Monday, May 20, 2013
The proposed sales tax for transit improvements did not make it into the final transportation bill.
The presidents of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber and Saint Paul Area Chamber on Sunday condemned the Legislature’s inability to approve a dedicated funding source to expand Twin Cities transit. Last month, the Minneapolis and Saint Paul chambers endorsed a metrowide sales tax of up to half a cent that would have funded transit improvements. Transit tax proposals presented during the session ranged from a quarter of a cent to three-quarters of a cent. However, a sales tax for transit did not make it in to the final version of the Omnibus Transportation Finance bill. The bill did include $37 million to keep the Southwest Light Rail Transit project moving forward. But Minneapolis chamber President Todd Klingel and Saint Paul chamber …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Many communities along the line worry about the loss of tax base and redevelopment potential should the site move in.
Minnetonka has just one site on a short list of possible locations for a Southwest Light Rail Transit operation and maintenance facility that will service trains along the corridor, according to a list the Metropolitan Council released Thursday. The project’s draft environmental impact statement identified just six possible sites where the facility could be located—five sites in Eden Prairie and one in Minneapolis. However, planners decided that the start of preliminary engineering was a good time to take a look at more sites and they eventually identified 18 sites. The latest list narrows the candidates to nine sites. Those sites are: The maintenance facility is the site where light rail vehicles will be cleaned, stored and undergo light …
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Southwest Light Rail project needs park and rides so commuters can use the trains.
Minnetonka appears to have escaped without large concentrations of parking spaces at its Southwest Light Rail Transit station. Parking is among the biggest worries for cities along the line. Local planners frequently worry that parking could create traffic problems and take land that could be used for redevelopment. But the Southwest LRT project also needs sufficient parking for the commuters who will make the line financially viable. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement assumed 15 of the 17 new stations would have park-and-ride facilities and estimated that the project would need 3,500 park-and-ride spaces along the line. Yet Minnetonka’s Opus station is expected to have just 60 parking spaces, according to a Finance & Commerce …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Many communities along the line worry about the loss of tax base and redevelopment potential should the site move in.
A group of Minnetonka properties are now among the options for a Southwest Light Rail Transit operation and maintenance facility that will service trains along the corridor. The project’s draft environmental impact statement identified just six possible sites where the facility could be located—five sites in Eden Prairie and one in Minneapolis. However, planners decided that the start of preliminary engineering was a good time to take a look at more sites. They’ve now identified 18 sites, including a site made up of five parcels on K-Tel Drive. (Click on the PDFs to the right to see a map of the site and a list of all 18 proposed sites.) Communities along the line are not exactly welcoming the proposed facility. Although Hopkins officials …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Using video games like SimCity to investigate the real world can be informative, but players must also beware of the games’ underlying assumptions.
The debate over the Southwest Light Rail Transit project has been a bitter one, but it’s one that video gamers may be able to investigate from the comfort of their living rooms and home offices this week. That’s the promise offered by the quarter-century-old video game series SimCity—the latest version of which comes out Tuesday. The game offers a variety of transportation options and a development model that centers on how well a virtual community’s transportation corridors are operating. There’s just one problem, though. Just as critics and supporters in the Southwest LRT debate have their biases, the SimCity model has its own assumptions, as well as simplifications made for the sake of gameplay. The result can be a less-than-faithful …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
With several proposals before the Legislature, Patch wants to know what ideas, if any, you favor.
Last legislative session, the big question about Southwest Light Rail Transit was whether there was enough political will to fund the project. The tables appear to have turned this year, though. With at least three funding proposals floating around, the focus has lately been more on how to fund it than whether it deserves any money. Edina Sen. Melisa Franzen (DFL-District 49) introduced Senate File 257 and Senate File 258, which would provide $118 million and $37 million, respectively, in bonding money for the 15-mile light rail project. Watch Franzen explain her bills in the YouTube video above. Gov. Mark Dayton, on the other hand, has proposed a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would set up a dedicated revenue stream for transit—some…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Supporters have historically pushed for funding in the state’s bonding bills, but a proposed tax increase raises questions about whether that’s the right path this year.
Southwest Light Rail Transit supporters have largely praised the governor’s proposal for a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would set up a dedicated revenue stream for transit, but the proposal has created uncertainty about what the Legislature’s role is in moving the project forward this session. In the past, Rep. Steve Simon and Sen. Ron Latz, whose districts includes Hopkins and St. Louis Park, have been the chief authors on bills that would have provided money for the project. But Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposal aims to remove transit funding from the hands of the Legislature—where it’s sparked intense debate and faced repeated setbacks. With Dayton’s proposal still under discussion, though, there’s some confusion about what the …
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Pioneer Press reported that some east metro legislators say their regions are being left out of rail plans. Patch wants to know what you think.
Most of the recent debate over rail has been between those who want to spend more money on light rail and those who prefer spending the money on roads and buses. On Sunday, though, the Pioneer Press had a look at a light issue that hasn’t garnered as much attention: Is the east metro getting its share of rail projects? The paper notes that St. Paul’s only rail line right now is Amtrak and that the city is on track to add just one light rail line, the Central Corridor Light Rail line running between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minneapolis, on the other hand, could someday be the starting point of the Hiawatha, Southwest, Bottineau, Central Corridor and Northstar lines. Some east metro legislators say that’s not fair. State officials and …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Metro chambers commissioned the study to find out voters’ opinions about public transportation.
Support for the Southwest Light Rail Transit project has grown significantly over the past year and a majority of Minnesotans support a sales tax increase for transit, according to survey results announced Thursday. The memo that the bipartisan survey team produced on behalf of the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce paints a picture of widespread support for transit in both the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. “Minnesotans understand that planning for economic growth and improving our region’s transportation system is just common sense,” a news release quoted Minneapolis Regional Chamber President Todd Klingel. “This survey shows there is strong support for …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
A look at the details for the four light rail projects closest to completion.
Whether you like it or not, light rail is the talk of the metro at the moment. Businesses along the Central Corridor have another year of construction to look forward to. St. Louis Park residents are protesting the proposed relocation of freight rail in respone to the Southwest Transitway project as supporters continue to seek the necessary funding. In Golden Valley, residents are waiting to see what their City Council will do when it comes to supporting a resolution that would send a light rail train through their community. Many Golden Valley residents urged the City Council to vote no on the resolution that would allow more studies to be conducted about the Bottineau Transitway’s locally preferred alternative (LPA). Meanwhile, the …
David
5:00 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
There is no "Free Money" from the Federal government for this. Neither the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) nor does the Federal Government create wealth. Only productive taxpayers create wealth through work, productivity and savings. The state is constantly fighting deficits. They are worse with Dayton at the helm passing out goodies to his cronies and special interests. The last time I … more ›