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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 04-13 Rush Line Corridor project down to four options for north end of corridor MAPLEWOOD REVIEW'i 'project down....to four J options for north end of corrldo Aundrea Kinney:and Marjorie Otto F Review staff . The Rush Line .Corridor project is seeking more community i:nput.regarding possible transit -routes and station locations. The Rush Line Corridor is a proposed public transit corridor running from the Union Depot { in downtown St. "Paul up to downtown Forest, ; Lake,: consisting of urban, suburban and rural stops. The mode of transportation will consist of either bus rapid transit or light rail transit. Currently, there are four options for the sub- urban ub urban part of the route . that begins, roughly, at Phalen Village and travels north to downtown] k Forest Lake. There a -re eight. options for routes =i in the .downtown area, from the Union Depot to about Phalen Village. Several options include a stop on. Beam Avenue near the Maplewood Mall. The Transit .Center and Park and. Ride located f on Beam Avenue near the southwest corner of the mall provides a logical stop for the ' proposed Rush Line, and Maplewood. Mayor Nora ' Slawik said it's important for Maplewood that.the Rush Line route goes by this mass transit hub. Slawik is also the chairwoman for the Rush Line Corridor Policy Advisory Committee. Maplewood. Mall'is .a. popular destination by.. itself, but some of .the route options have a slop at St. John's Hospital, which is also located on APR 13 2016 see Rush Line on page 3 Review Rush Line..., continued from page 1 Beam Avenue. Slawik is generally in favor of includ- ing St. John's on the route, but she said that instead of having a stop of its own, the hospital might be con- nected by a feeder bus to the Maplewood Mall Transit Center. "Right now we're looking at the big picture of all the alternatives, andtwe're seeking public input," said Slawik. Comments from future passengers, homeowners and businesses will help the Rush Line Transit Study narrow down the many options that are still being considered. The four suburban routes have a wide range of options including Light Rail ' transit (LRT) or . bus rapid transit (BRT) sharing the road or having its own lane. The location of the routes will also affect the, types of transit vehicles used. For example, Andy Gitzlaff, project manager from the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, said that if bus- rapid transit shares the road with regular traffic, smaller buses would need to be used. In comparison, if bus rapid transit has its own lane, larger buses would be used. While drafting possible routes, a new area on the Bast Side of St. Paul -was added as. a possible route location. White Bear and Maryland ;avenues were added due to community feedback received during the summer and fallof 2415. Now that those two thoroughfares have been added as -options, the Rush Line Corridor project has sched- uled a community meeting for Tuesday, April 19, from. 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hayden Heights Library, .1456 White Bear Ave., in St. Paul. The meeting will be informal anal community mem- bers will be able ,to drop by at any point to speak with project staff. The focus of the April 19 meeting .will be the White Bear Avenue and Maryland Avenue addi- tions. The options involving White Bear and Mary- land avenues both involve using bus rapid transit on either a dedicated lane or having the buses drive within traffic. " In ' add.ition to the, neighborhood -specific April 19 meeting, the transit study is also. evaluating eight alternatives for downtown routes, between Phalen Village and the Union Depot. Chuck Repke, director of the St. Paul District 2 Community Council, which serves the northeast sec- tion St. Paul, seemed unenthused about the prospect of a new bus .rapid transit line. "For us, it's nothing." He said :that a bus rapid transit line Would be no dif- ferentthan the current bus services along White Bear and. Maryland Avenue. He -said, if anything, it is like an additional bus service. R.epke said that at this point, it is unknown if the BRTiwill._haveany effects on the regular bus routes, if it will decrease or increase the service on regular bus routes. He said the District 2 Community Council currently supports installing light rail over ' bus rapid transit, especially in the Phalen corridor. Light rail lines are more expensive to build, but they're also popular with the public. The Rush Line project is scheduled to move into its tier 2 evaluation stage, meaning that routes, stations, and the type of transportation will be narrowed down to their final options, and that cost and. ridership will also be determined. However, Gitzlaff said the protect is taking more time in the tier I. stage to connect with the coinmun.i- ties in targeted engagements, like the April 19 me'et- ing. By this summer, the plan is to do an analysis of potential ridership and cost, and to have a more for- mal open house with simplified plans at the end of the summer. Gitzlaff said the hope, is to have the route, -stations and type of vehicle chosen by end of this year. Aundrea Kinney can be reached at 651-748-7822 or akinncry@a lillienews.coni, Marforie Otto can be reached at 651-748-7816 or at eastslde@lillienews.coin, courtesy of Rush Line Corridor Transit Study The Rush Lime Corridor Transit Study has four alternatives planned for the suburban route (Phalen Village toForest Lake) and eight alternatives planned for the downtown routes.