HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 07-30 BRT not LRT for Gateway Corridor MAPLEWOOD REVIEW BRT not LRT for Gateway Corridor
Patrick Larkin The Gateway Corridor Herman also sits on the plan will take place
news editor Commission will make the Gateway Corridor Aug. 7 at Conway Rec-
JUL 3 0 2014 a draft environmen- Commission. He ques- reation Center, 2090
Move over light rail, tal impact statement, tioned the ridership Conway St., at 6 p.m.
bus rapid transit will be which will be refined projections, wondering -- there, residents can
the focus from now on in the months leading if they were too modest. provide input about
for the Gateway Corti- up to April 2015.From "But based on infor- their preferred transit
dor. there,it would be four mation we do have ... mode, route and end
The Gateway Corridor years of engineering those are the numbers points. This input will
Commission picked the prior to any construe- we can respectfully play into a final recom-
mode of transportation, tion. stand behind,"Herman mendation made by the
which uses buses along said -- numbers that Gateway Corricor Com-
a dedicated roadway, "A train on rubber" point to BRT. mission on Aug.14.
over light rail and other Woodbury Mayor That recommenda-
types of bus transports- Mary Giuliani Stephens Development tion will be included
tion. believes communities potential in the Metropolitan
Andy Gitzlaff, senior will support the selec- Nonetheless, Her- Council's Transporta-
planner for Washington tion of BRT over LRT. man said BRT looks tion Policy Plan,which
County and point per- In a press statement, favorable for the East will go through addi-
son for the project,said she likened BRT to "a Side, and most on the tional public review and
the choice of BRT had a train on rubber tires." commission tend to will likely be finalized
lot to do with cost. Oakdale City Council agree that it is the pre- in December. Its inclu-
"BRT has the poten- member and Gateway ferred option down the sion in the regional plan
tial to move the same Corridor Commission 12-mile stretch from should make it more
amount of riders and member Paul Reinke is downtown St. Paul to competitive for federal
potentially more for less also optimistic about Woodbury. funds.
than half the costs of BRT and says it's hard "I'm pretty optimis-
(light rail transit),"he to ignore the significant tic about the economic Contact Patrick Larkin
said in an email. cost savings over LRT. development opportuni- at 651-748-7816 or at
The 12-mile Gateway He supports BRT, but ties,"he said,citing the eastside@lillienews.com.
Corridor route would go said it needs to be done fact that BRT would be Follow him on Twitter
between Union Depot well. along a dedicated road. at @ESRPatrickLark.
in St. Paul and Wood- "We're not talk- Herman said he was Joshua Nielsen contrib-
bury, passing through ing about just another part of a group that uted to this report.
the East Side's Day- MTC bus here,"he said. went out to Los Ange-
ton's Bluff and Conway "This will be more or les to see a bus rapid
neighborhoods as well less a light rail chassy transit line there,called
as Maplewood, Oakdale on wheels with comfort- the Orange Line,which
and Lake Elmo. able seats and wife." could be a model for
Gizlaff said the BRT BRT in the Twin Cities.
project would use public Tim Herman,director He said it seemed sim-
right-of-way whenever of the East Side Busi- ilar to LRT to him,and
possible,be it using an ness Association, said was impressed by the
existing roadway, or a he was slightly disap- success of the system--
separate road dedicated pointed that LRT would the line moved an esti-
to BRT next to an exist- not be the focus, but mated 675,901 people in
ing road. added that based on the June 2014.
On its current trajec- projected ridership sta-
tory,a line could be up tistics, BRT made more Speak your mind
and running in 2022. sense. A public hearing on