Blue Line Extension - Bottineau LRT

[SurlyLHT]

More resistance. As a Northsider, I predicted this will happen and this is only the beginning.

Here's an transportation economist building on the outcry of local residents.

"But it should come as no surprise at all if community support for the "Bottineau on Broadway" alternative starts to unravel once the very real performance, safety, accessibility and gentrification concerns associated with on-street rail transit systems come to light ("North Minneapolis neighborhood worried about blue line light rail extension," May 18)."


https://www.startribune.com/slow-down-p ... 600174843/

[VacantLuxuries]

For a transportation economist, he seems to be really uninformed about how a corridor sharing relationship with a freight railroad is solely dependent on the freight railroad's willingness to participate. Kind of makes me suspect of the rest of his views when he seems to believe going back to that alignment is possible.

[DanPatchToget]

It's not too late to make changes, but considering the routing has been chosen I doubt there will be any significant changes. The planners have clearly decided the safety and speed benefits of grade-separated LRT, whether above ground or underground, doesn't outweigh the cost. I just hope when someone gets hurt or worse (which unfortunately will happen) it's because they were simply impatient and/or weren't paying attention. Maybe if there were a lot of safety programs in the area if/when trains start running then that could reduce collisions, but not everyone can be saved no matter how much safety advocacy you have and no matter how many lights are flashing and bells are ringing.

[SurlyLHT]

Here are demands from the BlueLineCoalition

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/our-l ... llqTuBMMaY

Our Lives are on the Line: Tell project leaders, we need anti-displacement protections BEFORE light rail extension!

Stop the cycle of transit displacement. No community support until protections are passed!

We say unequivocally that our community does NOT support this route and rejects any further project planning until:

Clearly communicated concerns around gentrification are addressed first — not left to 2023 or beyond following the conclusion of a county work group

Strong anti-displacement policies are in place — not simply proposed for future adoption without any assurance that those protections will materialize

A plan with funding and specific strategies outlined by Harrison Neighborhood Association is in place to repair the harm to the Harrison community — not simply discussed as an unfortunate consequence of previous route planning

Significant financial resources are secured to ensure increased ownership and stability for marginalized businesses and residents — not an unmet aspiration left to the political will of future leaders

[Bakken2016]

Isn't the whole reason Met Council brought in CURA and C Anderson Terrance is to address the above concerns?

[Tiller]

Maybe they should try talking to the Strong Mayor™ about implementing an anti-gentrification plan. Minneapolis theoretically should be making a Rent-stabilization Ordinance, right? Because transit can't be and do everything for everyone.

[SurlyLHT]

Maybe they should try talking to the Strong Mayor™ about implementing an anti-gentrification plan. Minneapolis theoretically should be making a Rent-stabilization Ordinance, right? Because transit can't be and do everything for everyone.

Ellison actually ran on anti-gentrification and lives in Harrison, but I think he's supporting the LRT. They're targeting the folks who have the money.

[thespeedmccool]

Yeah, I am generally unreceptive to a list of NIMBY "demands," especially when there's already an anti-displacement effort.

I can only hope this sort of thing doesn't catch on. The last thing we need is suburban NIMBYs teaming up with urban NIMBYs to kill transit projects.

[Nick]

Did they have a grift line item in the project budget?

[HKM]

Something tells me not all of the coalition is on board with "rejecting any further project planning."

https://bluelinecoalition.org/coalition-partners/

[Tiller]

Something tells me not all of the coalition is on board with "rejecting any further project planning."

https://bluelinecoalition.org/coalition-partners/

They mentioned the "Harrison Neighborhood Association['s]" goals in that letter too. Perhaps some activists are trying to launder their demands through a larger coalition. Which is fine in terms of strategy *if* everyone else is generally on board with them.

[Bakken2016]

Both the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County have approved the new route recommendation. They will continue looking at other options connecting the Blue Line from Target Field to West Broadway based on community feedback of the Lyndale route. Anti-displacement work will continue during the length of the entire project to make sure that those who live in those communities now will benefit from the LRT in the future.

