9-15-2024 8:09pm

Robbinsdale Council Expected To Vote Down Blue Line Light Rail Project

Tom Akaolisa Editor

Robbinsdale will hold its municipal consent vote on the planned Blue Line Extension light rail project on Sept. 17. But at a work session earlier this week, Mayor Bill Blonigan said council members have already made up their minds.

“I expect the council to vote no, with conditions that would make it so that it’s okay for us,” Blonigan said. “Whether the county and the Met Transit do what we ask, that’s a different thing, because they get to do whatever they want on Hennepin County’s Road.”

At a work session on Sept. 10, the council drafted a resolution for the Met Council that denies municipal consent.

That resolution included a long list of conditions. They are listed below:

The Met Council should amend the Plans to include an elevated structure, or significantly enhanced intersection design with pedestrian safety protocols; on 42nd Ave N and 41st Ave N on Highway 81 (Bottineau Boulevard).

The City concluded that the plans for a parking structure proposed at the northwest corner of Highway 81 and 40th Ave N do not address a variety of concerns, including projected ridership requiring the proposed (300) number of stalls, vehicle/bus traffic that will be to the detriment of side/residential streets, and public safety concerns for those at/near the parking structure. To address this concern, the Met Council should amend the Plans to indicate [how] all ingress and egress of vehicle and bus access will limit traffic on side streets, to include West Broadway, as well as provide ridership data detailing the need for the true number of parking spaces.

The Met Council Transit Project Office has not addressed concerns expressed by North Memorial Hospital, including delays to emergency care (including that of the 20,000 individuals who arrive in private vehicles annually), Protecting Safety and Accessibility (including access and egress to/from the Lowry Ave Station), Neighborhood Safety and Accountability for Maintenance, and Ensuring Safe Coexistence of BLRT and Air Care Operations. To address this concern, the Council should amend the Plans to indicate traffic control measures to mitigate issues of private vehicle travel, provide and commit to an operational plan for the station area and platform, and provide a formal response to North Memorial related to Air Care Operations.

Construction of the Line will divert significant amounts of traffic onto West Broadway, to the road’s long-term detriment. Simultaneously, Hennepin County has indicated a potential “turnback” of that facility to the cities of Robbinsdale and Crystal. However, the city will under no circumstances accept that turnback under current Hennepin County policy. To address this concern, the Met Council should amend the Plans to include a full reconstruct (under direction of the Robbinsdale City Engineer) of West Broadway, north of 42nd Ave N.

The City has participated in the Anti-Displacement Work Group, advocated at the Legislature, and continues to work with the newly established Anti-Displacement Community Prosperity Program Board. However, neither Hennepin County nor the Met Council have offered direct resources to be available for residents and businesses in the immediate corridor and walkshed of the project. To address this concern, the Met Council should provide these direct resources.

The City concluded that that Station areas can be better protected from a variety of concerns with the installation of turnstiles and/or other ticketing mechanisms. To address this concern, the Council should amend the Plans to include turnstiles at all station platforms.

The Project shall commit to Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) due to the loss of taxable property on the northwest corner of 40th Ave N and Highway 81, in the amount of a same or similar project along the corridor.

The Project shall commit to the reconstruction of 40th Ave N from Highway 81 to Hubbard Ave, N.

“We made our letter and we all compromised,” said Blonigan. “I let things in there that I wouldn’t have put in there. The other council members let things in there that they wouldn’t have put in there. We’ve been cooperative and we’re going to have a five to nothing or four to one vote to send the letter the way that it is.”