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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Engagement Survey ResultsPurple Line Engagement Comments 1. Name 296 Responses 296 Responses 2. Are you a Maplewood resident? 07:50 Average time to complete Latest Responses John Slade" "Mark Sather" Closed Status Jennifer Jean Adrian" Yes 224 No 72 3. In a typical week, how often do you use each of the following modes of transportation (excluding recreation, such as walking or biking for exercise)? H Never 1-2 Days 3-4 Days ■ 5+ Days Driving alone Driving with others Walking Biking Bus Train Taxi or rideshare service, such as Uber/Lyft 4. Please indicate how much you would support or oppose your local government investing in each of the following. 6 Strongly Support Somewhat Support Somewhat Oppose Strongly Oppose ■ Don't Know More sidewalks and other pedestrian walkways I New trails and greenways More bicycle lanes I New bus routes ® ■ More park-n-rides for access to public transportation . More frequent bus service for existing routes ■ 5. Which of the following obstacles prevent you from using public transit more often? (Select all that apply). 200 180 Fares too high 10 160 Routes not frequent enough 42 140 Routes don't go where I need to... 119 120 Would rather drive 174 100 30 Public transit isn't safe 186 60 Other 50 40 20 n � 6. How likely or unlikely would you be to use local or regional transit (or use it more), if the following improvements were made? gill Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely ■ Don't know/N/A Expanded weekday schedule Expanded weekend schedule Additional pick-up and drop-off locations Decreased fares Enhanced Park & Ride facilities (e.g., more covered orheated parking) Enhanced path and trail connections for walking, cycling, etc. Better information on how to use transit and schedules Safety improvements (e.g., more police presence, fewer crimes reported) 100% I live on a deadend street with no safe way (especially winter) to walk more than 1 block (it's perpendicular to Roselawn Ave), even though the Gateway Trail is only 3 blocks away! I need to walk daily so most of the time I drive to places I know I will not have to contend with traffic. In the past year there have been 2 instances in my area of bicyclists or pedestrians struck by vehicles. The city does a wonderful job of clearing snow, but without wider bike/walk lanes it isn't safe. I sometimes use the walking path that the Purple Line was proposing to use. PLEASE don't mix traffic, even if it's public transit, with unprotected pedestrians and bicyclists! There aren't currently enough drivers and finding more won't be easy. The park and rides by my house aren't even open, they sit empty every day. The amount of tax money used to subsidize this is not worth it for the number of riders. The current route is not logical, the best use would be on existing highways where there wouldn't be a ton of new intersections through neighborhoods and houses that but up to the trail. Adding more routes would be fine if there were actual drivers to fill the need (and there isn't a need now with so many working from home). Maybe this would make sense in 30 years, by that time the current purple line would need to be mostly replaced anyways. 90 plus buses a day, who's going to feel safe walking on the paths next to those two 11- foot bus lanes, especially if electric/quiet buses run? Not me! That corridor will be 100 feet wide, what about the people who have homes on that bus route, do they lose property? What about the noise? All the people that used to work downtown, are they going back to work there now? Haven't seen any figures on that. Who is going to ride this line? The promise of Federal money is overwhelming common sense. I didn't move to the suburbs to use public transportation. Keep the busses out and keep the crime out. I like my nature paths to bike and walk on. I don't want them congested with big ugly busses. This purple line will ruin my property values and as a homeowner will make me consider selling and moving out to a further suburb. I moved here for the trails not for bus access and my neighbors feel the same. Difficult to answer 4&6 without knowing where a stop would be, where it would take me and how long it would take start to finish. I live blocks from the Maplewood border but no plan I've heard or seen would have a stop within within walking distance of my home. Sadly, Park and Ride in this day and age needs on -site policing. I don't want the purple line. I don't want a sidewalk on White Bear Ave. between Frost and Larpentuer. Why do you keep pushing things on your residents that they don't want. Why do you think you know best? you don't live close to these areas. We are telling you over and over WE DON'T WANT IT. You are forcing me to move out of Maplewood. The placement of the purple line will decimate the community. We will move if this line goes in. Weaver will not be a viable option for any child to attend. Gladstone community center will also be negatively impacted as well as the businesses on frost. We don't support this. I am a resident and council member in the City of Vadnais Heights. I think it's important for our communities to think long term about the options we give our residents and guests so they can access our communities. I strongly oppose the Purple line. There is no reason for it. First, the park and rides by the Maplewood Mall And at Hwy 61 & Cty Road C hardly have any cars. Second you would be destroying the beautiful Bruce Vento trail. I don't want to walk along side of buses. The purple line/rush line is not worth the costs and destruction/construction it would create. The trails are beautiful and peaceful and a much stronger asset to the community left alone. I spent the last 15 yrs working the capitol complex and saw the buses way before the trains and safety was a joke. after the trains came in crime around the capitol complex skyrocketed because the trains get the criminals where they want to go. The met council is beholden to funding from the state legislature which the Dems don't want tickets issued for fair evasion etc. So, to keep everyone happy and not interrupt funding they do nothing. I have many friends who work as MTC police and they will be the first o say my hands are tied. This purple line is not needed! Don't turn your back to the residents and businesses that don't want it. We opposed it in WBL and you all should to. Check out current park and rides ... what a joke and waste of tax dollars The Purple Line on the Bruce Vento trail is very clearly not going to have the impact the city thinks it will - I believe ridership studies for this specific route should be conducted again to gain more current data, since ridership studies in past have shown ridership down in recent years from 30-50%. 