More than 300 people representing a cross-section of ethnic and religious groups rallied Saturday at a St. Paul church to speak out for low-income people and small businesses in the heart of the city, where construction looms for the multibillion-dollar Central Corridor light-rail line.
300 rally in St. Paul to demand that light-rail project benefit low-income residents
March 5, 2011 at 10:19PM
More than 300 people filled the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, on N. Dale Street, for a community rally sponsored by the Healthy Corridor for All Coalition.
There, business owners, clergy, local politicians and neighborhood leaders sought to spread the message that policy and planning decisions surrounding the project should focus on making life better for low-income and minority residents who live in Central Corridor neighborhoods along University Avenue.
Such a focus, they said, would include supporting job creation in the area, developing and supporting local businesses, keeping housing affordable and protecting residents from what those gathered see as the negative impacts of gentrification.
And, they added, given that the issue is light-rail construction, it's also important that public transportation be accessible to the wide swath of residents who rely on it most.
"We're not confused about what we want and where we want to do business,' said Eve Swan, a local beauty shop owner and member of the Save Our Homes Coalition. "We can do this as a people. We came together for this purpose."
At the rally, organizers unveiled the results of a health impact assessment conducted by Healthy Corridor For All, which measured current demographics in the area and the potential impact of the light-rail project. Among the study's findings:
• More than 60 percent of all St. Paul jobs are located along the Central Corridor, and 86 percent of the businesses there are small businesses.
• Unemployment is slightly higher among central Corridor residents than in Ramsey County as a whole.
• 45 percent of Central Corridor households pay more than a third of their income on housing, up from 33 percent of households a decade ago. If gentrification persists, those people could be forced from their homes because they're no longer affordable, the study said.
In response, Healthy Corridor for All will pitch a set of zoning solutions that protects Corridor residents to the St. Paul City Council before its April vote.
City Councilman Russ Stark said all the groups share the same goal -- to not only maintain the quality of life that exists along the Central Corridor, but to make it more prosperous, with better access to jobs and a variety of housing.
"We all share the same goals, all these groups who come together, because these are the things we want to protect," he said. "This should create new wealth where there was no wealth before. We will make mistakes along the way, but we will have victories."
Abby Simons • 612-673-4921
