East metro joins race for mass transit

Just weeks ago, Washington County transportation officials fumed that the county was losing ground in the metro-wide race for commuter trains and other mass transit to help relieve crowded highways.

The Metropolitan Council's long-range transit study, the county board was told, included few promises for Washington County. Don Theisen, the county's lead engineer, said that the county was falling victim to a west-metro bias despite growing evidence that huge numbers of commuters were funneling through Washington County into St. Paul and Minneapolis.

But now Washington County, like the six other metro counties, is furiously computing the advantages of imposing a quarter-cent sales tax authorized by a new Minnesota transportation bill. While commissioners must first vote whether to impose the tax, Theisen said the county is suddenly in a better position to join the regional transit picture.

"The good news is that this transportation bill brings the region together," he said last week. "Finally, for the first time, transit has a revenue source that allows some planning."

Theisen and other Washington County leaders look at transit planning with urgency. An estimated 80,000 vehicles a day use the Interstate 94 corridor past Woodbury and Oakdale -- a number comparable to I-94 through Maple Grove in the northwest metro.

Thousands of Washington County residents commute to jobs in St. Paul and Minneapolis. County officials said the county's population, already approaching a quarter million residents, could grow by another 150,000 people by 2030.

Despite these numbers, Washington County has almost no mass transit. Buses operate out of some cities, but the county is working to develop four substantial transit corridors: I-94, Red Rock and Rush Line commuter lines that would pass through the county en route to St. Paul, and the heavily traveled Hwy. 36 to Stillwater.

All the metro counties are trying to decide whether to enter into a joint powers agreement that would give them considerably more influence in determining regional mass transit needs. A formula yet to be decided would determine how much sales tax money collected by the participating counties would be funneled into which projects, and when. Jim Schug, Washington County's administrator, said the county could raise $4.5 million to $5 million a year.

If all seven counties levy the tax, about $100 million a year would be raised for rail lines or busways.

"The emphasis will be to try to get to the common good," said Jim McDonough, a Ramsey County commissioner.

He said the counties want to make sure that sales tax proceeds pay for new projects and build them in a more timely fashion. Such dedicated funding, he said, should speed transit projects when counties seek federal funding and need to show their "local share" before the money comes available.

Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt said she agrees there is a "heavy bias to the west metro" and said that could be changed if all metro counties work together to plan a strategy.

Such planning would include economic and environmental considerations, she said, and improving the overall flow of commuters throughout the metro area.

"It's not all about trains, it's truly about transit and moving goods and people in the best possible way," she said.

Myra Peterson, a Washington County commissioner and a leading east-metro transportation advocate, said she supports the sales tax because the county "needs to sit at the table" to make progress with mass transit.

Washington County residents, meanwhile, are being asked what they think. So far, forums have been held, in Stillwater, Forest Lake and Woodbury, and another will be held Thursday evening at the Cottage Grove City Hall. The county plans another set of transit forums this summer.

Transportation planner Mike Rogers has been leading the community forums. Attendees have been voicing three main desires, he said: Increase the frequency of bus service already offered, bring transit services closer to where people live, and extend the range of times when buses leave the suburbs in the mornings and leave Minneapolis and St. Paul in the evenings.

Some Washington County residents have asked for specific transit services. For example, those who attended the Forest Lake forum said they love the new bus line to downtown Minneapolis and now they want express bus service to downtown St. Paul, Rogers said.

Joan Nicolai was one of about 13 people who attended last week's transit forum in Woodbury. She takes the express bus from Woodbury, where she lives, to her job in downtown St. Paul.

"I love the express service, and I really want the shuttle buses back," she said. The shuttles used to stop in various housing subdivisions and transport passengers from their neighborhoods to one of the two local park-and-ride lots in Woodbury. "It takes so long to get to the park-and-rides because of the traffic level here in Woodbury," she said.

She's concerned that transit services aren't keeping up with the growth in Washington County. And while she would support adding a quarter-percent sales tax to fund more transit options throughout the Twin Cities, she said she'd like to see more of those services offered in her home county.

Meanwhile, Rogers said, county officials were scrambling last week to figure out how to make the best from the new transportation bill.

"Everybody's asking the same question: What do we get out of it if we agree to impose this tax on our residents?"

Kevin Giles • 651-298-1554 Allie Shah • 651-298-1550