 METRO Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) staff spent the summer talking and listening to people in the corridor at neighborhood meetings, community events and pop-up tables. As we head into fall, we will continue to seek out opportunities to connect with people in the corridor, so let us know if you want Gold Line staff to attend your meeting or event. Have a wonderful end of summer!
At the end of July, we held two neighborhood meetings in Saint Paul to get community feedback on locations for the White Bear Avenue and Mounds Boulevard stations.
On July 24, community members came out to Culver’s near the Sun Ray Shopping Center to tell us where the White Bear Avenue station should be located. In this area, the proposed Gold Line BRT would travel on bus-only lanes that will be built south of Old Hudson Road. The proposed station would be located between White Bear Avenue and Ruth Street. Project staff wanted feedback on whether the station should be at Van Dyke Street (closer to White Bear Avenue) or at Hazel Street (closer to Ruth Street). Community members expressed that either location would be fine. The Van Dyke Street option would provide more access to businesses, and the Hazel Street option would be better access to the neighborhood. of the group also discussed safety, pedestrian connections to the station, future development in the area and interest in improved connectivity throughout the East Metro. View materials from this meeting.
 Neighbors gathered at the East Side Enterprise Center in Saint Paul on July 31 to comment on the location for the proposed Gold Line BRT route and station in the Mounds Boulevard area. Two options are being considered: A route on Mounds Boulevard with bus-only lanes and a station at 3rd Street, or a route on Maria Avenue with buses traveling on the road with regular traffic and a station at Conway Street. Neighbors who attended the meeting preferred the route and station location on Mounds Boulevard, and said the location would still be easily accessible for the neighborhood. Concerns with the Maria Avenue option included increased traffic congestion and potential impacts to pedestrians. View materials from this meeting.
Thank you to all who came out to the neighborhood meetings and spoke on behalf of your community!
Over the summer, the Gold Line BRT project received public comments in many ways: public meetings, community and pop-up events, door-knocking, online surveys, phone calls, emails, and letters. If you provided comments, you may be asking, "So, now what? How are my comments used?”
Public input plays an important role in the Gold Line project planning process. We compile and summarize your comments and share them with the project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Community and Business Advisory Committee (CBAC). The committees consider the public comments, along with the results from the technical work done by project engineers and planners, and then recommend design options to the Corridor Management Committee (CMC) for review and approval.
Thank you to those who talked to Gold Line project staff over the summer. You offer a unique perspective from your community. We will review your comments and use them to make critical decisions about the proposed Gold Line route and station locations. More details on these decisions will be shared later this fall.
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Darrell Paulsen and Steve Morris serve as co-chairs of Gold Line’s Community and Business Advisory Committee (CBAC), a committee comprised of residents and businesses who advise the Metropolitan Council on how Gold Line stations can best serve their community. To get to know them a little more, project staff asked them to share some highlights about themselves.
Darrell Paulsen: Maplewood Station resident representative
Why were you interested in becoming a CBAC member?
I am small business director of a nonprofit, and public transit is often the most effective and economical way of traveling for many of the workers and consumers of our services.
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What unique qualities do you bring to your role as a CBAC co-chair?
In my role as a citizen lobbyist, I have spent the last 25 years advocating and leveraging dollars for transit issues. I am also a community organizer, and we must maintain and develop new relationships with many groups that share common values for public transportation.
When you’re not volunteering on the CBAC what are your other interests?
I am kind of a transit or travel junkie. When I’m not busy being a dad or with my partner in the parks, I also serve on two committees at the Metropolitan Airport Commission relating to travelers with disabilities.
What’s your favorite place to visit in the Gold Line corridor?
I enjoy so many different attributes and communities along the line it’s hard to have a favorite. But, if I were to pick one, it would be the Sun Ray Shopping Center. I’m excited about the hustle and bustle that Gold Line will support in this area.
Steve Morris: Tamarack Station business representative
Why were you interested in becoming a CBAC member?
The East Metro is vastly underserved with transit options. I strongly support the expansion to help our business community thrive by helping move the workforce around, as well as offer options to our residents as they move about.
What unique qualities do you bring to your role as a CBAC co-chair?
As a softball umpire and as a leader in my company, I often have to have difficult conversations and make decisions that exactly half of the people aren’t going to like. As co-chair, I’m confident that Darrell and I will be able to knit together the CBAC’s prevailing opinions while still representing the minority opinions.
When you’re not volunteering on the CBAC what are your other interests?
I am on the advisory board for a charity called the United Heroes League, which helps keeps military families active through sports. I also serve on the City of Woodbury’s Planning Commission, and my summers are spent umpiring adult softball.
What’s your favorite place to visit in the Gold Line corridor?
Who doesn’t love a cement mixer from Culvers?!
Outreach events
Outreach events are still in full swing, so Gold Line project staff can continue to connect with individuals and groups from communities along the corridor. Keep an eye out for a Gold Line booth at community events, a pop-up table at neighborhood businesses and community spaces, or project presentations to neighborhood and business organizations. Check out the Gold Line website to stay up to date on upcoming meetings and events.
Are you interested in connecting about the Gold Line project or want to invite Gold Line staff to your neighborhood group, community organization, business or event? If so, contact Liz Jones, outreach coordinator, for more information: 651-602-1977 or elizabeth.jones@metrotransit.org
Upcoming committee meetings
Corridor Management Committee meets on Sept 6
The Corridor Management Committee (CMC) is scheduled to meet on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. CMC meetings are open to the public and are held at the Metropolitan Council Chambers, 390 Robert Street North, Saint Paul. More information about the CMC members and meetings.
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