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Council holds District Dialogues

Local officials raise transportation issues

From Waconia to Columbus, and Golden Valley to Shakopee, transportation is on the minds of local officials.

This year, Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell and Council members are meeting with local elected officials and their staff members around the region in a series of “District Dialogues.” Bell begins each dialogue with a presentation about the Council’s priorities and activities, and then listens to comments and answers questions from local officials about their concerns.

In every case, transportation has dominated the discussion. One of the Council’s priorities is to continue to develop a network of transitways (including Northstar Commuter Rail and Central Corridor Light Rail) and expand the bus system, Bell said at the September 4 gathering for Carver County officials, held in Waconia. Bell emphasized the cooperative partnerships that the Council has with suburban transit providers, while acknowledging that only more densely populated areas will see investments in light rail, commuter rail or bus rapid transit.

“We’ve got to get creative” in figuring out how to provide efficient and effective roads and transit for residents of Carver County, said Waconia Mayor Mark Schiffman. “It’s really become an economic development issue for us.”

Matching transit with denser land uses

Kim Roden, a member of the Victoria City Council, raised the issue of the Metropolitan Council’s development density guideline of three units per acre, asking “How do we address the transportation needs that go along with that?”

Land use is emphasized in the Council’s updated 2030 Transportation Policy Plan (TPP), which will be the focus of public hearings in October, Bell explained. “We will look at the growth patterns we are seeing and do our best to match density with transit service,” he said, while acknowledging that limited resources will likely restrict expansion of the bus system in the next few years.

One of the Council’s main revenue sources for transit, the motor vehicle sales tax, “has gone south,” Bell said. A likely state budget shortfall of between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion for the coming biennium will make the next legislative session “very difficult,” he said.

One official remarked that with gas prices going up $2 a gallon in the last 16 months, residents in Carver County have a hard time sympathizing with people in the core cities who opposed an increase in transit fares, which take effect on October 1. Bell was unapologetic about the Council’s decision to raise the fares in the face of rising fuel prices for the bus system.

“I think transit is one of the best deals going from government,” Bell said. “At the same time, it is fair to say that those of us who drive are also subsidized.” He noted that many of the costs of the road system are not paid for by the gas tax but are borne through other non-user taxes, such as the property tax.

Scott County officials ask about Dan Patch

Transportation was also a key concern among the 60 to 70 local officials who attended the August 21 District Dialogue in Scott County, co-hosted by the Scott County Association of Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE).

“What do you suggest we do to lift the legislative ‘gag order’ on the Dan Patch Corridor?” asked one local official at the Scott County meeting.

The proposed corridor courses from downtown Minneapolis through St. Louis Park, Edina, Bloomington, Savage, Burnsville and Lakeville to the City of Northfield. In 2002, however, the Legislature passed language prohibiting Mn/DOT, the Council and regional rail authorities from studying, planning, designing or building the Dan Patch Corridor.

“We shouldn’t discourage study,” said Bell, who, at the same time, cautioned local officials not to set their sights solely on rail, as transitways are considered for development by the Council and legislatively established Counties Transit Improvement Board. “The bus system is and will continue to be the backbone of our transit system,” said Bell.

Two corridors being studied in Hennepin suburbs

Bottineau Boulevard dominated the discussion of local elected officials in Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope and St. Louis Park at an Aug. 19 District Dialogue with suburban District 6 communities.

Local officials who attended the session aren’t convinced the Southwest Corridor is the heir apparent as the next light rail line in the region. Several made the case that communities in that neck of the metro are working closely with the City of Minneapolis to pursue train tracks along Bottineau Boulevard.

“We have our act together as a community and are moving quickly,” said State Sen. Ann Rest of New Hope.

The corridor extends between Downtown Minneapolis and North Minneapolis through the northwest suburbs including: Crystal, Robbinsdale, Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove, generally following Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81). Hennepin County is the lead on an Alternatives Analysis Study on Bottineau Boulevard – looking at benefits, costs and impacts of various transit modes.

Both the Southwest and Bottineau Corridors are considered promising corridors for capital investment for either rail or dedicated busway in the updated TPP.

Southwest Transitway would serve the communities of Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Edina, Hopkins, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis. Hennepin County recently completed an Alternatives Analysis on the Southwest Transitway, recommending three LRT alternatives advance for further study. The county is starting a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and a series of upcoming public meetings will launch the “scoping process,” designed to engage the public on route alternatives being considered, as well as potential environmental and community impacts.

Given the cost of rail and the historic development patterns of the region, Bell says he envisions no more than three to five additional rail corridors in the region in the foreseeable future.

“There’s no question the success of Hiawatha LRT has contributed to interest in light-rail transportation throughout the region,” said Bell.  “At the same time, we need public officials and area residents to recognize it takes density to make transit, particularly rail, work efficiently.” Density, he offered, is not the region’s trademark.

District Dialogues have been well attended to date, and local officials have welcomed the opportunity to meet face-to-face with Council members and staff. Upcoming District Dialogue sessions will continue through the fall; see the complete schedule of upcoming District Dialogues.