Vadnais Heights Press

White Bear Area alternative route map - draft

Contributed

New Purple Line route unveiled

BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER

ST. PAUL — The Corridor Management Committee got a firsthand look at a possible new route for the Purple Line.

Project Manager Stephen Smith said the transit route will remain the same south of Maryland Avenue but will use White Bear Avenue to the Maplewood Transit Station going north. The roadway will accommodate dedicated lanes within the existing public right of way to Beam Avenue, avoiding running buses alongside the popular trail that uses the rail corridor.

Electric buses would use White Bear Avenue in the rapid transit project, bypassing the Bruce Vento Trail. The alternative was first presented by Ramsey County to Maplewood City Council and its special task force in late March but the map wasn’t yet available (see “New twist to Purple Line,” March 29, 2023).

Ramsey County’s Deputy

Calling the alternative Phase II of the route modification study, Met Council and county staff have begun the process to evaluate the new alignment, Smith

said. Phase I, which is the route that includes the Bruce Vento is still on the table, but “shelved for now,” he told the committee.

“We need to bring phase II to the same level as the Bruce Vento Trail alignment to understand tradeoffs between the two,” Smith continued. “There’s a lot we don’t know about the White Bear Avenue alignment, but we are excited to learn more.”

to look at their viability, they won’t go away,” Smith said. There is also the matter of a northern terminus station for the Purple Line, which remains undecided. Three end points are being considered now that White Bear Lake is out of the picture: Vadnais Heights, the Maplewood transit center or Century College.

Committee Member Erik Goebel, Vadnais Heights City Council, stressed that his city is “very interested in getting more transit options. Those who didn’t want the Purple Line have been replaced on the council,” he said. “Our City Council is now interested in transit.”

The high-density, lower-income corridor along County Road D in Vadnais Heights especially needs to be connected to bus rapid transit, Goebel added. St. Paul City Council Member Nelsie Yang, said she supports the realignment onto White Bear Avenue. She encouraged project staff to consider safety first for bikers and walkers along the busy avenue, noting Hillcrest Golf Course is being developed, adding 1,000 new households. “White Bear Avenue has to be in the best shape possible,” she said.

Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, vice chair of the corridor committee, said she is optimistic about the alternative route. “Not only because of the Bruce Vento Trail, but who we will be serving (along White Bear Avenue). It does mean there will be change and data will tell us if this is viable. We will deal with the extension of time).”

Headed by Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle, the committee includes elected officials and community leaders appointed by the council to advise on design and construction of the Purple Line. The April 6 meeting is the fourth time the committee has met. Their next meeting will be sometime in June. For more, see www.metrotransit. org/purple-line-project-committees.