Suburbanites split over Blue Line extension

For the past year, some Northsiders have fought the Metropolitan Council’s plans to build an extension of the Blue Line light rail through their neighborhood. In trying to turn the project away, they cite the negative impact on generational wealth and their properties, as well being a magnet for drug users and the unhoused. Some argue that routing the project out of the North Side will better serve those who live in the suburbs and want to visit downtown Minneapolis.  

Indeed, some suburbanites welcome the Blue Line extension. Many believe it will be good for their communities and great for the region, particularly for those who can’t or don’t drive and live in an area underserved by public transit. 

But suburban transit riders who might benefit from the extension have little idea about what is happening with the project. “I guess [light rail through the Northside] would be convenient,” said Dashan Bell as he rode a Route 721 bus home from work in North Minneapolis one afternoon. Bell added he was unaware that Metro Transit and the Met Council were planning such a line.

Planners at Hennepin County and the Met Council have deliberated since 1988 whether to build some form of fast, high-capacity transit to connect downtown Minneapolis with the northwestern suburbs. The goal is to serve the fast-growing number of jobs and residents, and to address the traffic congestion that comes with it.

After evaluating bus and light rail options, as well as deciding to extend the line as far as either Maple Grove Transit Station or Target North Campus in Brooklyn Park, Hennepin County decided the Met Council should build a light rail to the Target North Campus, citing the potential to serve more diverse low-income households—about 60 percent of residents who would be served are people of color—as well as providing access to a community college, a library, and Target’s planned office park on a 300-acre site, 88 acres of which were completed in 2016. 

For the light rail to get there, project planners decided to use Olson Memorial Highway from Target Field Station to Theodore Wirth Park, then north on Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) right-of-way through the park, serving the cities of Golden Valley, Robbinsdale and Crystal along the way. At 71st Avenue in Brooklyn Park, the line would operate on West Broadway Avenue due north to the Target North Campus. The alignment was estimated to cost $1.5 billion to build. 

However, the alignment proved unworkable since BNSF was unwilling to negotiate use of its right-of-way access with Hennepin County and the Met Council, which resulted in project planners deciding to change the alignment. The alignment north of 71st Avenue in Brooklyn Park remains the same. But south of 71st Avenue, planners want to run the line down the middle of Bottineau Boulevard, also known as County Highway 81. The boulevard turns into West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis. 

The new alignment does not yet have a cost estimate. They plan to develop an estimate once the alignment is finalized. A Met Council spokesperson said they spent over $141 million to plan the extension between 2014 and February of this year. In May, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $50 million to plan out the project.

Some believe the investment is worth it. Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston sees the Blue Line extension project as potentially able to unify the city, parts of which are not served by regular route buses that run all day. “If you look at northern Brooklyn Park, in many cases we have a ton of businesses that are doing quite well. It’s sometimes very difficult for people in southern Brooklyn Park to get those opportunities,” said Winston at a June meeting of the project corridor management committee. 

“So this will give us the ability to connect the east, the west, but also the north and the south, all the various parts of Brooklyn Park, so that it’s not seen as two cities within one city.”

Victoria Kepa, who runs a nonprofit in Brooklyn Park that increases literacy among West African families, children and youth, agrees. “You can go [on light rail] from Brooklyn Park all the way to the Mall of America and stop along the way. You would be able to take a bus if you wanted to, if you have a job along those lines,” said Kepa. “[And] if you were to go downtown, and you have a park-and-ride, where you can drop off your car, get on a train, go downtown, do your job, come back and pick up your car, so that you can then be able to do other things. I mean, I think that’s huge.”

Kepa, who also serves on the Blue Line Anti-Displacement Committee, is concerned for those who live along and beyond the light rail corridor who may be displaced as property owners may increase their rents when the light rail extension comes in. “We want to make sure that the people who are already there continue to remain there,” said Kepa. The committee decided on recommendations in May to require rent control, which restricts how much rent can increase per year, as well as relocation assistance, basic income, first dibs for tenants to buy the buildings they live in, as well as first-time homeowner assistance. 

However, some business owners are more worried about near-term construction impacts. One of them is Angela M (last name withheld by request) who has run Prime Scrubs and Medical Supply at Brooklyn Boulevard and West Broadway Avenue in Brooklyn Park for 14 years. “I don’t go to places where they are doing construction. I don’t want to drive over where roads are closed because I don’t want to go through that hassle. The exact same thing will happen to us,” says Angela at her store one June morning. She opposes the project, saying each project has its positives and negatives.

Angela said what can help her business stay afloat during construction is monetary assistance. “When business goes down, I still have to pay rent and utilities.” The anti-displacement recommendations include having the Met Council create a fund to make businesses whole if they lose revenue during construction. 

Meanwhile, transit riders remain in the dark about plans to bring the light rail to Brooklyn Park. Despite this, most of them were receptive to the light rail coming through the suburbs and were indifferent about whether or not it should go through North Minneapolis.

One person who did not want to give their name but grew up in the Crystal area and works fast food jobs said bringing light rail to Brooklyn Park would be a good idea and supports it running through North Minneapolis. “Transportation rules the nation. We have to commute. We have to travel,” he said as he rode home from work on a Route 705 bus. 

“I think [light rail serving the] Northside is a great idea. There are more people using public transit [in North Minneapolis] compared to New Hope and Crystal, and it might take some of the load off of the bus routes.” 

Meanwhile, Shirley Miller, who has been commuting to her job in downtown Minneapolis from Brooklyn Park every day for the last 35 years, is worried about light rail going through North Minneapolis. She wants the extension to bypass the North Side and talks about a route she sometimes takes, the 724, that used to run express into downtown Minneapolis before the agency cut back on the route to Brooklyn Center Transit Center when they launched the D line in December. 

“I like the 724, because I can get on here [in Brooklyn Park], get on the highway [at Dowling] and bypass all the riff raff [rowdy high school students], for the lack of a better word,” said Miller, who is Black. “Anything that bypasses this area, from downtown to 30th, that would be perfect in a perfect world.”