Meet the outreach staff
Community outreach coordinators are first point of contact for public
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Daren Nyquist
Eden Prairie
Formerly senior project manager at Grassroots Solutions, a Minneapolis consulting firm specializing in development of community engagement strategies, Nyquist also was a management analyst in the Dakota County Office of Planning and Analysis. He has a master’s degree in public leadership from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton College.
Contact:
612-373-3894
daren.nyquist@metrotransit.org
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Dan Pfeiffer
Minnetonka, Hopkins, Edina
Pfeiffer was an outreach intern and associate community outreach coordinator for the past two years on the Central Corridor LRT Project, covering Minneapolis. Pfeiffer served in the U.S. Army in Iraq where he conducted outreach on the process and importance of voting prior to the first elections in that country. He has a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in public policy and leadership from the University of St. Thomas.
Contact:
612-373-3897
daniel.pfeiffer@metrotransit.org
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Sophia Ginis
St. Louis Park & Minneapolis
Formerly outreach manager for the Center for Science, Technology & Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Ginis earned a master’s degree in advanced policy analysis from the school and her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Minnesota. She also has been a community organizer in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis. She speaks Spanish in addition to English.
Contact:
612-373-3895
sophia.ginis@metrotransit.org
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Sam O’Connell, AICP
Public Involvement Manager
As manager of public involvement, O’Connell will oversee outreach efforts for the Southwest LRT Project. Formerly a senior transit specialist for Dakota County working on Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (Red Line), O’Connell also has been a principal planner for the Minnesota Department of Transportation where she worked on several passenger rail studies and managed public involvement activities. She has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Mankato State University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Contact:
612-373-3815
sam.oconnell@metrotransit.org
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Project status
The Southwest LRT Project (Green Line Extension) is in the engineering phase of project development. The project will extend the Green Line (Central Corridor LRT) set to open in 2014 between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. Construction of the Southwest LRT line would begin in 2015. Service would begin in 2018.
The Preliminary Engineering process will continue into 2014 and complete about 30 percent of the design work. During this phase, the Metropolitan Council and project partners will:
- Finalize placement of stations, LRT tracks, the operation and maintenance facility, and park and rides
- Evaluate the co-location or relocation of freight rail service in the Southwest LRT corridor per direction from the Federal Transit Administration and choose an option
- Refine estimates of project costs, benefits and impacts
- Fully commit local funding sources
 Alignment visualization
The Southwest LRT project prepared a narrated visualization of the Locally Preferred Alternative in 2012, showing an aerial view of a journey from Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis along the proposed route. Final route selection is dependent on the outcome of preliminary engineering and the environmental review process.
To view the visualization, go to the project web site at
www.swlrt.org and click on the Route page, or check out the Metropolitan Council’s YouTube channel.
Link: Southwest LRT Alignment Visualization
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Resolving technical issues
During the engineering phase, the Southwest LRT Project will resolve technical issues raised by comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, including the exact positions of tracks and stations, the design of intersections and bridges, and other design challenges.
These technical issues will be resolved by working together with cities along the route as well as with Hennepin County and state agencies. The Community and Business Advisory Committees are also key participants in the isuse resolution process.
To help manage the issue resolution process, project engineers have divided the Southwest LRT route into Technical Issue Segments. The 21 segments in the map below are numbered in geographic order from west to east – not in order of priority. Four additional issues affecting the entire line are also listed.
The top three issues currently to be resolved during engineering are the route through Eden Prairie, the location of the Operation and Maintenance Facility, and the location of freight rail traffic.
Technical Issues Map
- Eden Prairie Alignment
- Nine Mile Creek Crossing
- Golden Triangle Station
- Shady Oak Road Crossing
- City West Station and Hwy. 212/62 Flyover Bridges
- Opus Station
- Minnetonka-Hopkins Bridge
- Shady Oak Station
- West/East segments interface
- Hopkins Station
- Excelsior Blvd. Crossing
- Blake Station
- Louisiana Station
- Wooddale Station
- Highway 100
- Beltline Station
- West Lake Station
- Kenilworth Corridor
- Bassett Creek Valley Corridor
- Royalston Station/Interchange Project Connection
- Freight Rail Co-location/Relocation Alternatives
Issues affecting the entire LRT alignment (not shown on map):
22. Traction Power Substation and Signal Bungalow Locations
23. Operation and Maintenance Facility Location
24. Park & Ride, Kiss & Ride and Bus Layover Locations
25. Trails and LRT Interface Coordination
Revamped website for Southwest LRT Project
The next time you seek information on the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project using the Metropolitan Council’s website, you will notice some changes. The Council recently revamped its website with a focus on making it easier to navigate around the site and find information. A few pages you might want to bookmark:
Advisory committees
The project continues seeking public input via its Community and Business Advisory Committees and will hold public open houses this summer before station and support facility locations are finalized.
For upcoming meetings, please check our website at www.swlrt.org and look under Committees.
Electronic newsletters
To receive the latest Southwest LRT Project news, please sign up to receive newsletters by email. Go to www.swlrt.org and enter your email in the white ENewsletter Sign Up box at the bottom of the home page.
About the project:
The Southwest Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project (Green Line LRT Extension) will operate from downtown Minneapolis through the southwestern suburban cities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie, passing in close proximity to the City of Edina. The proposed alignment is primarily at-grade and includes 17 new stations and approximately 15.8-miles of double track. The line will connect major activity centers in the region including downtown Minneapolis, the Opus/Golden Triangle employment area in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, the Eden Prairie Center Mall, and the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. Ridership in 2030 is projected at 29,660 weekday passengers. The project will interline with the Green Line (Central Corridor LRT), which will provide a one-seat ride to destinations such as the University of Minnesota, state Capitol and downtown St. Paul. It will be part of an integrated system of transitways, including connections to the Hiawatha LRT line, the Northstar Commuter Rail line, a variety of major bus routes along the alignment, and proposed future transitway and rail lines. The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Southwest Corridor Management Committee, which includes commissioners from Hennepin County and the mayors of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie provides advice and oversight. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), state of Minnesota and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA). The Southwest LRT Project website is www.swlrt.org
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