[Trademark]

https://ccxmedia.org/news/concerns-rais ... l-project/

I must've missed this but apparently metcouncil is trying to put a new park and ride ramp in Robbinsdale.

[VacantLuxuries]

I guess for a town that thinks taking away two lanes from a six lane freeway will be "tearing the community in two", a giant parking ramp might be the sort of community treasure that resonates with them.

[StandishGuy]

I hate this project except for the section in Minneapolis. The Met Council should be promoting T.O.D. rather than constructing more surface parking spaces in Robinsdale.

Do you think anyone on the bus tour actually got out of the vehicle and stood in the middle of that 6-lane highway? What an awful place to have to cross and then wait for a train!!!

This stupid line is still planning to send trains up to a corn field just so it can get a mile away from a mostly empty Target office complex- all for $2 billion. Yet, it took me 40 minutes to go down Lake St. on the Route 21 bus, from Uptown to Midtown, last night. The Met Council and Hennepin County seem incapable of making decent transit and are wasting billions on LRT to car-dominated and transit hostile places.

[daveybabymsp]

I hate this project except for the section in Minneapolis. The Met Council should be promoting T.O.D. rather than constructing more surface parking spaces in Robinsdale.

Do you think anyone on the bus tour actually got out of the vehicle and stood in the middle of that 6-lane highway? What an awful place to have to cross and then wait for a train!!!

This stupid line is still planning to send trains up to a corn field just so it can get a mile away from a mostly empty Target office complex- all for $2 billion. Yet, it took me 40 minutes to go down Lake St. on the Route 21 bus, from Uptown to Midtown, last night. The Met Council and Hennepin County seem incapable of making decent transit and are wasting billions on LRT to car-dominated and transit hostile places.

Hopefully crystal will say they don’t want it and it can end in robbinsdale lol


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[Bakken2016]

The project connects many important destinations in Brooklyn Park to Minneapolis, without having to take 2 buses that take an hour or more. You have North Hennepin Community College, Starlite Shopping Center, Amazon Warehouse, and plenty of residential areas. Yes, it ends in in a cornfield next to Target North, but that area is prime for TOD redevelopment. This project is 100x better than SWLRT, and if it fails due to municipal consent, I'm going to be extremely disappointed.

To your point on the 21, the METRO B Line is coming with dedicated bus lanes. It's not like they are ignoring the city, but we definitely don't have the political will to tunnel in Minneapolis, so we aren't going to get large lrt projects in most of the city.

[VacantLuxuries]

Do you think anyone on the bus tour actually got out of the vehicle and stood in the middle of that 6-lane highway? What an awful place to have to cross and then wait for a train!!!

This is where I wish our public officials were a bit braver in pushing back when someone says something silly like "Putting a train in the middle of a six lane road would divide and scar our community."

Because then you'd be able to do things like say "Actually, if you're worried about dividing the community, how about we engage on station design? Building a pedestrian bridge to make it easy to cross Bottineau and reach the station would connect both sides of a difficult to cross, major barrier in your community, and the train could be part of the solution."

Maybe conversations like that happen behind the scenes, but it feels like kind of a miss to not publicly refute lines like that that become copy/paste tweets and Strib comments in the future. And of course, it does nothing to improve the actual experience of waiting at the station, but the noise and ugliness of a highway isn't going to kill anyone like having to cross one at grade might.

[Mdcastle]

I think they'll find the parking ramp to be a community treasure because it'll make it easy to park their cars and then ride the train to sports events or their jobs downtown, rather than have to walk or ride a bus.

[DanPatchToget]

How about instead of a parking ramp that isn't needed and won't be fully utilized for most if not all of the year the downtown Robbinsdale area gets improvements to make walking, biking, and taking public transit easier and safer? For people who insist on park & riding I can guarantee there's underutilized surface lots nearby.