level train through campus. We are working with these stakeholders to address specific concerns, including:

• Re-routing 25,000 cars and 1,200 buses per day from Washington Avenue.
• The impact of those cars and buses on surrounding neighborhoods, the East River Parkway and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
• Access to our hospital and clinics for half a million faculty, students, staff and especially patients.
• The effect of train vibrations and other disruption on highly sensitive measurements and mission-critical research conducted in nearby laboratories.
• The impact of closing Washington Avenue on the only other cross-campus traffic artery, University Avenue-Fourth Street.
• The environmental, cultural, and historical impacts of the route.

These concerns are not simply aesthetic, and their impact is not limited to our campus. We maintain that the new Central Corridor line should improve our current transit system and must do no harm to the university's ability to deliver basic services and accomplish its mission. We believe our partners agree, and we continue to work collaboratively to complete a viable plan and budget to address these issues.

Advocacy takes many forms. Sometimes it's an enthusiastic yes. Sometimes it is quietly consultative. And sometimes it involves asking hard questions and fighting to be understood. But if undertaken in good faith and with a common goal in mind, the outcome with debate and dissent is always better than without.

Posted by campb567 at 7:32 PM | Permalink

The Metropolitan Council dealt the University a painful, yet unsurprising blow last Wednesday when it unanimously voted to end consideration of the northern alignment light-rail route, but decisions on the line remain.

From the Minnesota Daily, June 4, 2008

Project planners said the northern alignment would have reduced the line's cost effectiveness while also causing costly delays.

Further consideration of the northern alignment could delay the project by at least one year, increasing project costs due to inflation.

Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell said it was time for the University to accept an above-ground Washington Avenue alignment.

"Time is of the essence," Bell said after last week's vote. "The University needs to acknowledge the timeframe."

Vice President for University Services Kathleen O'Brien cast last week's lone dissenting vote during a meeting of project advisers. She said the University didn't have time to complete its northern alignment study, which it is still working on.

The University is spending slightly more than $400,000 on the study, she said.

This month, the Board of Regents will decide whether the University will change its preferred alignment to the Washington Avenue route.

A plan to mitigate traffic in surrounding communities and safeguard fragile University research will also be considered.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Diane Hofstede, who represents the Dinkytown area, has heard community concerns that some neighborhoods won't see any benefits from the line, but will feel the effects of increased traffic.

"This is the beginning of a discourse," Hofstede said.

Bell and other corridor planners contend that the project must stick to the Federal Transit Administration's strict schedule. The FTA must approve the project for plans to move forward.

O'Brien said the University is spending "five figures" to retain Patton Boggs, a lobbying and law firm that will help the University understand the federal guidelines and schedule.

"We really had a disagreement about how much flexibility there was in the schedule," she said.

Other project partners have also hired consultants, she said.

"It's not the intention for the University to seek a legal remedy," she said. "We believe that there are major issues that need to be addressed and we're trying to address them constructively."

University General Council Mark Rotenberg said the University isn't lobbying at this point because no lobbying needs to be done.

"The Met Council has not been interested in having an open dialogue with the FTA involving the University up to this point," Rotenberg said.

Ramsey County Commissioner and Regional Rail Authority Chairman Jim McDonough said the University is working to make the above-ground Washington Avenue route work.

However, concerns from a major partner like the University could make the FTA nervous, he said.

O'Brien said the University does support the project and is working on a way to make the Washington Avenue route and transit mall work.

"The devil is in the details, and that's where we are," she said.

The Central Corridor has an $892 million budget, half of which will be covered by the federal government. The 11-mile line is expected to be open by 2014.

Posted by campb567 at 5:58 PM | Permalink

The Central Corridor light rail line metaphorically rolled into Minneapolis City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Central Corridor planners and the Metropolitan Council held an open house at City Hall, showing off preliminary design plans for the line.

Although the Central Corridor will primarily run through St. Paul, part of the line will extend into Minneapolis, connecting with the existing Hiawatha LRT line.

Charles Hymes, design manager for the Central Corridor project for the Met Council, said that plans call for the two lines joining up about 2,000 feet southeast of the Metrodome. There will be no station at that juncture, but the Central Corridor line will add a new West Bank station.

“The biggest overall challenge was finding the right way to get through the University of Minnesota campus,� Hymes said.

University of Minnesota representatives have unsuccessfully advocated for the line going through Dinkytown.

Hymes noted that it’s still early in the life of the project and that much work remains, adding that “We’re really just getting into preliminary design.�

In a poetic touch, whistles from the Hiawatha LRT line, which stops directly in front of City Hall, could be heard on the third floor conference room where the open house was taking place.

Seven bound volumes of engineering drawings and details totaling 1,200 pages sat largely untouched at the open house.

Preliminary engineering work is slated to continue through the end of August. Construction on the 11-mile Central Corridor line is set to begin in 2010 with completion set for 2014.

The project budget, which has gone up and down over the years, currently sits at $892 million.

The open house served as a preamble to a public hearing Tuesday afternoon before a special meeting of the Transportation & Public Works committee of the Minneapolis City Council.

“We will not be taking action today, we will be listening,� said Minneapolis City Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy, who chairs the committee, at the outset of the public hearing.

Colvin Roy noted that the city would accept additional comments in writing through the end of the business day Monday, June 9.

The matter comes before the committee for a vote June 10. If it moves forward then, it would go before the full Minneapolis City Council on June 20.

Travel time between the two downtowns on the light rail line is estimated to be 37 minutes.

Posted by Bill Otto at 4:56 PM | Permalink