1 strongly oppose the Purple Line and do not understand the push to continue the process, since there has been such strong community opposition to it. I use the Bruce Vento trail nearly every day for recreation and birding, and would be very disappointed and would likely use it significantly less if it became a hybrid trail/bus route, even more so if it isn't as utilized as the city claims it will be. We need to increase green space and greenway access, not bus routes especially when there already are bus routes that are nearly parallel to proposed stops on the Purple Line. Buses hardly get used now a days and data is there to back it up, especially post-covid. There is no point to destroy the Bruce Bento Trail for a line that will hardly get used. It will only cause disruption and disturb the peacefullness of this area of Maplewood. Build a light rail where a rail road used to be to build up the community not a bus rapid transit. Just because there's a trail there and it's an easy button doesn't mean you should push it. There are roads already in place for buses so either update your bus efficiency and routes or use current infrastructure to add improvements to transit. Leave green space alone. I find the use of letters such as'J' or'S' to routes very confusing. I boarded a route from work that ended prematurely about 5 miles from my house. When I asked the driver, the driver said it was a 'J' route that modifies the route after a certain time of day. Since then, I've chosen not to use the bus to/from work. I prefer to ride my bike or drive. W !! ! H MPlease do not wreck the trail that is in our neighborhood. NOBODY rides the bus. Spend the money on the roads. DO NOT destroy mature beautiful trees and yards and our oxygen and habitat for nature, for some useless bus line. Maplewood cant keep Maplewood clean, let alone a bus route. All the dogs that travel that beautiful space will be scared by the buses PLEASE, don't approve of this. If you do, it will just prove that the mayor was just giving lip service to get reelected. It will be a hugely expensive mistake. AND, You will just draw MORE crime. I would no more wait at a bus stop alone, then take it somewhere IN MAPLEWOOD. I am a senior person, who is vulnerable and crime is increasing daily. J People sleeping on the bus to nowhere. NO NO NO And I really hope you step back and do what is right for us. What is the current bus ridership? How do you increase that? If it's decreased over the years, why? Is the purple line intended to eliminate existing bus service? How will you get more drivers? In many jobs people are working more from home or fewer days a week. How will this trend impact the cost- effectiveness? I took a bus for more than a dozen years and service only diminished. The 219 doesn't even run on Sundays. I have a friend who could take the 219 and transfer but the wait times are very long. And she works on Sundays. Improve the existing service. I strongly support the solutions offered at the 2/28 meeting of more curb -to -curb services and short, destination routes. Excellent options. The Purple Line makes NO logical sense anymore. Time to move ON. I am a resident of north Maplewood. I live about 1/4 mile from the BVT. When sidewalks & trails are clear of snow & ice, I walk (or sometimes bike) 3-4 miles per day, every day, on neighborhood streets, sidewalks and trails. Among others, I frequent Harvest, Hazelwood & 4 Seasons parks as well as the BV trail. I also frequently walk to places like the library, Maplewood mall and businesses along White Bear Ave or we bike further down the BVT to the Gateway Trail and head towards NSP or Stillwater. I am out in the neighborhood a lot on my walks, or when driving to other businesses or church, and often see busses on White Bear Ave, Beam, English, Hwy 61 or coming & going from the mall Park & Ride. Knowing what is planned for the Purple Line, it makes me so angry to see all these big busses that absolutely never have more than a handful of passengers on them. Where are they seriously planning to pull enough passengers from to support busses every few minutes on the Purple Line??? It makes me furious that we can spend $497 MILLION DOLLARS (estimated long before the pandemic... if my grocery & gas bills are any indication it's likely well over a BILLION DOLLARS by now) on a FIXED route with very few businesses directly accessible from the proposed route. And NO Met Council, the average person probably isn't going to walk from White Bear Ave over to catch a bus on the Purple Line so why include those businesses in your stats? What happens if they spend a billion plus dollars only to have a couple passengers per bus? How long will people living on the route have to watch these mostly empty busses going by every 8 or so minutes, each way, before the MTC says "oh yeah we need to reduce busses on the Purple Line ... not enough riders ... can't sustain this"? The neighbors will see every bus since all their screening will be destroyed! Instead how about we direct a few of those transportation dollars directly into something that would benefit Maplewood? I would love to see a sidewalk on Cty Rd C between Hazelwood St & White Bear Ave. It is so narrow & dangerous to walk and come spring we'll most likely have additional pedestrians with the new senior housing completed this winter. When I worked in Plymouth, several coworkers took a Plymouth circular bus to work. They were small and had flexibility to adjust routes to fit demand. There are so many things that could be done for so much less and benefit all of Maplewood... not just a few on this end of town. I'm all for public transportation when it makes sense and I've seen the signs on the trail for years and know it was designated long ago for potential light rail. However, just because something sounded like a good idea in the 90's doesn't mean it makes sense in this post pandemic world. Just like businesses across the country must re-examine facilities, so must communities re-examine transportation, so I'm glad Maplewood is doing just that. When my husband and I moved from St Paul's east side to Maplewood 17 years ago, one of the main attractions was the many parks & trails as well as the backyard sanctuary we have thanks to the area's large lots with mature trees. While we don't live directly on the trail we see a LOT of wildlife because of its proximity. We also love the diversity of our neighborhood and proximity to shops, restaurants & medical care. Sorry for the long response but I'm pretty passionate about this and hate to see a well used neighborhood gem destroyed by something that would benefit so few. Thank you all for really taking time to re-examine this project. I do hope further independent studies can be done by someone other than Met Council to examine what really would best serve this community we live in and love. We attended a couple of the Purple project's pop-up's and they felt like they were shoving the project down our throats. They certainly were not trying to get any input from anyone with concerns, so any study has to be independent for it to be valid. Don't wreck the Bruce Vento trail. I live directly along the Vento Trail. I have no use for the added traffic noise and foot traffic possibly cutting through my property. The bus shelters may be used for the homeless folks we have in our community. The city should put the money for Purple line to community. Shelter for the homeless living in our community. I need to get to my kids school and day care then work ... if you can't get me to my kids school then work, getting me to work is useless! (And don't make me wait an hour between dropping kids off and the next bus.) While I am not a Maplewood Resident, I am a frequent Maplewood Consumer and a bicyclist/ walker on the Bruce Vento Trail. Running a BRT line that requires 100 ft for the through way on a 20 ft wide Berm makes no sense at all. Especially when there is a underused county road (English St) parallel to the proposed route that would benefit greatly from an upgrade that would be needed for BRT traffic. It already carries bus traffic and works adequately to serve the transit need of the Gladstone community, whereas the purple line as envisioned would cut the community in half and make the Vento Trail unusable for bikes and pedestrians. Please do NOT move forward with the Purple line. Preserve the Bruce Vento Trail! We need to preserve our walking and biking trails and the nature around them! There is no reason to expand mass transit. It just isn't needed! A waste of a lot of money! I have been looking forward to the installation of the purple line and feel really sad to see the amount of opposition. There doesn't seem to be much of a sense that reducing auto traffic is beneficial to our environment and it allows everyone to get around despite resources and age. I can't attend the evening meetings but do hope my opinion will count. