Riverview Streets Winter 2021 - A year in review, design concepts, art at the airport and more!

Ramsey County, Minnesota sent this bulletin at 12/02/2021 02:00 PM CST

2021: A year in review

It has been a busy 12 months for the Riverview Corridor Modern Streetcar project with many milestones and accomplishments.

In the first quarter, community members assembled to form the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and Station Area Planning Task Force (SAPTF), to provide ongoing, well-rounded community input and perspectives on the project. The CAC advises the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) on project design and environmental analysis. The SAPTF guides the development of future station area planning.

Later in the spring, the project team shared the draft Purpose and Need Statement for community review and input. Several tribal governments conducted a thorough review and provided input, followed by a six-week public comment period. This feedback was incorporated into the final, published Purpose and Need Statement which provides an overview of the initial project phase, identifies project goals and will be used to evaluate future project options and decisions. Recent comments from the Federal Transportation Association (FTA) will also be added to the Purpose and Need in early 2022.

In June, we held a public Virtual Open House to share the final Purpose and Need Statement, where we reviewed how modern streetcar was selected as the Locally Preferred Alternative, and took a look ahead at the process to continually integrate public feedback on project goals and objectives.

In August, the SAPTF, along with project staff members, toured the Randolph, Otto and St. Clair station areas to observe development patterns, bicycle and pedestrian connections, and potential sites for future development. Please share your thoughts on these station areas by taking the Riverview Corridor Station Area Planning Survey.

In September, the project team launched an interactive map, as a tool to collect community feedback on the planned route and station locations, historical areas and other key features along the corridor. If you haven’t yet shared your comments, please visit the Riverview Corridor Interactive Map.

Throughout the year, the Policy Advisory Committee and Community Advisory Committee met several times. Please visit the Riverview Corridor Project Library to view meeting materials and learn more about the work of these committees.

We are planning for another busy and productive year in 2022. The Riverview Corridor team will be seeking further feedback on concept design alternatives, other planned station areas, many more meetings and events for community involvement.

Let’s talk historic properties along the Riverview Corridor

Join the Riverview Section 106 and Historic Properties Meeting Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. to learn how historic properties will be considered as part of the project and how you can participate. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires consideration of a project’s potential effect to historic properties and ensures that community members have a voice in the process. The project team seeks your input to identify buildings, structures, landscapes or parks, collection of buildings and other features along the proposed corridor that you feel are historic and important to our past.

Please join us virtually by registering for the Zoom meeting.

Modern streetcar concept design advances

The Riverview project team worked with staff from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Metro Transit, the city of Bloomington and other area stakeholders to refine the Locally Preferred Alternative - modern streetcar connecting downtown Saint Paul to MSP Airport and the Mall of America and serving the neighborhoods in between. The project team developed and evaluated several concept design alternatives for crossing the Mississippi River on the Highway 5 bridge and connecting with the METRO Blue Line on shared tracks to the Mall of America. The project team presented the preferred concept design alternatives to the Community Advisory Committee and Policy Advisory Committee in October for discussion and feedback. You can review the concept design alternatives presented to the committees and read the meeting summaries by visiting the Riverview project library.

The Riverview project team has begun work to develop concept design alternatives for the portion of the project in the Highland and West Seventh neighborhoods and has resumed work addressing the connection with the METRO Green Line in downtown Saint Paul. The project team will share information with the public and ask for your feedback and comments as work progresses. Look for meeting announcements and other engagement opportunities on the Riverview project website.

Help us plan the St. Clair, Randolph and Otto station areas

The current focus of our station area planning work is West 7th at St. Clair, Randolph and Otto avenues. Please take a quick survey to tell us how you experience these neighborhoods and suggest improvements. Your responses will help the Station Area Planning Task Force as they develop plans to guide future growth and investment in these neighborhoods.

Take the Station Area Planning survey

In 2022, we’ll be seeking feedback on other planned Riverview Corridor station areas.

Some places to note and enjoy along this segment of West 7th Street at St. Clair include the neighborhood Cooper’s Foods, Saints Coast Barber Shop and Pajarito’s for modern Mexican food and drinks.

At Randolph and West 7th Street, destinations include Shamrocks for beverages and music, Phi Chay Thai Cuisine for comfort food and 7th Street Parlor for tasty pizza.

Nearby the proposed Otto and West 7th Street station are Mississippi Market Co-op, as well as J.R. Macs Bar and Grill - voted best burger on West 7th Street!

The Aurora: Minnesota-inspired art at MSP

A beautiful new art installation at MSP Airport - The Aurora - is a Minnesota-inspired light show that reflects the changes of seasons.

This interactive sculpture, created by artist Jen Lewin, nods to the natural phenomenon of the aurora borealis (“Northern Lights”). With a twisting wave of thousands of LED lights suspended in air between ticketing and baggage claim, The Aurora welcomes guests and travelers with ever-changing sparkling lights activated by those walking on the “lakes” below. The artist created the art piece to reflect the region and hoped that its collaboration in the dynamic public space would create joy, dance and playful connection.

We want to hear from you. The Riverview Modern Streetcar Project would like feedback from all community members along the Riverview Corridor. What makes the area unique? What are your favorite features? What questions do you have for us? Your thoughts are valuable to our team, so we made it as easy as possible to connect with us. Share your thoughts via email, online contact form, our Twitter and Facebook pages, project website and new interactive mapping tool.