Metropolitan Council statement on Minnesota Public Radio’s opposition to Cedar Street route for Central Corridor Light Rail Transit

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) maintains that it supports the Central Corridor LRT project while using its airwaves and its Website to rally its supporters to urge the Metropolitan Council to consider an alignment change to “protect” MPR.  

Extensive testing following Federal Transit Administration guidelines shows vibration and noise impacts from Central Corridor LRT vehicles can be mitigated at MPR. As our experienced project engineers, who have worked on other LRT projects around the country, have discussed with MPR management, mitigation measures could include soundproofing their studios, installing resilient track fasteners and a tire-derived aggregate under the track bed to attenuate the vibration caused by LRT and adjusting the use of train horns.

Under FTA guidelines, LRT impacts on MPR studios are classified as moderate and those same guidelines stipulate that mitigation is the appropriate remedy.

Metropolitan Council and project officials are disappointed that MPR is demanding a change in the alignment at this late date in the project’s development instead of supporting engineering and operational measures that we are confident will work and work well.

See details on the history of the Cedar Street alignment and rationale for its selection (pdf).

Reopening the decision about the alignment would cost tens of millions of dollars and delay the project at a minimum of one year for environmental impact studies on alternate routes already known to be unworkable and additional years if the preferred alignment changes from Cedar.

Cedar Street has been the alignment through multiple years of planning by the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority and the Met Council because it best serves the downtown office core, has the least impacts because it’s not a major downtown access road as opposed to Jackson, Robert and Wabasha/St. Peter and remaining LRT impacts on this route can be mitigated.

There is no perfect route in a developed urban area for LRT, but Cedar Street is the best one available. Minnesota Public Radio’s time and money would be better spent working with our engineers.

Cedar Street was properly chosen for the alignment. Cedar Street remains the route.

Peter Bell

December 22, 2008