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more information. With healthcare and other businesses in need of workers, improving reliable bus transportation options would assist with having adequate workers and health professionals to provide for our communities. I appreciate being close to walking trails to get fresh air and exercise. Adds no advantages to Lake Phalen East Side neighborhoods! Only destruction of peaceful, pleasant households and neighborhoods and unmatched outdoor recreation and wildlife enviornments. I do not support a rush line using the Bruce Vento Trail. It is a definite bonus to our EastSide in St. Paul and Maplewood. We need to protect the little greenspace we have to enjoy our parks, trails, and continued physical wellness. This survey pertains to transit in general, not to the Purple line specifically. It is entirely possible for one to think, as I do, that transit can be improved without the Purple line being the best or only option. Let's look first at the 180 existing paved miles for ways to improve transit before we impair the ability of our citizens to enjoy the outdoors on the Vento trail. I find it particularly ironic that one of the options used to encourage people to use transit more often is the possibility of enhanced connections to paths and trails when the proposed route the Purple will take literally destroys the best trail option in north Maplewood. A route utilizing existing roadways should be considered. Destroying a secluded trail in favor of a bus freeway will not benefit the residents of Maplewood. The Bruce Vento trail is going through residential property ... there is no other trails in this area for walking in a peaceful, non -traffic areas to walk in. A place to be able to walk, talk and get fresh air.. awav from traffic! As I age I see myself driving less and using transit more often to access downtown St Paul and Minneapolis Anything that puts additional costs onto residents, including increasing taxes and maintenance fees, disrupts residence homes and neighborhoods is a bad idea. Also, why would we want to bring additional riff-raff into our already sometimes difficult neighborhoods? This is already a problem, especially with the younger generations - no structure, accountability, and running the streets. Safety # ONE I live a quarter mile from Bruce Vento Trail. Your questions are all about transportaion, nothing about the exiting trail. Do you use the trail? Do you live near the trail? How far would you walk to get on a bus? It seems like your limiting your public notice of info and survey to only people that access this website. As I said, I live a quarter mile from the trail, and I have received no information about the Purple Line from the city of Maplewood. Let's do a better job of letting the people of Maplewood know. It's Ridiculous and Destructive to put all those Rail lines on our Beautiful Streets and Landscape to have just 1 or 2 People riding in a train car. What is wrong with using Buses? for People who want a ride on Public Transportation? It's Destroying our Cities with all those Rail Lines!!!!! And it Looks UGLY !!!!!, TRASITYM! And it's ruining our Beautiful Landscape of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Why can't you SEE that !!!!!! Tear down all those Rail Lines and use Buss's instead ! It serves the same Purpose but doesn't destroy our City ! No Purple Line! I I am a non driver who is a regular bus rider and I support more bus routes in the outlying areas but the ridership has to be there. Also lack of drivers can be a problem. Even on Metro Transit some rides are cancelled due to driver shortage. Currently our public transportation system is not safe! In addition, existing park & ride areas are not being used & remain virtually empty. These issues are not going to be fixed by ruining beautiful hiking trails There's a bike lane on Larpenteur near our house - in all my many years here, I have seen exactly one person use it - ridiculous waste of money. Also, the metro rails are losing $$ and from what I've read, are carrying mostly non-paying people and have become dangerous. Why throw good money after bad? There are a lot more things we could better spend the hard earned dollars from the taxpayers on. Please leave the vento and gateway trails as walking and biking paths. I don't live in Maplewood, but I live in St. Paul, very close to Maplewood, only blocks away and I am in Maplewood more than St. Paul and I will be affected by the loss of the Bruce Vento trail, which I use all the time. I strongly oppose the Purple Line. I propose tithe money be used to make our roadways better and get rid of the many pot holes found in Maplewood and St. Paul. Thank you. Public transportation has gotten less safe and I would not use it. I am not opposed to different transit. I believe the current transit doesn't fit needs of the people who need it. I am opposed to spending money on transit that is not utilized! Not every plan is "if you build it, they will come". We have seen a decrease in ridership. As many jobs transferred to working from home, less people use the system to go to downtowns. I see more empty buses. We have also seen an increase in crime in our area. Is there a connection with more people using the transit system to further their areas of opportunity rather than for jobs and thus a surge in crime? Please don't spend money on something that will never bring in enough money to support running it. Please make sure the needs of the disabled are met. These in my opinion are the ones who she receive the benefit of new/different transit opportunities as they currently are not being met. Then the next thing to do is figure out what our city development plan is (more office district, different shopping district, new medical facilities, restaurants, etc.). Then develop any new transit to meet those needs. We are in need of providing for those who currently have needs not being met. Help them first! Our city is in great need of redevelopment, if we put in transit first, it may not meet the needs and thus a waste of money. After the development plan is developed then focus on the transit to meet the needs of that plan. Don't waste money!!! please don't destroy the gateway trail I think it's absolutely ridiculous to spend so much money when we need more police and fire. My ride from Maplewood Mall transit center to Nicollet Mall to the light trail is safe. When I ride the light trail from US Bank Stadium to Central Station I feel safe. I think there needs to be more of a presence on Lake Street because it seems that is the more likely stop for the bad guys to target their victims. J Maplewood doesn't need additional transit police. There are a few homeless people living at the Park and Ride when it gets cold but they don't bother anyone. This purple line