A network of seven streetcar lines could someday emanate from downtown St. Paul, taking riders down West Seventh Street toward the airport, up into the East Side river bluffs or to a series of restaurants and retailers along Grand Avenue.
City officials say after months of technical study that they have narrowed about 30 or more potential routes down to seven commercial and residential corridors. And, they’re fairly confident that all seven are feasible.
The main question before them now is which one or two routes to pursue first. A decision likely will be made by the end of the year.
The seven potential lines would start downtown and run along East Seventh Street, Payne Avenue, Rice Street, Selby and Snelling avenues, Grand Avenue, West Seventh Street or Robert Street. Dakota County also is studying the possibility of some form of transit service along Robert Street, though no plans have been finalized.
Two open houses showcasing the seven potential routes and the ongoing “Streetcar Feasibility Study” will be from 10:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 N. Dale St. Residents are invited to weigh in on which route they prefer at stpaul.gov/open, after reviewing the study online at stpaul.gov/streetcars.
Less expensive and elaborate than light rail but just as visible, the streetcars likely would operate in normal traffic, linking riders to a handful of key destinations within three or four miles of downtown St. Paul.
“We’ve shown through the study — the data-driven, very technical study — that streetcars are very feasible on all these corridors, based on ridership, the potential for economic development and planned land uses,” said Michelle Beaulieu, a city planner. “When you bring in a streetcar line to a corridor that maybe had some gaps in it, a streetcar has the potential to attract residents and developers to help fill those gaps.”
Streetcar proposals have raised a variety of questions, even with diehard transit advocates. In the peak rail years of the 1930s, more than 500 miles of track connected the Twin Cities metro area, linking Stillwater to University Avenue to Lake Minnetonka. Streetcars traveled along University Avenue from 1890 to 1953.
Some see efforts to revive them as misguided nostalgia. Others see an important opportunity to create “feeder” lines, boosting ridership in the metro’s small but growing network of light-rail, commuter-rail and bus rapid-transit lines. Construction costs and operating funds remain a chief concern.
In Minneapolis, officials are studying a possible streetcar line that would start at 46th Street and run through downtown, along Nicollet and Central avenues and to Columbia Heights. In early July, however, officials with the Metropolitan Council took issue with the $200 million Nicollet-Central Modern Streetcar Project, questioning whether it would compete for funding with the Met Council’s own light-rail and bus rapid-transit initiatives.
Met Council officials have said they prefer to fund transit lines that increase ridership along routes already served by buses, as opposed to building lines primarily intended to inspire more economic development and real estate construction. Through Metro Transit, the Met Council administers most of the public transit in the metro.
“A project pursued primarily for development outcomes should be funded locally and should not compete with other priorities for federal and state transportation funds,” said Met Council Chair Sue Haigh in a July 12 letter to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.
St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry is pushing for a transit line down East Seventh Street to complement city and community initiatives on the East Side. Lantry thinks a line can accomplish the twin goals of moving people and attracting further investment.
“I don’t think anybody is under the assumption that if you run a streetcar, prosperity will immediately ensue,” Lantry said. “But it’s a piece of the puzzle. Economic development is an offshoot of having a good transportation system.”
St. Paul’s yearlong study of potential streetcar routes is being conducted by the national transit consulting firm of Nelson Nygaard and HDR Engineering in three phases, with the first and second phases aimed at paring down the number of potential routes. A copy of the second phase, which focuses on the seven routes, was posted online recently at stpaul.gov/streetcars.
“The third and last phase the city is looking at … (is) those seven lines, and determining which would one would make sense to pursue first,” Beaulieu said. The study, which cost about $250,000, is funded largely by private foundations.
Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.
ON THE WEB: