Mass transit study sought

02/22/2006

Mass transit study sought
Lawmakers want to identify options, including light-rail line

BY BRIAN BONNER
Pioneer Press

Rick Hansen, a state representative from South St. Paul, is among several area legislators who want the state to borrow $2 million for a study to find the best way to provide mass transit for northern Dakota County residents.

At town hall meetings with constituents, “transit comes up at every one,” Hansen said Tuesday. “People are hoping we start to lead again.”

One idea is the Robert Street Transit Corridor, involving possible construction of a light-rail line south from downtown St. Paul. A route under discussion is a 14-mile line that would go along South Robert Street in West St. Paul, then south through Inver Grove Heights and Rosemount along U.S. 52.

Eventually, the connection could even go to Rochester, said Hansen, a DFLer.

But Hansen said area legislators, including Sen. Jim Metzen, DFL-South St. Paul, want transit experts to recommend the best routing and best mode of transportation. A dedicated bus line might work better than light-rail trains, Hansen said.

State legislators are considering a number of ways to build on the success of the Hiawatha light-rail line, which has exceeded ridership expectations since it opened between downtown Minneapolis and the airport and Mall of America two years ago.

One of those options includes construction of a Central Corridor light-rail line that links Minneapolis and St. Paul along University Avenue. If the Central Corridor ends in downtown St. Paul near the old Union Depot, Hansen said, fast-growing Dakota County might be well served from a southbound connection.

“We like our cars, but the $3 gas and high-energy costs impact the reality of how we move around,” Hansen said. “The sea change in attitudes occurred when Hiawatha was completed and people started riding it.”

Because of geographic proximity, Hansen said, his constituents in Mendota Heights in particular have told him that they use the Hiawatha line to go to downtown Minneapolis and to ballgames.

And President Bush has even lately given more impetus to the issue with his talk about breaking the nation’s addiction to imported oil.

“I was surprised and pleasantly surprised,” Hansen said of the president’s recent focus. “I don’t think it is just talk. We have to look at new alternatives.”

Any new mass transit system in northern Dakota County is still years away, Hansen cautioned. The study would be conducted by the Metropolitan Council and transit planners from Dakota and Ramsey counties.

But like everything else at the Legislature, which convenes again in March, the competition for taxpayer dollars will be fierce. Support for the study is not assured, Hansen said.

Hansen said he couldn’t guess how much a northern Dakota County transit system would eventually cost. It will require federal assistance, he said.

“It depends on where you put it and what the method is going to be,” Hansen said. “Two million is the beginning price.”

West St. Paul Mayor John Zanmiller said he supports more spending on mass transit, even if the route chosen bypasses his suburb.

As a nation, Zanmiller said, “it doesn’t make sense for us to be captive to someone who can, on a whim, turn off the spigot and suddenly we’re facing $5-a-gallon (gasoline) prices.

“Anyone who’s driven on (Minnesota) Highway 3 to Rosemount on a Friday afternoon knows there’s quite a bottleneck going there, not to mention what’s going on in my city,” he said, referring to substantial congestion on the 2.5-mile South Robert Street retail strip.

“How can we attract more people as residents and as shoppers without making Robert Street eight lanes wide? You simply can’t do it,” Zanmiller said. “Smart transportation will allow us to accomplish that goal.”