is a waste of money and a very bad idea. I do not support the purple line. It's right in my backyard, residents are not going to use it, the bus transit at Maplewood Mall is sitting empty. It's of waste of tax payers money. We need or want the Purple Line in our backyard. Keeping the path for walkway is better and better for our environment. Many residents used the walkway. Strongly oppose the Purple Line on existing trails. The purple line is not feasible doing a cost benefit analysis, that's not even including all the safety issues our public transportation already has. Focus on curb to curb, flexible transportation options. DO NOT SUPPORT THE PURPLE LINE! Save the Brice Vento trail. Focus on using existing infrastructure ( Hwy 61, White Bear Ave, ) and add needed buses and other flexible transport options. SAVE THE BRUCE VENTO TRAIL as it is currently. DO NOT ALLOW MOTORIZED VEHICLES ON THE TRAIL! Thank you. oppose a bus line in maplewood I strongly oppose the Bruce Vento Trail being turned into a bus route! The need for this is uncalled for as the already buses in use are BARELY being used!!! We need to keep this trail for walking/biking so as to ensure that there is someplace calm and serene from nature to enjoy without a bus driving by creating unnecessary noise and exhaust!!! Public transportation like light rail is no longer safe or even monitored for crime and many thugs don't even pay for it. No controls just another bad idea. 2612 Southlawn Dr I do not support the purple line. With the shift to working from home, several mass transit projects are failing for lack of need and use. There simply isn't enough legitimate demand for a multimillion public transportation project. Fewer people are traveling (for needs and requirements) than before so expanding transit seems counterintuitive. Please do not support making the Purple line! My opinion is that this would be a huge waste of money. I simply don't believe there would be enough people using this bus system to make it worth spending ALL the tax money. It appears that a lot of office buildings downtown St. Paul stand empty- so who would ride this bus? It also seems that it would not help people heading to work in Woodbury as it would not go far enough to get them to the eastern jobs. Not interested in having the purple line here. Not enough demand I can't believe this survey doesn't address the speed of transit. I can drive almost anywhere I need to go in the metro area in 15-25 minutes - but taking transit is well over an hour to any destination I look. Increasing the speed of transit is key to making people actually switch from driving. As far as the purple line goes - I support better transit overall, and I think as a society we have to start choosing to make more transit. However, I don't see why anyone would choose to use the purple line. Driving is still necessary to reach the line for most people, and the purple line trip will be so slow as to render it useless. How many people are actually coming from White Bear to downtown? To what destination would folks take the trip northward? It just seems like a really ill-advised route. The Purple Bus line is not needed, it is a waste of money, will destroy existing greenway and green space, will extend crime to the suburbs. Highway 61 already exists and should be used as a bus route. There are park and ride lots that already exist along highway 61. It makes absolutely no sense to create bus route when a bus route already exists on highway 61. 1 don't like riding the bus to be on a set schedule.having to walk to the station and then walk from the bus stop to my destination. with the few people riding the buses, I feel that to build a very expensive bus route is a complete waste of money. Also, it would be destroying the tree lines along the bike trail that myself and many people and families use for daily activity. Currently on any given day the park and rides in Maplewood or Vadnais Heights are empty. I do not see any justification to increase something that is not a necessity. On top of that the way yhe work force is geared we will have less riders due to work from home. Safety ... no need to talk about that. NO RUSH LINE I used to ride the bus daily to work when I worked downtown. My new job is in a western suburb and I work from home a couple days a week soi don't take any transit. But I fully support more transit options, especially rapid bus. It's a great community investment. Public transportation is needed in Oakdale and Maplewood. Bus routes with easy access near apartments where seniors live is an important consideration. Not everyone can afford to call a taxi, Uber or Lyft. crime is truely out of control and our roads are absolute SHIT !!!!! I think before we add anything more we need to fix the way undertaken care of streets and bus lines first. While bike trails are great assets, they have limits for how much distance you can really travel and how much you can use them for reliable commuting and errands. Even if you're physically fit, it takes too long to travel that way. East Saint Paul is quite underserved for reliable bus transportation, requires too much of a strategic puzzle to be remotely convenient, and has a crimped road network with congested and stressful corridors like Maryland Avenue. As an East Saint Paul resident I would support the Purple Line as a way to bypass these stressors and more easily reach family, friends, and my workplace to the north and northeast of me. I am against the Purple Line project as I believe the bridges built in Saint Paul would make it seem even more industrial, even with additional greenery. I also think the routes are too close to some of the residential areas and would increase noise in the surrounding neighborhoods during rush-hour and other such times. Further investments in public transit and bike lanes is not something I support. Leave the Bruce Vento trail as is. Do not change it to add any motorized /bus / driving lanes. By changing the Trail to accommodate driving lanes decreases the safety for the trail users, increases pollution, increases noise, and reduces property values. This project is way too expensive. And judging from the SW line cost overruns this would be a huge mistake with no return on the investment. But it will most likely be rammed down our throats no matter how much opposition there is to it. Unless the bus company puts a police officer on every form of transportation from the first route to the last route 7 days a week, there will always be crime and trouble. This did not happen 30, 40, 50 years ago, and we all know why but politics prevent people from telling the truth. Putting a police officer on every single bus and train from beginning of the day to the end of the day in impossible of course, no one is arguing that, so crime as we know it today will never go away. Only get worse, The Vento Trail and Gateway Trails are a gift to our community. I run and walk on the Vento in addition to the Lake Phalen path nearly every day. I see many people of different ages and cultures on the Vento, yet it has an atmosphere of tranquility.n Satisfied with current trails/public transportation options. Just cause a crime wasn't reported doesn't mean it didn't happen. (theft, assault, threats, etc). In other words, safety isn't based on if a crime is reported but rather on if it happened. The idea of Bruce Vento trail away sicken me. I live right by it and see many people using it. People walking and biking it all the time. After listening to the two previous meetings at city hall on the proposal to destroy the Bruce Vento Trail I am truly trying to figure out why anyone would be for the Rush Line. At the first meeting it was stated that ridership of current public transportation is down 30% on average. And we need another bus line? For what? What we could use is smaller buses with more flexible routes. It seems to me that this could be done for a lot less than $474,000,000. A $16,000,000 subsidy per year from Maplewood may force me to move. My taxes are already too high. I have lived in Maplewood since I was six years old. I'm now retired. The cost projected is low, and will only go higher! It will be much higher. Since other cities, areas, have turned it down, will it stiop at Maplewood? Cost is way out of line. The primary issues you have are: 1.) Public transit has never been self sustainable. It is always subsidized by the taxpayer. More public transit is not only more taxes to build, but to run and sustain. 