 For release: March 13, 2014
Contact:
Kayla Bromelkamp, Public Affairs, 612-348-8536
Katie Walker, Public Works, 612-348-2190
News release
As engineers solidify plans along the Southwest Light
Rail Corridor, county and city officials and other partners are making plans
for the places along the line where people will live, work and spend their time
and money.
A committee of county commissioners, city leaders from Eden
Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minneapolis, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park, citizens,
and other stakeholders have created a framework to guide investments that will
spur development at stations along the proposed transit route.
Plans like this are usually created after all the design and
engineering for a transit line have been completed. In this instance, the
county worked with partners to create this plan before that phase of the project was
complete. This allows for the land-use planning to influence the design and
engineering of the proposed stations.
“Stations are often designed with one purpose in mind -- to
provide a place for trains to stop,” said former Hennepin County Commissioner
Gail Dorfman, who chaired the Community Works Steering Committee through this
process. “In this instance we looked at how stations along the Southwest
Corridor can serve the unique needs and values of the community and change the
surrounding area. The investment framework provides options to make that
possible.”
County staff and leaders have worked in close collaboration
with the cities along the line and other partner organizations to maximize the
development potential along the route.
“The cities have been very involved in developing this
plan,” said Commissioner Jan Callison, chair of the steering committee. “These investments
will benefit the communities along the corridor.”
Some of the projects identified in the framework will begin
in 2014. These projects will improve infrastructure to enhance development and make
the areas surrounding stations more transit-friendly places. Corridor cities
and Hennepin County will take action on the investment framework in early 2014.
Funding for the framework came from Hennepin County
Community Works and a federal sustainable communities grant through the Corridors
of Opportunity program, an initiative to accelerate the build-out of a regional
transit system for the Twin Cities.
The sustainable communities program seeks to create national
models in integrating land use planning and economic development with
engineering and transit planning. Outcomes from this project could be used in
developing a national model for transit planning.
A complete copy of the Southwest Corridor Investment Framework
is available on the Southwest Community Works website at
www.swlrtcommunityworks.org.
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
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