Commentary; Posted: 11/20/02

Pawlenty should take new look at rail projects

Don Heinzman

Proponents of commuter rail and light rail are hoping their plans to solve part of the traffic congestion will not be de-railed. Those plans no doubt will run into tougher opposition, now that Gov. Tim Pawlenty and more Republican legislators have been elected. Pawlenty, in particular, will have to be convinced that the cost will be worth the number who will ride the trains and take cars off the highways.

As he said during the campaign, ìI donít have some physical aversion to rail. I just want to make sure it makes economic sense.î

Rail already is under way. The Hiawatha Avenue-light-rail line is under construction between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America.

A study is under way to have light rail from Minneapolis to St. Paul along University Avenue. Commuter rail, which uses existing tracks, has been under study in Dakota and Washington counties.

The Northstar Commuter rail advocates are still chugging along, hoping the 2003 Minnesota Legislature will fund $123 million to capture in federal funds that are available. The 82-mile commuter rail system running from northwest of St. Cloud to Minneapolis would cost $302 million in 2007 dollars.

The latest cost benefit study done by the Minnesota Transportation Department concluded for every 50 cents spent on the commuter rail there would be 82 cents of benefit.

Gov. Pawlenty has promised to look at this new study, since the first study showed less of a cost benefit.

Paul McCarron, Anoka County Commissioner, who is Chair of the Northstar Corridor Development Authority, knows that commuter rail isnít the only solution to the traffic problems expected along the Highway 10 corridor; for the short term it can be done faster and for fewer dollars than adding a lane on each side of Highway 10.

McCarron said that adding a lane on each side of Highway 10 for that same distance would cost a billion dollars, compared to the $302 million of commuter rail. Itís projected Northstar will attract 10,000 trips per day.

In addition, proponents project $1.2 billion in economic development that will be built up around the Northstar stations along the corridor.

For example, Medtronic, Inc. located its worldwide headquarters in Fridley and said one of the major factors was the potential of a commuter rail station near there.

McCarron wisely points out Northstar is a good short-term solution because it happens to be a well-maintained railroad line in the right place, from Rice to Minneapolis, along a busy Highway 10. Commuter rail cannot be built everywhere, he says, but the state should take advantage of it when itís there.

Moreover, McCarron says, within the next 15 years, Highway 10 will have to be widened as part of a multi-modal transportation system.

Governor-elect Pawlenty has said he would like to see the state bond for expensive transportation projects, but didnít say rail would be in that bonding figure. We are encouraged that Pawlenty is planning a meeting to review the Northstar project sometime next month. This is a good start, we believe.

With the logic, public support, and data on the side of rail, itís time for more Republican legislators and Governor-elect Pawlenty to get on board.

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