Met Council considers Blue Line Extension options away from Lyn-Park

At the urging of Lyn-Park residents, planners may very well move the Blue Line extension away from Lyndale Avenue and onto a route along Washington Avenue. Time and again, Lyn-Park residents have said that they are worried about how the project may impact their neighborhood’s safety and their ability to build generational wealth. 

The realignment isn’t necessarily a done deal, but project planners are considering two options and plan to gather feedback from community members later this month. However, at least one business along the Washington alignment is opposing it. 

At meetings last month, project planners presented their options to bypass Lyndale Avenue. From Target Field, the realigned route would follow the existing route northwest on 7th Street to 10th Avenue. The realigned route would then turn on 10th Avenue and head northeast. 

One alternative calls for the Blue Line to snake through the backyards of apartment buildings and industrial warehouses as it operates next to the eastern side of I-94. Another alternative calls for operating the route on 10th Street, making a left turn at Washington Avenue, right by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority headquarters. 

Both route alternatives would meet at Washington Avenue at around 15th Street—by the Holiday Gas Station—where the route would then operate on a bridge that is elevated over the West Broadway, I-94 and Washington Avenue intersection, touching down on West Broadway next to the Kemp milk plant. 

Although the east of I-94 alignment would prove less disruptive for residents—the only housing it would eliminate are apartments at 5th Street and 10th Avenue owned by NSA Properties—it would likely interfere with industrial and retail businesses, particularly the 130-year-old Friedman’s Department Store on West Broadway. The light rail bridge, if built as currently rendered, would introduce another eyesore to one of the North Side’s iconic gateways by blocking the view of the building. 

It would also impact the parking spaces David Friedman relies on for his customers. “I’m against it. That’s all. I mean, what more can I say?” said Friedman’s owner David Friedman in March.

Project planners say the bridge is necessary so that the train doesn’t have to contend with highway traffic getting onto or off of Interstate 94 because of how the interchanges are built. Perhaps they are also hoping to avoid what the Green Line has suffered since its opening—the highest concentration of crashes occurring where the line crosses streets that lead onto freeway ramps. 

Since the Green Line opened, trains have been involved in 29 crashes and one fatality at Highway 280, more than any other intersection along both the Blue and Green Line corridors, according to data obtained from the Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database. “The geometrics of it just really make it tough to get a train through there at grade and control the intersection while it makes [the turn] and maintain a safe intersection there,” said Nick Landwer, transit system design director at Metro Transit at a June meeting. 

Building this alignment would also affect Interstate 94 and the ramps that feed off of it into downtown Minneapolis. A MnDOT spokesperson says they are open to analyzing different options and are considering input from the community. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Jacob Frey is concerned about how operating the Blue Line Extension on 10th Avenue will impact a fire station. East of Interstate 94, 10th Avenue is about 65 feet wide, and is currently configured with two travel lanes, two bike lanes, and one lane of parking on the southeast side. 

“There were a couple of concerns that were highlighted by City staff previously, notably access to the fire station, as well as bike and ped access,” said Mayor Frey at a June meeting. Landwer reminded the mayor that the plans are preliminary, and that they are looking into design options to ensure firetrucks can access the fire station. 

“This is an ongoing discussion that we’re having with City staff, particularly in this area,” said Landwer at the same meeting. “If it would be a transitway, we would provide access to fire. A transit way obviously helps with buses and bikes and peds.”

With these obstacles in mind, and with further testing and evaluation for the federally required environmental impact report being released sometime early next year, the Met Council will decide whether or not it makes sense to build the light rail on Washington. They plan to meet with community members later this month to understand the concerns residents and businesses along the Washington corridor may have with the alignment. 

Lyn-Park neighbor Kim Smith and her neighbors intend to ensure project planners give serious consideration to building the project down Washington. She helped draft a state law that passed this past legislative session requiring project planners to answer their questions and host quarterly meetings about the project and to answer questions from community members. 

“We’re trying to ensure that the Met Council, along with MnDOT and the City of Minneapolis, does a robust investigation and gives more serious consideration to the east of 94 alternative options for the Blue Line route,” said Smith in a May text message.

Metro Transit plans to host the following meetings to solicit feedback about routing options they are considering for the Blue Line between Target Field Station and West Broadway Avenue east of I-94: 

METRO Blue Line Extension Minneapolis Community Meeting for East of I-94
Option #1
Saturday, July 22 | 11 am – 12:30 pm
Twin Cities International School
277 N. 12th Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55401

METRO Blue Line Extension 21st Ave Summer Block Party
Saturday, July 22 | 1 pm – 4 pm
Sanctuary Church (updated location)
2022 Aldrich Ave, N,, Minneapolis, MN 55411

METRO Blue Line Extension Minneapolis Community Meeting for East of I-94
Option #2
Tuesday, July 25 | 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Metro Transit North Loop Garage – Training Room 104, 812 N. 7th St., Minneapolis, MN 55411

METRO Blue Line Extension Minneapolis Community Meeting for East of I-94
Option #3
Thursday, July 27 | 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Virtual meeting – Join at https://bit.ly/BLXMeeting