Design Input

Freight Rail and Route Alternatives (2013)

Freight Rail Open Houses, June 2013

Two public open houses were held on June 13, 2013 on engineering concepts for resolving the location of freight rail in the design of the Southwest LRT project. 

• June 13, Benilde-St. Margaret's School, St. Louis Park

Station Location Open Houses, June 2013

Six open houses for the public to learn and provide feedback on proposed locations for all 17 Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension) stations were held in June 2013. 

• June 17, Metro Transit Heywood Office Building,  Minneapolis
• June 17, Harrison Recreation Center, Minneapolis
• June 18, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins
• June 20,  Beth El Synagogue, St. Louis Park
• June 24, Kenwood Community Center, Minneapolis
• June 26, Eden Prairie City Center, Eden Prairie

Freight Rail Engineering Concepts Community Meetings, July 2013

The project hosted community meetings on July 17 and 18, 2013, on engineering concepts for resolving the location of freight rail in the design of the project. The concepts explored various possibilities for co-locating freight and LRT tracks in Minneapolis, as well as options to reroute freight rail traffic in St. Louis Park to make way for LRT tracks. The relocation concepts presented differed from the one described in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Feedback from these community meetings was shared with members of the project’s Business and Community Advisory Committees, the Corridor Management Committee and the Metropolitan Council to help them understand the issues around co-location and relocation as they provide input. The event flyer (PDF) includes a map showing freight rail relocation and co-location concepts.

Minneapolis Segment Recommendation Open House, October 2013

The Metropolitan Council hosted a public open house on October 10, 2013 to receive public input on the project office’s draft recommendation for the scope and basic design of the Southwest LRT (Green Line Extension) project in Minneapolis. This event followed the Southwest LRT Project Office's presentation of a draft recommendation to the project's Corridor Management Committee on October 2, 2013. This draft recommendation is described in the event flyer [PDF].

Freight, Water, and Landscape Studies

In January 2014, the Metropolitan Council hosted facilitated public community meetings focused on studies of freight rail, water resources and landscaping/greenscaping in the Kenilworth area of Minneapolis. 

In February 2014, the Metropolitan Council hosted public community meetings focused on the independent consultants' draft reports on freight rail location alternatives, water resources and landscaping/greenscaping in the Kenilworth area.

Kenilworth Landscape Design (2015, 2016)

Plans for landscape design in the Kenilworth area of Minneapolis were created with input from the community and guidance from the Kenilworth Landscape Design Committee.

Workshop Materials

Materials presented at public design workshops and events are listed below. Materials are in PDF format.

Committee Meeting Materials

Meeting materials from Kenilworth Landscape Design Committee meetings are listed below.

The Southwest LRT Project developed several different station architecture concepts to fit into different settings. These open houses provided an opportunity for community residents to learn about station design and give feedback to project staff. A brief presentation on station design was given at the beginning of each open house.

Open houses were held on the following dates:

• Minneapolis: April 2 and April 8, 2015
• St. Louis Park: April 8, 2015
• Eden Prairie: April 9, 2015
• Hopkins and Minnetonka: April 14, 2015

Municipal Consent Hearings

Municipal consent is process of local review and approval by communities affected by a transit project, and is required under Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 473.3994). During municipal consent, the public is also invited to review preliminary design plans and provide comments directly to local governments or to the Metropolitan Council. The Southwest LRT Project received municipal consent approval twice: once in 2014, and again in 2015 for a revised project scope including design changes in several areas along the LRT route.

2015 Municipal Consent Process

In July 2015, the Metropolitan Council approved a revised scope for the Southwest LRT project, reducing the estimated cost of the project by approximately $250 million. The revised project scope included design changes in several areas along the proposed LRT route. In light of these changes, the Council released revised preliminary design plans on July 23, 2015 and sought municipal consent from Hennepin County and the five cities along the proposed LRT route.

The Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint public hearing on the physical design component of the revised preliminary design plans on August 27, 2015. Cities along the proposed Southwest LRT route held public hearings in September 2015. The Council accepted public comments on the revised plans from July 23 through September 11, 2015. Comments were also accepted by Hennepin County and the cities along the alignment.

2014 Municipal Consent Process

The Metropolitan Council released preliminary design plans for the Southwest LRT Project on April 22, 2014. The Metropolitan Council and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint public hearing on May 29, 2014. Minnetonka, Hopkins, Eden Prairie, and St. Louis Park held public hearings on municipal consent for Southwest LRT in May and June 2014.

The Metropolitan Council approved revisions to the project scope and budget affecting the Minneapolis portion of the Southwest LRT Project on July 9, 2014. The Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint hearing on August 13, 2014 to consider revised preliminary design plans. Minneapolis held a public hearing on municipal consent for the revised plans on August 19, 2014. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners granted municipal consent for the Southwest LRT Project at a special board meeting on August 29, 2014.