The proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit Line from Minneapolis to Eden Praire — an extension of the Central Corridor — is about to get delayed, indefinitely at least 60 to 90 days, unless the winds change.
Sue Haigh, chair of the Metropolitan Council, will ask the Met Council to delay further work on the future Southwest LRT line amid controversy over how it might impact existing freight lines. (The Southwest line is essentially a continuation of the St. Paul-to-Minneapolis Central Corridor line from Minneapolis south into the southwest suburbs, but its construction is not expected to impact the debut of the Central Corridor in mid-2014.)
The Southwest line would go through Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, connecting the Hiawatha Light Rail, the Central Corridor Light Rail and the Northstar Commuter Rail.
Here’s a statement from the Met Council, released Tuesday, Oct. 15:
The following statement is from Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh concerning this morning’s meeting with Gov. Dayton, Minneapolis Mayor Rybak, Minnesota House Speaker Thissen and others regarding Southwest LRT.
“We had a productive meeting this morning about Minneapolis’ questions regarding the proposed co-location of freight rail and light rail in the Kenilworth Corridor. Tomorrow, at our previously scheduled meeting, I will propose to the Council that we delay the project to allow us the time necessary to answer these questions. The Southwest LRT Project is one of the most important jobs and transit projects we have in the region. I believe that resolving these questions now is in the best interests of the project and the community, and will save us time in the long run.”
The Met Council has heard strong feedback from folks in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and elsewhere about freight routes, a tunnel proposal and other short-lived aspects of the plan. Now, it’s also hearing from minority advocates with La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, who sent along a press statement of their own.
Spokeswoman Cirien Saadeh said surveys completed by CURA (the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota) show that minority residents in Hopkins, in particular, were completely unaware of community conversations around the Southwest line, as well as its potential impact on housing costs. The West Lake Apartments in Hopkins has over 141 Latino residents, for example, and rents have gone up every year since 2004 as it is.
(The Met Council, to be fair, has plans to build more affordable housing along light rail lines.)
Press Statement
10-15-13
Leaders of statewide non-profit La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles became aware today that the next vote on the Southwest LRT has been postponed. While we are aware that this has occurred due to environmental concerns, Asamblea members plan on spending the next several months working to influence lawmakers and make sure that they understand the negative implications of the current Southwest LRT plan on immigrant communities and other communities of color.
In the next few weeks Asamblea will announce the release of a report that discusses the current impact of the report on communities of color in and around the Twin Cities. We hope that these lawmakers and city planners will join us for this serious discussion on the toll of the Southwest LRT, and other transit way corridors, in our communities.
Please be aware that details on this report release event are forthcoming …
La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles is a a statewide, faith-based non-profit organization which organizes immigrants from predominantly Latino congregations to build power for changes in the immigration system and the underlying political and economic structures behind it.
But wait, there’s more. Thousands of Latino residents were also surveyed, said Saadeh, with regard to another corridor — Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit — which is traveling near low-income Latino communities who may not benefit from it. “There was not enough outreach to the Latino community,” she said. Furthermore, the BRT could raise housing prices and encourage redevelopment, which those immigrants will now have to live through. “We believe it to be a racial equity issue. The Latino community needs to be part of the conversation.”
To that end, the Asamblea has hired a Latino community organizer, Gloria Castillo, to go into Apple Valley and other Dakota County communities and inform the Latino community about the bus route through forums at various churches along Cedar Avenue.
But wait, there’s even more… The group also has some concerns about the proposed Bottineau Transitway, which would travel 13 miles northwest from downtown Minneapolis to Golden Valley, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Robbinsdale and Maple Grove. About 70 percent of Latinos surveyed along the line (mostly from Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and Crystal) were unaware of the transit plan, Saadeh said.