Planning Continues for Bottineau Transitway: study focuses on four alignments

NEWS FROM: MET COUNCIL

Bus rapid transit, light rail being considered

Transit planners in Hennepin County are studying light rail transit (LRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) on a combination of four primary alignments in the Bottineau Corridor.  The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority is gathering public input at six open house meetings throughout the corridor in June in preparation for developing a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the project.

Travel time, ridership, construction costs, economic development opportunities, environmental impacts and community input are among many issues being considered as route alternatives are evaluated. The DEIS is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.

The corridor runs approximately 13 miles northwest from downtown Minneapolis, largely paralleling County Highway 81 (see map). It includes north Minneapolis and several suburban communities, and would also likely draw riders from exurban communities in northern Hennepin County and portions of Wright County.

The proposed alignments, starting at the south end, begin at Target Field and travel west along State Highway 55 to Penn Avenue. One alternative (D1 on the map) would continue west on Highway 55 and then north in the active Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad right-of-way through Golden Valley. A second (D2) would turn north on Penn Avenue and traverse north Minneapolis.   Both would join and follow the BNSF right-of-way parallel to Highway 81 northwest into Brooklyn Park.

At the north end, one alignment would continue north through Brooklyn Park along West Broadway Avenue; the other alignment would go west into Maple Grove.

Early alternatives analysis results eliminate commuter rail

The railroad authority and its corridor partners completed an alternatives analysis study in March 2010. The study process engaged stakeholders through project website information, email distributions and 182 meetings attended by more than 3,500 people. The goal of the study was to explore and identify the best possible transitway modes and alignment locations.

Commuter rail was dismissed as a possible mode early in the study process because of several commuter rail characteristics, including:

• Station spacing characteristics and the resulting limited accessibility to study area travel markets it would provide
• Lack of service frequency throughout the day
• Lack of a northern terminus activity center

The modes deemed most appropriate for further study are LRT and BRT.

“We assume a similar operation to Hiawatha LRT, but more study will be done to reflect the corridor’s needs,” said Brent Rusco, railroad authority manager of the Bottineau Transitway study.

A broad range of possible alignments that work best for both LRT and BRT were studied and narrowed to the current four, with many questions remaining about the alternatives.

Noise, social impacts among local concerns

Currently, the Bottineau project is in the scoping stage, an early stage of the DEIS process, which evaluates the alternatives for their potential social, economic and environmental impacts.  In this stage, a decision could be made about which direction the line would head after it crosses I-94/I-694 to either Maple Grove or Brooklyn Park.

“The scoping stage sets the blueprint for the DEIS,” Rusco said at a June 9 open house in Robbinsdale.  “Really important to this part is public involvement. Public input received through meetings like this affects the process; it has helped guide the alternatives analysis process so far.”

Business professionals, small business owners and families along the proposed alignments made comments at the public open house. Topics of their concerns include:

• Noise and vibration
• Transportation, traffic, parking, pedestrian safety, accessibility
• Parks, greenery, wetlands, wildlife
• Property impacts, jobs, gentrification, economic development
• Neighborhood and social issues

Noise from a possible LRT line was a hot topic at the open house.  Detailed evaluation of noise impacts will be an important component of the DEIS, Rusco said. The DEIS will include noise field monitoring and data collection for LRT, BRT, and all alignments under consideration.  The consultant team is currently developing a schedule for field monitoring.

Next steps

Scoping Process: June 2011 – January 2012

• Concept refinement: June – October 2011
• Public review/scoping meetings: November 2011
• Scoping decisions: January 2012

Preparation of DEIS: January – December 2012

• Public review of DEIS: Late 2012

Opportunities and challenges for the southern alignments

Residents at the Robbinsdale open house debated three alternative sub-alignments through north Minneapolis (D2 on map). Access to businesses, the need to acquire properties and the cost of construction were primary concerns. An important goal during the scoping process is to identify a single, preferred D2 alternative for detailed evaluation in the DEIS, Rusco said.

The alternative to D2, DI through Golden Valley, has a different set of opportunities and challenges. Some of these include faster service for the corridor, fewer stops proposed, wetland and floodplain impacts, and integration with Theodore Wirth Park.

“What we have heard is that [commuters in the northern part of the corridor] value travel time, and understand the travel time advantages of D1,” said Rusco about the feedback from Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park area residents.

However, D2 would offer direct service to north Minneapolis neighborhoods in the Penn Avenue area.  D1 would require north Minneapolis residents to travel to one of the light rail stations outside the neighborhood to access the transitway system.

Despite funding uncertainty, planning moves ahead

Like the Hiawatha and Central LRT projects, Bottineau is positioning to compete for federal funding for construction (up to 50% of total costs). Additional funding for the project could come from the Minnesota Legislature (10%), Hennepin County (10%), and the Counties Transit Improvement Board (30%).

“There is a lot of uncertainty at the federal level,” said Rusco. “Our leadership continues to direct us to move forward aggressively with Bottineau Transitway development.  Those corridors that continue to develop with local consensus on a preferred alternative tend to be competitive for local and federal funding.”

The alternatives analysis study provided rough estimates of the cost to build BRT and LRT. BRT construction costs were estimated at $518 million (2016 dollars).  LRT alternatives were estimated in the range from $920 to $980 million (2016 dollars) to build. Costs for both BRT and LRT include guideway, stations, operations and maintenance facilities, site work, signalization and communications systems, right-of-way acquisition and vehicles.

The alternatives analysis study estimated the annual operating costs for BRT at $21 million (2008 dollars); LRT operating costs were estimated in the range from $20 million to $29 million (2008 dollars).  These costs will continue to be refined as the transitway concepts are further developed during the DEIS study process and beyond.

Meeting travel needs in a growing, aging and diverse corridor

Population growth, increasing traffic congestion, job growth, economic development, transit-dependent households, and an aging community are factors driving the need for more intensive transit investments in the Bottineau Corridor.

Population in the corridor is projected to grow by 27% between 2000 and 2030. The number of households without cars exceeds 50% in parts of north Minneapolis. In addition, the region’s aging population will create more demand for transit service in the near future.  The corridor also includes several large job concentrations that anticipate growth in coming years.

The proposed Bottineau Transitway would be part of a growing regional network of bus and rail transitways designed to enhance regional mobility, slow the growth of traffic congestion, and provide a green alternative to solo commuting.

For more information

Public review and scoping meetings are planned to take place again in November 2011. Comments can also be submitted at any time through the project website. Visit the Bottineau Transit website for more information.