Hiawatha-LRT Fact Sheet

We are writing with some urgency to ask for your help in bringing the Twin Cities’ first light rail transit line to the Hiawatha Corridor in Minneapolis. This line would connect downtown Minneapolis to the airport and Mall of America.

Members of our Congressional delegation in Washington, DC are working together to obtain $200 million in Federal funding for the Hiawatha Corridor, as well as for the Riverview Corridor in St. Paul and the Northstar Corridor to Anoka. This $200 million represents nearly half of the cost of our first light rail system and would be part of a six-year Federal Transportation bill known as ISTEA.

But our Washington delegation needs to know that there is local support in the form of legislation that will provide matching funds. We anticipate that legislation will be introduced soon to authorize between $50 and $100 million in state bonding capacity for light rail. It’s vital that this legislation be approved in both the Minnesota House and Senate.

The timing is critical. Last year, MnDOT announced its intent to build a transitway on a short portion of the Hiawatha Corridor using internal funding and planning is currently underway. This transitway may be a dedicated busway but suggestions that taxicabs be allowed to use it keep surfacing. And while we’re assured that it can be easily upgraded to light rail in the future, this is something that has never been done. In fact, other regions are experiencing pressure to open up dedicated busways to carpools. If we do not obtain funding this year, MnDOT will proceed with its plans and we may loose the opportunity to bring light rail to our region for another six years or even longer.

It’s important that we fight for light rail now. We are one of the few regions of comparable size in our country not building light rail. While the bus will always be the workhorse of our transit system, light rail provides a higher quality component with a proven ability to attract significant numbers of new riders. The busway might require a lower initial investment but the long life cycle (60-75 years) of a rail line and the lower operating costs, especially as ridership grows, more than compensates. Cities across the country are experiencing firsthand the critical role that light rail can play in shaping land use and facilitating private investment.

Please talk with your elected officials about your views. The legislative session begins on January 20th and legislators have only a few weeks to pass the necessary transit funding bill out of committee. To obtain the name, address, and phone number of your senator or representative call 296-0504 and 296-2146 respectively. [Note any upcoming meeting dates.] Please also let Governor Carlson know your views at 296-3391. If you would like to help mobilize public support for LRT funding call Barb or John.

Transit for Livable Communities believes that an investment in the Hiawatha Corridor light rail line is a critical and timely first step toward significantly improving our region's transit system.

What is light rail transit? Light rail is the modern version of the streetcar. Light rail trains are powered by electric overhead wires so they are quiet and do not produce emissions. Trains usually run on track in a private right-of-way separated from other traffic but they can also run in a roadway shared with other vehicles if necessary.

Why the Hiawatha Corridor? The Hiawatha Corridor in Minneapolis is an excellent corridor for LRT. Light rail on Hiawatha would connect:

This 12-mile line connects four of the five busiest destinations in our region. Over 180,00 people work at locations that would be served by this line. It would also serve 53,000 students attending the U of M. The cost of parking structures --for some of which LRT could substitute -- planned at these locations in the next decade may well exceed the cost of the light rail line.

Why is state funding needed now? Our Washington, DC Congressional delegation is working to set aside $200 million in Federal funding for the Hiawatha Corridor as part of a six-year Federal Transportation bill know as ISTEA. We need to provide local financial support for this project to ensure Federal funding. If we don't secure state support for this project, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will implement its existing plans to build a busway instead!

Why is light rail better than a busway? Many people who won't try the bus, will ride the train. In St. Louis, 79 percent of the riders on that city's Metrolink LRT system are new transit riders!

While LRT has a higher capital investment than a busway, it has lower operating costs, especially as ridership grows. As ridership grows, it’s easy to add more cars to a light rail train. In contrast, additional buses and drivers would be needed without light rail.

LRT offers a higher quality trip than bus transit. The ride is smoother, quieter, faster, roomier, and less polluting. In addition, the fixed route makes it easier for people to use the first time.

LRT offers greater potential for redevelopment. The fixed capital investment that light rail represents along with the quiet, emission-free nature of the system makes it attractive to development. In Portland Oregon, $1.3 billion in development has taken place along that city's first LRT line. In Dallas, over $300 million in redevelopment has occurred along the recently opened LRT line.

This Federal money cannot be used for a busway! If we build a busway, we forfeit $200 million. Dallas, Texas, felt that LRT was so important that they built their $800 million starter system entirely with local funds rather than waiting for Federal funding. Baltimore and Cleveland also financed extensions with local funding alone.

A light rail station at the airport offers passengers a direct connection to planes and other ground transportation to nearby cities such as Rochester.

In the future, could the Hiawatha LRT line tie into a regional system? The Hiawatha Corridor would serve as an excellent first line from which other light rail and commuter rail investments would follow. Our region is currently studying a corridor between the airport and downtown St. Paul called the Riverview Corridor and the Northstar Corridor from downtown Minneapolis to Anoka. If a light rail line is built on the Hiawatha Corridor, an extension to the Uptown area (paralleling Lake Street in the 29^th St. corridor) could probably be built for less than the cost of a 2,900 car parking ramp just proposed for the Sears complex on Lake Street.

Local bus service also benefits as the bus system is restructured to efficiently serve transit hubs on a light rail line rather than having most buses go all the way downtown.

Are other cities of our size building LRT? All but two of the cities of our size currently have light rail systems. In addition, many regions smaller than the Twin Cities have or are planning light rail.

City	Existing Miles of LRT & Subway	Additional Miles of LRT Planned	Existing Miles of Commuter Rail
Baltimore	45		187
Cleveland	20
Dallas	20		10
Denver	6	9
Pittsburgh	22	5
Portland, OR	18	18
Sacramento	20	12
San Jose	20		47
San Diego	47	20	43
St. Louis	17	17
Seattle		27

Transit for Livable Communities, an all-volunteer citizen’s organization, supports a vision for transit that includes greatly expanded bus service, light rail, commuter rail, and improvements for cycling and pedestrians. We believe that new growth in our region should be channeled along major transit corridors, not along bigger freeways. We believe transit investments can lower our region's overall cost of transportation while at the same time helping to shape regional growth, cleaning our air, and enhancing our quality of life.