Opportunities for you to weigh in
- Metro Transit will host open houses this month to share Snelling Bus Rapid Transit station concept plans for the A Line. Feedback received at the open houses will be used as staff finalizes the recommended project scope this summer. The events are being hosted in collaboration with community groups and the A Line's Community Advisory Committee:
- Monday, May 19, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Open House (no presentation)
Merriam Park Library, 1831 Marshall Avenue, St. Paul - Tuesday, May 20, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Open House (no presentation)
Chatterbox Pub, 800 Cleveland Avenue S., St. Paul - Tuesday, May 20, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Open House (no presentation)
Roseville Library, 2180 N. Hamline Avenue, Roseville
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Dickerman Park Spring Fling This Saturday
On Saturday, May 17th from noon-4PM, join your neighbors to celebrate spring and learn a little bit about Dickerman Park, a little-known park located along University Avenue between Fairview and Aldine.
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Green Line Launch
June 14th will be a historic day in Saint Paul, a day when the first passengers will ride a train in Saint Paul (other than Amtrak) since 1954. It was 60 years ago this year that the final streetcar line was torn up and taken out of University Avenue, and on June 14th there will be free rides throughout Metro Transit's system and events at eight stations along the new Green Line, including at the Hamline and Raymond Stations in Ward 4.
At the Raymond Station, public art is the focus of event, where local artists are crafting windsocks and art bikes for way-finding, as well as shade structures and a "garden of flowerpots." Guests can join artists in a mural painting project and Forecast Public Art will pilot a pop-up art park. Food trucks, musicians and strolling performers will add to the celebration which is being organized by St. Anthony Park Community Council.
The celebration at Hamline Avenue Station is a State Fair-themed event, complete with a Midway Kidway , Grandstand and International Bazaar featuring Little Africa shops and restaurants. The event will include a showcase from Gordon Parks High School, animal educators from Como Park Zoo, the ChooChoo Bob Show and a "coupon-on-a-stick" to encourage people to explore restaurants via a fleet of pedal-cabs. Organized by the Midway Chamber of Commerce.
To learn more about the opening day events and celebrations happening throughout the line, please visit the Metro Transit website.
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Planning for Streetcars
The Planning Commission has reviewed and recommended the draft plan of a modern streetcar network. The proposed 7-line network includes a "starter" network of three lines which are East/West 7th, Robert Street, and Rice Street, with East/West 7th identified as the first priority line. Of the 7-route network, only the proposed Selby/Snelling and Grand Avenue lines touch Ward 4 directly, but all would connect to the Green Line in downtown. Modern streetcars are similar to light rail trains but typically smaller and without the ability to connect one car to another. This difference makes streetcars more "nimble" and able to share the street with cars in the same lane, and also makes streetcars much less expensive to construct than light rail lines, though still quite pricey. Around the country, five modern streetcar lines will open this year in places as diverse as Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, and Tucson, and cities such as Portland and Seattle have been using modern streetcars to build a reliable, attractive transit system that also attracts substantial investment in housing and jobs along the line.
At this stage, the plan is a forward-thinking exercise about where the City believes modern streetcars could be an effective tool for improving livability and mobility in our neighborhoods. No funding mechanisms have been agreed upon and there is currently no obvious source of funding to build a modern streetcar line in Saint Paul. However, I and others in the City believe that modern streetcars have a great potential to add to the livability, sustainability, and vitality of our community, and we will be working to identify possible funding sources. These sources include the Federal Transit Administration, a possible expanded regional sales tax for transit, and others. An important dialogue is on-going at the regional level about how modern streetcars fit into the regional transit system.
Some business associations and others along the proposed lines have expressed strong concerns about the plan, with most of the concerns centering around: the disruption caused by construction; impacts on parking and access; and cost/benefit. These are all reasonable concerns that I and others in City Hall take very seriously and, if any of the lines are to move forward, there will need to be a much deeper understanding of the impacts (positive and negative) along these routes.
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 Big Picture Project 2014 Progress Report
Earlier this week the Big Picture Project released the Central Corridor Affordable Housing 2014 Progress Report.
The Progress Report tracks key indicators over the past few years to see how change is happening along the Corridor and helps evaluate if adjustments need to be made. The report also highlights key initiatives and investments happening that respond to The Big Picture Project's goals and recommendations. Trends include:
* For every new subsidized unit on the Corridor, 12 market rate units were added, which indicates the predominance of new housing in the corridor is non-subsidized (7% of all new units are considered affordable).
