AGENDA
OPEN HOUSE
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6:00 – 8:00 PM
Review materials
Ask questions
Provide feedback on purpose,
needs, and alternatives
Sign up for email list
Fill out comment cards
PRESENTATION
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
OPEN HOUSE
6:30 PM
7:00 – 8:00 PM
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PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE #1
SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
West Side Room
Wellstone Center
179 Robie Street East, St. Paul
INTRODUCTIONS
WHO IS ON THE PROJECT TEAM?
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Dakota County Regional Railroad Authority
Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority
Consultant Team (led by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.)
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PROJECT INVOLVEMENT
LEAD AGENCIES
Ramsey County Regional Railroad
Authority (RCRRA)
Dakota County Regional Railroad
Authority (DCRRA)
Project Management Team
COMMITTEES
Steering Committee &
Technical Advisory Committee
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Eagan
Inver Grove Heights
Lilydale
Mendota Heights
Rosemount
South St. Paul
St. Paul
Sunfish Lake
West St. Paul
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DARTS
Metro Transit
Metropolitan
Council
MnDOT
MVTA
GENERAL PUBLIC AND OTHER
STAKEHOLDERS
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Dakota County Regional Chamber of
Commerce
Dakota County Technical College
Inver Grove Community College
River Heights
Sierra Club
St. Croix Lutheran High School
St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
Transit for Livable Communities
UMore Development LLC
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PURPOSE OF OPEN HOUSE
WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY?
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Provide information on:
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Project history
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) process
Get your input on:
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Project purpose and need
Project goals and objectives
Initial range of alignment alternatives
Mode alternatives
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PROJECT HISTORY
WHAT STUDIES AND PLANS INFORM THIS
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS (AA) STUDY?
Guidance includes, but is not limited to, the following:
 2000 Redevelopment Design Framework: A Strategy for South Robert
Street’s Renaissance (2000)
 Robert Street Corridor Transit Feasibility Study (2008)
 Ramsey County 2030 Comprehensive Plan (2009)
 2010 Regional Transitway Guidelines (2010)
 2030 Transportation Policy Plan (2010)
 Metro Transit Arterial Transitway Corridors Study (2011)
 Dakota County 2030 Transportation Plan (2012)
 City Comprehensive Plans and Small Area Plans
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2008 FEASIBILITY STUDY
WHAT ROLE DOES THE 2008 FEASIBILITY STUDY PLAY
IN THIS AA STUDY?
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Provides a foundation for the AA
Identified alternatives will serve as starting
point for the AA
Identified performance of alternatives—bus,
bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail transit
(LRT), and streetcar.
Will support the early, efficient narrowing of
alternatives in the AA
2008 Feasibility Study
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NEW STARTS & SMALL STARTS PROGRAM
HOW ARE TRANSIT PROJECTS FEDERALLY FUNDED?
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FTA New Starts & Small Starts program for funding major capital transit
investments
AA is the first step of the New Starts project development process
Projects with higher benefit and lower cost are more competitive for New
Starts and Small Starts funding
Passage of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)
changes the New Starts & Small Starts process, including the AA, but it will
adhere to the same principles as previous federal legislation
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FTA PROCESS
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Preliminary Engineering
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Record of Decision
Final Decision/Right-of-Way
Construction
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) Requirements
FTA New Starts Process Steps
Alternatives Analysis
(Select Locally Preferred Alternative)
Operations
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AA STUDY SCOPE
WHAT WILL THIS AA STUDY ACCOMPLISH?
The study will:
 Establish the purpose of and need for the Robert Street Transitway
 Identify a limited number of alternatives for detailed study
 Evaluate alternatives against project goals, objectives and performance
measures
In order to:
 Identify the Locally Preferred Alternative(s)
 Develop a recommended course of action to advance the conclusions of
the AA within guidance of federal funding process
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INSERT MAP OF STUDY AREA
STUDY AREA
PROJECT PURPOSE
Draft for public input:
The purpose of the Robert Street Transitway is to
provide the necessary transit infrastructure and
service to meet the long-term regional mobility
and local accessibility needs between downtown
St. Paul and areas within Dakota County.
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PROJECT NEEDS
Draft for public input:
 Increasing travel demand
 Increasing land use densities
 People who depend on transit
 Transportation system deficiencies
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PROJECT GOALS
Draft for public input:
PRIMARY GOALS:
 Improve mobility and accessibility
 Enhance the effectiveness of transit service
within the corridor
 Provide cost effective and financially feasible
transit solutions
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PROJECT GOALS (CONTINUED)
Draft for public input:
SECONDARY GOALS:
 Support and enhance existing and planned
development
 Support healthy communities and sound
environmental practices
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INSERT MAP OF STUDY AREA
2008 FEASIBILITY
STUDY MODES &
ALIGNMENTS
INSERT MAP OF STUDY AREA
UNIVERSE OF POTENTIAL
ALIGNMENTS TO BE
CONSIDERED IN AA
STUDY
PROJECT TIMELINE
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
Fall 2012
• Finalize project purpose, need, goals and objectives
• Identify initial universe of alternatives
Winter 2012 2013
• Preliminary definition and evaluation of alternatives
2013
• Detailed technical analysis
Open Houses are tentatively scheduled for February-March
2013 and Fall 2013.
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NEXT STEPS TODAY
WHAT’S NEXT TODAY?
We invite you to:
 Review materials
 Ask questions
 Provide feedback on purpose, needs, and alternatives
 Sign up for email list
 Fill out comment cards
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QUESTIONS?
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