2.) Public transit is not safe in and of itself and it primary runs to areas that are no longer safe as they once were. As a kid I took public transit everywhere and never thought twice about it. 3.) The areas that are safer, there is no need for public transit as there are not dense enough areas to support ridership that makes the transit self sustainable. Met Council believes that the self sustainability solution is to build more routes, but I would argue that you need to build more jobs first - then you will build the partnerships with communities that justify the public transit. Busing folks to the Maplewood Mall - that is a complete dump now - what does that achieve? Hospital and health care workers are not taking the bus. Please consider the people that work at the local restaurants and businesses. I have heard quite a few times that staff need to leave early to catch the last bus. Even if establishments close at 9 or 10 the workers need to "close" meaning they will not be out of thier for another hour or so. Dispersing printed bus schedules to local businesses may help gain customers - some folks are not tech savvy enough to figuer out the onlive version. HUGE waste of time/money ... just creating expensive space for drug addicts, criminals, etc... We don't need the purple line. Already park and rides are empty. Major of people work from home. No need for more transportation. Waste of money. My son's school as well as our house is right on the Bruce Vento trail where they want to build the purple line. I strongly oppose this. What is to protect the kids from the riff raff coming from the stops, and what is it going to do to our property values. I am an avid nature lover and will be sorely disappointed if the purple line goes in Please save the Bruce Vento Trail! So many of us use it regularly! Please! Stop the rush line! As resident I strongly oppose this line. We don't need more public transportation when the current one is insufficiently used and has safety issues as is. The line will adversely affect the people, homes and businesses in the long term, from property valuations, safety and crime. I live on the border of Saint Paul and Maplewood. I used to use public transportation daily. The busses are dirty and unsafe. There is nothing to ride to anymore as many local businesses have shuttered. I do not and will not support the purple line, closing important businesses and services to add is crazy to me and takes people's livelihood away as well as resources I have taken the bus to downtown St Paul and back when I had jury duty. I didn't feel safe at all. I know my neighbor no longer takes the express bus to downtown St. Paul for work because of safety concerns. _ I'd like to see better use of taxpayer money This area is too spread out and also expensive to put in another light rail line! Ridiculous! There is no need to increase any new busing. The busing that is provided are generally pretty empty and not safe. Why would anyone want to remove the Bruce Vento Trail for more busing. It is a beautiful tree lined trail with peacefulness that we would never get back if you put "another" bus line in. There needs to be more of a door to door type of transportation. Maplewood in its entirety has become a very unsafe living situation. Homeless on every corner. Garbage left behind everywhere. The mall is even on its last legs. I would not like easier access to White bear lake and surrounding areas. I DO NOT support the new Purple Line. Maplewood has a large elderly population but has never done much to accommodate them like some suburbs have done. Once I am not able to drive myself, I will probably move away as the city offers no help to seniors whose mobility is hampered. On Question 6 1 don't know what you mean by'local' transit -- if you mean adding some sort of transit just within the local area like the Roseville Circulator, my answers would be different. I do not support the Purple Line $497 million project. I believe there are better ways to improve public transportation. It's a waste of money to put money in Transit lines when all I see Everywhere is about 2 or 3 People on the bus. I'm in a position transit is not something i use daily. If I did, I dont believe this purple line is a solution. Cutting through a neighborhood destroying a beautiful trail for what??? I believe other available options already available are things i would use. The purple line is a line that was created years ago. The met council should not be able to come into our development and decide what is good for our community. I believe there are other transit resources already in place that can be enhanced. Safety improvements is a joke, They have a police force and choose to run un safe transportation at a very expensive cost to tax payers. The idea of every area need high density housing with bus / train service to anywhere it is a waste of money that could offer real improvements using responsible spending of TAX PAYERS money. � I strongly oppose the purple line, but not improved public transit in general. The destruction off the Bruce Vento trail is unacceptable and the proposed location makes no sense. Maplewood/Ramsey county has made a permanent investment in the trail. It's legacy needs to be protected for generations to come. The research and data for this project appears to be limited and out of date. Completely unrealistic for a post Covid world. I ask the council to review this issue carefully. If nothing else to at least take a step back and reevaluate such a large expense and desecration of what many believe to be the jewel of Maplewood, the Bruce Vento Trail. Please don't run a bus line throw our amazing trail. We use it all the time and the cost for the Purple line could be better spent. Hwy 61 already does what the purple line will do. This project is a waste of money. Waste of money Please do not move ahead with the purple line. The expense is too much; use existing roadways. Preserve the current Bruce Vento Trail. I strongly oppose this bus route. We don't need it. The park and rides are empty and it makes no sense to destroy a lovely walking and biking trail for a bus route. Plus a waste of money. Due to the current t crime on the transit system, I would not ride it. Considering how many people that are working from home it is not needed as much as it did in the past. I also strongly oppose having it going along the Bruce Vento Trail. Leave it a peaceful getaway for recreation use. It means spending 500 million dollars on something that will create more of carbon footprint than