Scott County should not count on ever being served by light rail and perhaps not even commuter rail, but has every right to seek help in assembling a more robust system of express buses, the leader of the Metropolitan Council told a gathering of local officials Thursday in Prior Lake.

"There will only be one or two additional light rail lines in this region," council chair Peter Bell warned. "We just simply don't have the population density, and we won't get the federal matching dollars.

"There will be Bus Rapid Transit," which mimics light rail, "and express buses, but the dynamics simply don't exist for a huge expansion of light rail. We might only have one or two more commuter rail lines in this region."

The council supports the county's desire to at least study the possibility of a commuter rail line, the Dan Patch, from Northfield through Savage and into the center of the region, he said. But even if a study eventually takes place, he added, many possibilities are studied for every project that actually materializes.

Bell was offering one of his periodic updates on regional issues in a city council chamber full of mayors, county board members, tribal officials and other key players in the county. Most of his top managers came along as well.

After the Central Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Paul, he said, the only two additional light rail prospects that seem realistic are the Southwest Corridor, from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, and the Bottineau, which extends up through the northwest suburbs toward Rogers.

But, in response to a question from Scott County Board member Jon Ulrich, Bell said he agrees with less densely populated counties such as Washington and Scott that the proceeds from the quarter-cent sales tax for transit that is being imposed in five metro counties should be made available for express buses.

"We at Met Council support that broader definition of 'transitways,'" he said. "We've studied 29 corridors, many of which are not eligible for commuter rail or Bus Rapid Transit. There just isn't the ridership. Maybe the only thing that makes sense for them is an express bus route. We think that should be allowed under the quarter-cent sales tax funding."

The topic of expanding the definition of transitways eligible for that money may well arise in the next legislative session, Bell said. "We haven't decided whether to pursue that, but I have weighed in on it, in part because I'd like you guys to come in [as payers into the system] and I know you won't if you don't get anything back, and I don't blame you."

Scott and Carver counties have declined to impose the tax, saying they don't see the benefit for their areas. The bigger counties are leery of having money they are trying to use to create leaps toward transit infrastructure, bled off into what they say the Met Council and others should be and are doing anyway.

Bell did remind the gathering that eastern Scott County will be served by one major new improvement being fasttracked by a $133 million federal grant: a new Bus Rapid Transit line on I-35W from downtown Minneapolis to Lake-ville. He also mentioned a series of smaller grants, including one that will help express buses from Shakopee avoid traffic and make faster trips.

Bell praised Scott County as a model for the region in its efforts to crack down on patchwork, large-lot development in rural areas that makes later suburbanization more difficult. And Prior Lake Mayor Jack Haugen praised the council for making the county feel less like the "forgotten child" it has been in the past, by increasing its presence in local gatherings.

Thursday's session was part of a one-two punch of meetings between Scott Council officials and key leaders with a role in laying out transportation investments. The second will be in early September, with the new chief of the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

David Peterson • 952-882-9023