Each of the three fully or partly realized segments of the Twin Cities light-rail system (two in operation, one under construction) faced formidable obstacles. Yet each project ultimately proceeded.
It would be a surprise, then, if the fourth planned segment — the extension of the Blue Line through the Bottineau Corridor between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park — never came to fruition.
It also would be a travesty. This segment would serve some of the metro area's most diverse communities — ones that are most reliant on public transportation but that have been long underserved by it. The project has been disrupted, however, by an issue involving its long-planned route alignment: It was to share space with a freight railroad, and the freight railroad's operator, BNSF, wouldn't get on board. The light-rail line's lead planners think BNSF never will, so they've abandoned negotiations. Realignment to follow. Therein lies an opportunity.
The heading of the 13-mile line from downtown Minneapolis might be characterized as north-by-northwest. North Minneapolis is directly in that path, but the route as envisioned essentially skirts a right angle around it, traveling along Hwy. 55 and Wirth Park west of downtown before re-establishing the diagonal vector through parts of Golden Valley, Robbinsdale and Crystal.
All of those communities fit to varying degrees into what Metropolitan Council Chairman Charlie Zelle terms as an "equity corridor." North Minneapolis, however, fits that description best. The events of 2020 have thrust social justice for disadvantaged populations front and center in the American culture, and here's an opportunity to meet that moment.
But some history is in order, too. Years ago, before the alignment was decided, routes with stops in north Minneapolis were considered. People there, though interested, feared disruption to their neighborhoods — streets reconfigured, parking removed, homes removed. They've since had a chance to see the popularity and community-development potential of other light-rail segments, but those earlier worries won't have vanished. It's worth noting, also, that north Minneapolis has since gained one rapid bus route and that funding is pending on another.
A second possibility for the Bottineau Corridor is a realignment that doesn't share space with BNSF but also doesn't deviate substantially from the original path. This is not a snap-of-the-fingers outcome, but it draws on work already done, and it's not hard to envision it as the most probable.
The third possibility, which doesn't preclude consideration of a partial realignment serving north Minneapolis, is to not quit on the shared portion of original route. This is the stance of officials in the suburban communities served by it. They've invested millions in the configuration, and even small shifts could create safety hazards for their residents in some locations.
