Ramsey County Board gets feedback on projects to be funded by Riverview Corridor money
Ramsey County commissioners heard public feedback Tuesday on an initial list of projects that could be funded by money previously designated for the Riverview Corridor project.
The county had allocated around $730 million for the project, but canceled the project in September. The 12-mile corridor was to connect downtown St. Paul to the Mall of America in Bloomington through a potential streetcar.
A Transit and Transportation Investment Plan was presented to the county board last week and provides direction for how those funds may be reallocated. A vote on the projects is expected June 10.
Specific projects, funding amounts and anticipated year of construction will be approved through the county's Transportation Improvement Program, which is adopted annually by the county board. Approval of the 2026-2030 Transportation Improvement Program is expected in the fall.
Some community members at Tuesday's public hearing expressed concern that the Transit and Transportation Investment Plan does not include West Seventh Street, where the Riverview Corridor was to run.
City projects and other investments in West Seventh had been passed over 'because it was always thought that a major investment was coming our way with Riverview,' said Meg Duhr, president of West Seventh/Fort Road Federation, a district council representing the West Seventh neighborhood.
'Individual community members and neighborhood organizations have spent years working for or against this project, wasting human capital and time while generating deep neighborhood conflict,' Duhr said. 'And now here we are considering a transit and transportation investment plan that details all the ways that the county will spend the funds previously allocated for Riverview without a single project in our community and no mention of the remaining critical needs on West Seventh itself.'
Infrastructure conditions on West Seventh Street worsened as the area lost out on millions in infrastructure and transit investment, Duhr said.
Metro Transit in 2014, for example, backed off of plans for a $28 million rapid bus line from downtown St. Paul to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. The change in plans came at the urging of St. Paul and county officials who were concerned that it might interfere with the Riverview Corridor.
Others at Tuesday's meeting raised concerns with the plan's focus on roads rather than public transit and also called for county support of the New West Seventh Corridor, a transportation plan that includes the city of St. Paul, Metro Transit, the state Department of Transportation and other partners.
Speakers included people from the Riverview Corridor's citizen advisory committee, Sustain St. Paul and Highland District Council's transportation committee.
In its Transit and Transportation Investment Plan, the county identified five project categories focused on roadways, transportation network improvement projects, corridor improvements, Union Depot and railroad safety and access and other areas. Potential projects, categories and prioritization methods were identified during internal staff workshops held earlier this year.
Community members can submit comments on the plan until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
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