Transit Options Go Before Public: Workshops Detailing Methods, Routes Part of Feasibility Study
By Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Nov. 28–Imagine taking a streetcar from South Robert Street in West St. Paul to the edge of downtown St. Paul or hopping aboard a light-rail car on U.S. 52 for Rosemount.
These transit alternatives are among the handful Dakota County is studying for the Robert Street Corridor, a 15-mile expanse extending on multiple roads from downtown St. Paul to Rosemount. It also stretches from South St. Paul to Eagan.
Beginning today, the public can weigh in on the options and proposed routes at three county workshops.
The county has not studied transit alternatives for the corridor since 1990, when it looked at possible light rail for the Lafayette Bridge/U.S. 52 corridor, project manager Sam O’Connell said.
“If you look at any of the major transportation maps put out by (the Minnesota Department of Transportation) or the Met Council, you will see that northern Dakota is lacking in any major investment for future transit or roadway expansion,” O’Connell said. “There hasn’t been an analysis in what the needs are, and this is what the study is.”
Transit modes under consideration include commuter rail, bus rapid transit and an upgrade of conventional bus service.
By 2030, population in the Robert Street Corridor is expected to increase by 44 percent, according to the Metropolitan Council. New jobs in the county are expected to rise 30 percent.
“This feasibility study will help us determine how we’re going to accommodate the expected population and job growth — the two
things that trigger congestion,” O’Connell said.
What’s more, she said, an estimated 47 percent of all workers now leave the county for work elsewhere.
At the first round of public workshops held in September, county officials learned of a strong preference from residents for light rail, as well as more east-west transit connections — with routes going into Eagan and to the planned 16-mile Cedar Avenue bus rapid transit corridor from Bloomington to Lakeville.
“A lot of people in the southern part of the area were interested in the east-west services because they want to get to the bus service that exists on Cedar Avenue,” said Rick Nau, director of transportation for URS, a consulting firm working for the county.
O’Connell said density character and land use changes drastically as the corridor extends from St. Paul to Rosemount.
“There’s not one mode that fits one type of solution or area,” she said.
Nau said the corridor is unique because it is close to St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
O’Connell said the study should be complete by April. If officials agree to proceed, the next step would be a more detailed alternatives analysis, which could be funded through a state bonding request.
Nick Ferraro can be reached at nferraro@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2173.
If You Go
What: Dakota County will host three public workshops as part of the Robert Street Corridor Feasibility Study. The study will evaluate transit alternatives along the Robert Street Corridor.
When and where: 3:30 to 6 p.m. today, Dakota County Northern Service Center, 1 Mendota Road W., West St. Paul; 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dakota County Technical College, 1300 145th St. E. (County 42), Rosemount (in the Dakota Room- off west parking lot); 5:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5, Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building, 179 Robie St. E., St. Paul.
Information: www.co.dakota.mn.us
—–
To see more of the Pioneer Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.twincities.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.