* Compared to Minneapolis/St. Paul, a higher share of households in the corridor is cost-burdened.
* Population in the Corridor is increasing, and this includes increases in Asian and Black populations.
* Rents are up throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul on the whole, and even more so in the corridor. High rent units (over $1,995) make up an increasing share of available units on the corridor, the majority of which are in Downtown Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, and Downtown St. Paul.
* Assessments in the Corridor-one of the main levers of property taxes that can put pressure on low-income homeowners-have not gone up.
A copy of the report is available here.
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Lessons Learned From Pothole Season
This late winter/early spring may have been the City's worst in recent memory in terms of potholes. The harsh winter and repeated freeze/thaw cycle certainly played a role, but the potholes indicate a larger problem of deferred maintenance on arterial streets. Potholes affect all users of the street, including cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, bicycles, and even pedestrians, and the severity of this year's potholes have pointed out a glaring need for reinvestment in our City's major roadways. My colleagues and I will be working with the Mayor and our Public Works Department to advance street repaving and reconstruction projects along arterial streets in the coming years. This will not be easy to do, and may involve focusing more of the City's limited Capital Improvement Budget on streets for a period of time, and seeking new or additional funding sources.
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Amtrak Comes to Union Depot
Amtrak and Ramsey County shared a ribbon-cutting in May as the intercity rail transit provider officially moved its Twin Cities passenger hub from the Midway facility on Transfer Road to Union Depot. The Empire Builder Line, which runs from Chicago to Seattle through the Twin Cities with one train per day in each direction, now stops at Union Depot. Bringing passengers back to Union Depot creates creates a very different impression for first time visitors to the Twin Cities compared to the former Midway location. Kudos to our partners at the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority for their work making this move a reality.
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Citywide Bike Plan
For the first time in its history the City of Saint Paul has put out a draft citywide bikeways plan. The plan calls for adding 214 miles of additional bikeways in Saint Paul (on top of the existing 144 miles) over the next 20 years. The public comment period on the draft plan ended in April, but there will be more opportunities to weigh in as the plan works its way from the Transportation Committee of the Planning Commission, to the full Saint Paul Planning Commission, and then to the City Council. In Ward 4, most of our district councils have offered feedback on the plan and how the proposed routes should be prioritized. As a regular cyclist, I am particularly enthusiastic about the elements of the plan that improve bicycling connections in areas that currently have major barriers, such as a freeway or railroad, and about the proposed major improvements in downtown. Providing good facilities for bicycling was once seen as an "amenity," but increasingly is seen as a necessity to provide safe ways for people to traverse our city while aiding their health, reducing emissions, and improving quality of life.
Click here for more information on the plan or to learn about upcoming meeting dates. |
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Congratulations to the Sustainable Saint Paul Winners
The 2014 Sustainable Saint Paul awards were especially exciting this year as more than half of the winners are along or near the Green Line, opening in just a few weeks. The winners have made a commitment to creating a greener, cleaner, healthier future with dedication and innovation. While all the groups have come up with fantastic ways to conserve energy, reduce waste, and save water, I'd like to highlight the honorees from Ward 4:
The Chipotle Edible Garden at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory won the Environmental Education & Awareness Award. This project is a seasonal demonstration garden created to inspire visiting families, schools, and other community organizations to embrace healthy, active lifestyles through edible gardening.
The Energy Innovation Corridor, known as EIC, was awarded the Energy Innovation Award. The EIC has developed a first-of-its-kind clean energy and transportation showcase in the United States. The EIC comprises of cross-section partners from varying sectors, including government, business, non-profit and utilities. These partners define and brand the initiative and develop goals and metrics to exceed Minnesota State energy standards.
This year's Water Quality or Conservation Award goes to Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD), the City of Saint Paul, Metropolitan Council and Ramsey County for their water quality and conservation efforts along the Green Line corridor. The development of the light rail presented a tremendous opportunity to construct sophisticated storm water management practices in an urban setting. In choosing to take a holistic approach, the partnership was forged with a commitment to improve storm water management and transform the aesthetics of the Green Line corridor through the implementation of highly visible green infrastructures practices.
Congratulations to all the winners.
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Representatives from the CRWD, City of Saint Paul, Metropolitan Cuncil, Ramsey County, and Mayor Coleman
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