The METRO Blue Line Extension Route recommendation passed an important milestone this morning when the Corridor Management Committee voted to advance the recommended route. This is the first official step in moving forward the route recommendation into environmental work and advancing design where further in-depth engagement and review will continue as the project develops.
Following today’s Corridor Management Committee vote, the Hennepin County Board, and the Metropolitan Council is expected to vote on the route recommendation later in June.
These actions come after a 38-day public comment period that included community meetings, virtual open houses, surveys, and other engagements where project staff gathered over 1,100 public comments. This feedback significantly influenced decision-making throughout this process and is meaningfully represented in the final report.
Following the adoption of the route by Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council, the cities of Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Robbinsdale, and Minneapolis will have the chance to weigh in when they enter the municipal consent process in 2023.
The work of the anti-displacement workgroup led by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs is ongoing, with community and agency partners developing actionable policies and strategies to help prevent displacement along the route. Coordinating this work with the environmental review and design development process will help maximize the impact and advance implementation of these policies.
As the project moves forward, staff will be engaging in the environmental review process. The environmental review documents the impacts of alternatives studied, along with ways to avoid, minimize, and mitigate those impacts. Examples include:
- Noise and vibration
- Visual impacts
- Property impacts
- Impacts to parks, soil, and water
- Safety and transportation (bike/pedestrian/transit/vehicles)
- Further develop design details: place station, design sidewalks and connections
The environmental review process also includes robust public engagement to ensure community voices are heard and factored into decision-making going forward.
The project staff wants to thank everyone that has shown interest and provided feedback thus far. We are still years away from a completed project, but with your dedication we can ensure this once in a generation investment in our community is successful.