adding more buses or stops. It would be a waste of money. Money the city obviously doesn't have. Crazy idea Why don't you fix roads and plow when it snows?? Not the half assed job that was done this year. Including clearing sidewalks so people don't have to walk in the street. There needs to be a better way to ensure that everyone on the light rail has to purchase a ticket, like even Chicago requires. It has been documented that more people are working from home; crime is heavy on the "Lines" that already exist, our existing park and ride is nearly empty at the Maplewood Mall. White Bear lake dropped out! We should too. We know nobody who wants it or will use it. The area I'm in is not conducive to bus riding. Would definitely be opposed to busses in this area. rlease Keep are DeauilTul iraiis.uon i aesiroy natures Deauiy. I nese iraiis are Wnai Drings people co Maplewood and want to live here. If destroyed we will never get that back. People will start to leave nobody is going to want to pay for something they never asked for. Please listen to the people. Strongly oppose purple line. Want to keep Vento Trail as is. Please do not put the purple line in. The purple line will ruin Maplewood. Am strongly opossed! Fix the existing roadways with all this money V— — IIVCAIVF+---+o .,, n+him — k— lo« ., (.Y,lo ri.dim hii«oc ­4 .d—'+%Ainm++,n rto+ how+ up on trains or busses. idiots Public transit is very unsafe and inefficient; and getting worse in mn than Purple line a waste of tax payer money. Just give everyone an electric bike or car - it's got to be cheaper. Spending more on mass transit is not a good use of money at this time. There is never any accountability on the companies not meeting the timelines and public has to pay not only the cost for which most will not use but also the project cost overruns. Contacting companies should pay the costs for under bidding. Put these things in a ballot and let voters show you all these wasteful spending wouldn't be approved. This is as stupid as Excel forcing customers to pay for things we can't afford ourselves. All these bus/train proposals do is add more crime to more neighborhoods. Deal with the crime situation first. No.purple Na Publix transport is very important, but I absolutely would not take it personally. I used to when I was younger and soon as I got a car of my own, never again The Purple line is a huge waste of taxpayer money and perversely disruptive to green space along the existing trail. I am against having this in our community when I see more people working from home. A waste of taxpayers money. Why does it cost $500 million for a bus route? The State of MN has millions of excess dollar of MN taxpayers money. They don't maintain streets properly, they don't provide proper police enforcement to the citizens. I am strongly opposed to spending or charging taxpayers more money to pay for this type of transportation that will only bring in more crime. I do not support the Purple Line. I live right by Weaver Elementary. I am disgusted with the Met Council, Maplewood Mayor who I did not vote for and was vocal about getting her out of office because all she cares about is lining her pocket and NOT the residents of Maplewood!!! And she has proved it by closed door meetings and supporting this icky line. That will cause deaths and bring more crime drugs theft to the suburbs!! Is this what all of you want?? If you all are for it then live right by it like you are trying to make us who currently live right by it. Why are you cutting down animals homes, trees that provide oxygen, shade and privacy. The community doesn't need anymore ways of transportation! There is enough out there for every people! So please don't try to lie. Lie lie lie. The staple of politics. Lying to your constituents. This should be blocked voted against. Why dont you let the Maplewood residents vote on the trail? Because all you people that are lining their pockets know it would be defeated. It's useless when the other communities around this line voted it down. All because the people don't want it! Mayor Abrams is not doing her job. Her job is to listen to the residents. Is she really listening or just ' ? Who wants to ride a bus? To get shot, beat, stolen from the list goes on. I guess safety is only for people who can afford to live in gated communities. Right. Is that what you are trying to say? Do the right thing!! Stop this line. Put that money to better use for people!! Elderly need help! Children who can't eat at home need help! Roads absolutely suck in Maplewood. Have you seen all the pot holes? Useless spending!!! Please look at statistics for increased crime near bus/train routes. Increased crime is already in Maplewood. Maplewood has access to public transportation for those who prefer it or choose it. Please do not add the Purple line. You will be adding crime potential. Maplewood already has too much. It is unsafe alrea Public transportation is often used by those in need and underprivileged. Taking away public transportation hurts those that actively rely on it. It's important to have a robust transportation network. People want public transportation. They don't like having to drive everywhere. It's a very vocal group that don't, all because of excuses like "cost" or "safety." Both of these issues are offset by having a larger rider share. But people can't get around because the current infrastructure isn't good. The cost to build this infrastructure only will go up the more we put it off. I'd rather we build it now when it's cheaper to build instead of 10 years from now when it's desperately needed and much more expensive. This is not the time to spend that much money and people would not use it anyway There is no need for this line. Half empty buses already travel up and down White Bear Avenue. Bus lines are not a "Field of Dreams" project; if you build it they will not come. This line cuts through Gladstone aka "old Maplewood", the area the City Council has relegated to low income housing, a trailer park, and deteriorating housing stock. Instead the council chooses to invest in south and north Maplewood. This is evident in its decision to shutter the Gladstone Fire Station on Clarence street, which served the areas aging residents and housing stock. PLEASE DON'T RUIN THE CITY !!!!!!! Driving my small gas car is quicker and cheaper than mass transit. Our taxes are high enough already There is no easy solution to reducing crime in the specific subset of public transit. It is rooted from a much larger issue and until crime as a whole decreases, public transit will remain a hot zone for criminal activity and under no circumstances would I ever risk my family and my childrens safety by utilizing any form of it. Taking away Green Space; which you know they are not making anymoreM There are hardly any people on the current 64 buses. We live 1 house west of English, I see numerous buses everyday! Crime is a community concern! After Covid, need for mass transit is getting reduced. More people are working from home or going into work everyday. Maplewood does not have enough affordable housing close to bus routes. Those who work in factories can't use buses because those jobs are in suburbs where buses don't go or it takes so long to get there that it becomes too cumbersome. If US had mass transit like Europe, it would be a different matter. But citizens don't want to spend the money it takes to get there. So Maplewood should not go against the wishes of its citizens I see empty buses constantly today. I