It could still end up being served by bus rapid transit, often referred to as BRT. It could also be designated for light rail, however. That’s what changed when Ramsey County decided to take a more-comprehensive look at the questions of which mode would best serve the area, and which route would work best," writes Callaghan.
"The 12-mile corridor connects the eastern termini of both the Blue Line and the Green Lines, completing the triangle formed by downtown Minneapolis, downtown St. Paul and the Mall of America. Ortega was in office when this corridor was first studied in the late 1990s.
“Twenty years ago I said this is the most-important corridor for St. Paul,” he said of the area that includes Lowertown, downtown, Upper Landing, the West 7th Neighborhood, the Highland Park Neighborhood, the airport, Bloomington’s South Loop and the Mall of America. Ortega said he thinks it could have a bigger economic impact on St. Paul than the Green Line," continues Callaghan." Callaghan interviewed Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega and Ward 3 City Councilmember Chris Tolbert for his story. He writes, "St. Paul City Council Member Chris Tolbert, whose Ward 3 includes parts of the corridor, thinks enough has changed in attitudes about mass transit since 2000 that residents will be willing to support transit improvements.
“I was in high school when the last planning went on,” Tolbert said. “There wasn’t a light rail line then. Now people have seen it and they think, ‘Hey, this is pretty good.’” Tolbert said he also thinks with more people living in downtown St. Paul, and with the potential of the 130-acre Ford site, that there is more economic development potential from a single-ride connection between existing employment centers downtown and the Mall of America area.
“It’s really a perfect time to be taking another look at this,” Tolbert said.