don't believe the ridership projections from before Covid should still be being communicated. Improvements to current public transportation is a better option, with lower costs and less environmental impacts. _ This will never ever pay for itself. It will just suck more tax payer dollars out of the budget with little benefit if any. Soon we will look like Portland. Rather than spending millions on creating a new and expensive "Purple Line" could we look at where re-routing and more buses could serve the needs of the people who use the transit system more frequently than me. The experiences that I have had using the green line have not been the best and I hesitate to add to an already giant system that has its problems. As a population, I think our travel patterns have changed greatly since this project was proposed and it needs to be reevaluated. Against this project. Protect our parks, support our public safety. I believe that the bus line was once a good idea, but since Covid and the rise of crime, it is no longer viable. Until we get the crime controlled regarding public transportation. I will not be using it because I will not feel safe. I feel now it's just another easy way for the criminals to go from one town to the next. It's not going to be your average working class people using it because of safety issue's especially at night. The proposed Purple Line route alongside the Bruce Vento trail will irreparably damage a greenway trail, and I oppose that. We don't want Vento trail turned into a bus route Have had issues at bus stops where I've been chased or yelled at by mentally ill individuals. Cigarette smoking and foul language when at stops with my children present. Worries of being robbed while waiting or on the bus/light rail. Issues with a bus not arriving but no service announcement reporting, leading to very long waits for next bus with children . My family currently use the trail for many purposes. We are against any changes to its current functionality and scenery. Please stop wasting tax dollars on rapid transit that hardly anyone uses. Fix the existing roads instead. Our taxes are already too high in Maplewood, we have such a problem with buckthorn from their properties that they won't even address or fallen down trees Or invasive weeds coming from their property Costing property owners A lot of money They should get the problems(safety issues)worked out of the existing public transportation before they expand. NO More light rail, no one uses them to the extent it's worth spending THAT $$. I'm sure there are much better uses for that $ We don't need any more public transportation coming to Maplewood or Woodbury. What a waste of money. No one is ever even on the buses. Please stop wasting taxpayer dollars! Way too much money for the actual "negative" impact additional spending would have in this area!! It is not safe, convenient or going to the places people want/need to go!! I live in little canada, one block from Maoelwood People either HAVE TO use public transport because it is only option. People will only want to use it if it 1) connects to places they need to go 2) Get you there in predictable, safe & timely manner. Until it can do these 2 things it will not be a viable option unless gas becomes $10 and it is damn sure that will not happen because it is political suicide. I oppose the Purple Line My backyard is within viewing distance of the Bruce Vento Trail. I do not want to see public transportation ruining that beautiful Trail. I support the Purple Line as long as the Bruce Vento trail will remain open for walkers. Not everyone has a car. I am a senior that has lived in Maplewood for over 50 years. I want to safely stay in my home. I have read many studies on the effect public transportation has on safety including current information on Minnesota rails. We have options now for transportation. I don't want to see something brought in that would further limit people to safely enjoy the outdoors. Bringing the purple line will force me to reassess whether I will want to spend our retirement years in this city. Thank you for reaching out to get opinions. I have ridden the bus in the past. The route for me to get to downtown St. Paul is at least 20 minutes longer than when I drive so it doesn't make sense to use the bus. As more and more people work from home it seems to be a total waste of my tax dollars to create more mass transit. The government seems to be untethered to reality and totally unaware of what is going on in the community. I strongly oppose the proposed Purple Line, which would take away one of the best N-S biking trails in the area for another bus line that would get little use. I ride the Bruce Vento trail regularly, but I would never ride a bus that would travel along this route. I would greatly appreciate it if you do not destroy the Bruce Vento Trail. It is a pure enjoyment for me to have this trail accessible to me. It is fun and enjoyment for my family, friends, and myself to use, during all seasons! To put a bus line (Purple Line) there is a misuse of resources and finances that is not needed. There are so many other options for pedestrian transportation. Ex. Metro Mobility, Uber, Lyft, Taxis, etc, that are readily available to the public that they are not even educated about or know of? And I think that building a bus line on the trail is a waste of time. Why not educated the people of other options and improve those first!? Or use Highway 61? It's already there! And has an excellent pre-set up for something like that. Plus, the fact of, I have not seen so few people even using the bus line! Also, the lack of ability to hire drivers to even drive the buses!? Why not take the finances and seriously, improve the things that are not broken, not working and fix them first before extending to new things that are only going to in the near future, break down, not work and just end up sitting there collecting dust? Please leave the Bruce Vento Trail alone and find another option that will be more sufficient for this unneeded transportation and an unnecessary use of finances. I'm very opposed to this new bus transit. Very, very against it. I do not support the green line. I would like to see data on current use, impact on trails, crime, and local business. I believe it won't be safe I am against taking away our greenways. I use them frequently for recreation. Put more buses on regular streets if you think you need more public transportation. Relative to my understanding of the proposal, this is an attempt to fix an contrived problem that doesn't exist by throwing a huge amount of money down a hole by an organization that has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to competently plan or execute a viable project. As the greenway is beloved, money does not grow on trees and the dynamics of employment in the center cities is evolving, this is not the time to move blindly forward with an ill-conceived project like this. I am VERY against the purple line going down the Vento Trail. Destroying this nature trail is just wrong for so many reasons. Please please change it to Hwy 61 or somewhere it will not harm nature. Do not replace the Bruce Vento State Trail! That is a highly used trail for exercise. It should NOT be replaced for transit. No thank you!! I strongly oppose the Purple Line project being proposed by Met Council. Numbers of ridership are down, it would take away from green space in Maplewood, disrupt the environment, and add noise to those living by the trail. Consider enhancing existing public transit services (Metro Mobility, Transit Link, NewTrax, etc.). Or using existing roadways for transit services (Highway 61). Thank you for listening. The Rush Line/Purple line is a poorly conceived project fraught with problems. 1. Dedicated street down existing RR right of way. 2. Very high cost for no benefit. 3. major problems with snow removal and salt pollution of lake phalen . 4. 1 attended public meetings and govenment officials ignored peoples concerns and said they did not know what they were talking about (county B and trail intersection). 5. typical tax and spend with no concept of frugal use of taxpayers money (federal, state, local). Way to much crime. Unsafe for people to use. More money wasted on a project that only thugs and gang bangers use. The light rail system operates in a deficit every year because no one pays. Very unsafe for the elderly and children.bad investment. I found question 6 is confusing the way it's worded - just a fyi. I took the bus a lot before I retired and mostly enjoyed it. For 3 years I worked in downtown Mpls & loved the 270 route. I would think that the buses are much cheaper to maintain than the color coded lines are. I'm all for security camera's but not a fan of the payment honor system. Those monies can be better spent NO BUSSES ON THE VENTO TRAIL! Let's be real here - nobody takes public transportation in MN. This would be yet another waste of tax payer money. Hire more police, and support them I do not feel we need the purple line in Maplewood. Improving the current streets and sidewalks would be more beneficial for all of the Maplewood residents, versus investing in a new project that could end up costing millions of dollars and take forever to complete as had happened on the west side. I do not feel we need the purple line in Maplewood. Improving the current streets and sidewalks would be more beneficial for all of the Maplewood residents, versus investing in a new project that could end up costing millions of dollars and take forever to complete as had happened on the west side. Better condition at current bus stops - shoveled and cleaned up. They need to be accessible without climbing over a snowbank. I oppose the purple line using the Bruce Vento trail. In the 30 plus years I have tried all modes of transportation. Of all the most favorite was biking and was the most community -oriented.. Adding a bus line to the trail is unsafe for bikers and walkers and wildlife. I would rather see $$ go for increased biking such as investing in a -bikes or adding bike lanes to White Bear Ave to help reduce obesity and increase nature activity. Do not expand lite rail, it does not support itself. The tax burden to subsides will not offset usage. The proposed route will reduce home valuation, not only that, private homes along route Will loose land due to rite of ways expanding. I work at Century College. I was very disappointed when President Millender told faculty and staff that Century College would not be included in the Purple Line project. So many students, staff, and faculty would greatly benefit from a Purple Line with a station at Century College. Many of our students [and faculty] live on the East side of the Metro. Currently there are no bus routes near me, there needs to be a way for people to get to mass transit besides driving a car (I won't walk a mile+ or ride a bike in the winter) I don't think we need to spend money for thisM The Park and Ride on Beam Avenue is enough!! There isn't enough need to support this idea!!!! Purple line will not support the needs of Maplewood. Losing the beauty that is the Bruce Vento, regardless how a rapid line is constructed, will be a true shame. Spend the 500 million on something that will enhance Maplewood's residents. We moved to the suburbs for a reason. Please don't turn Maplewood into an urbanized area with the Purple line. We rarely see more than a scant few people ride the buses as it is. This surveys questions are just awful. Questions needed more detail. Don't know and n/a should not be combined. If this is in anyway for support of the purple line it is a big no for me. Nope zero support. Very few will take thus mode of transport. If you think an older individual or an individual with handicap etc is going to take the purple line to get to medical facilities that gave even been built yet answer this question: how are they going to get to and from the purple line from their residence and once they got off the purple line how are they then going to get to and from the facility ? Check the number if cars parked at the msplewood mall to use the bus service. During the pandemic there was only one car parked at the Hwy 61 and county rd c park and ride. It's now nit even a bus stop anymore. No one takes the bus! No one will take the purple line. Ridership did not increase when gas prices increased. It's time the city council person, who didn't put her name to the article, about the sign that's posted on the Velento Trail, needs to get off her high horse. And why not let the people of Maplewood know about this survey in that monthly newsletter. By the time it's published and delivered some of the information is old news, event has passed. It barely gives any city news. Another waste if tax payers money. I do not oppose improving mass transit. I do strongly oppose taking away any land/access that is currently used for trails for walking and cycling. Using the Bruce Vento trail (or any other ones) would be a huge slap in the face to everyone that uses these trails. If Maplewood truly supports "green space" then find another route for this line. Taking away the BVTrail would be a huge mistake they mayor in Mplwd is ready to say yes she does nothing to agree with who she represents The Purple Line will never pay for itself. You all know that already. it seems to attract unsavory persons that refuse to pay their fare and intimidate other riders with their fowl language and behavior and lack of social skills. Who wants this type of person visiting their cities? They steal, sell drugs, litter and sometimes do bodily harm to others. Urinating on the bus, exposing themselves, refusing to pay their bus fare, drink openly on bus. There is not enough police in MN that can control this behavior. Face it! Then you want to take more open space away from the public. We need the Bruce Vento trail for bike riding. you don't need the Purple line to transport derelicts & criminals to unsuspecting cities to bring down their standard of living. The law breakers should stay home where the police force is adequate to monitor their lawlessness. Did you forget about the Climate crisis too? We can't afford to lose anymore open space. Do no more harm to the environment. People need these green spaces to relax and breath fresh air. Children should not be playing in the Streets, they need open spaces too. STOP THE PURPLE LINE! DO NO HARM! VOTE NO FOR THE PURPLE LINE. Some of my responses may be misleading because I live in White Bear Lake where we have virtually no bus service. When I moved to WBL 39 years ago we had hourly bus service on White Bear Avenue from 6:30 to 7:30 and greater frequency during a.m. and p.m. rush hours. There were also express routes on Highway 61 and McKnight Road during peak hours. If we had the same level of service provided up to 2 years ago my ridership responses would be much greater. Please support the construction of the Purple Line to allow reasonable, efficient and environmentally sustainable transoortion for all.