Ramsey bids anew for Northstar rail station

With dreams of a commuter rail train stopping in the city of Ramsey, City Council members are renewing their pitch for a Northstar rail station so the train doesn't just whiz by.

Even though Ramsey was left out of the Northstar plan that received $156.8 million in federal funding in December, city officials are reviving their campaign and hoping the city's $6.8 million parking ramp will be enough of a draw to secure a Northstar station.

"We wanted a stop ever since day one, but we backed off so it didn't create any problems or delay [the federal funding]," Mayor Thomas Gamec said. "We've been sitting here gritting our teeth waiting for that funding to be approved."

On Tuesday, the City Council will present a resolution to representatives from the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) that states its intention to begin lobbying for a station on the rail line.

Ramsey isn't the only city lining up to get a Northstar stop. Fridley is also hoping to land a station, and Coon Rapids wants to secure a second station near Foley Boulevard.

Anoka County Commissioner Dennis Berg said Ramsey is a logical location for a station, and the NCDA will likely push for all three stations.

"The NCDA now has to come up with a plan for how we're going to get all three stations in," he said. "I don't think we'll focus on just one because good arguments can be made for Fridley and Foley [the Coon Rapids second stop]."

The city has also secured several local and federal grants over the past several years for transportation-related projects that officials hope will help their campaign for a stop: an $800,000 Metropolitan Council grant for construction of a main thoroughfare in the Town Center development; a $2.2 million Metropolitan Council grant for the parking ramp; a $420,000 federal grant for the parking ramp property, and a $4.7 million federal grant for bus service and the eventual expansion of the parking ramp.

"The city of Ramsey, the Metropolitan Council and the federal government have supported this as a transit site," Nelson said.

Ramsey may benefit in its bid for a stop because of lack of parking in other cities, Berg said. Elk River has a parking lot for commuters who use the Northstar bus line, but it doesn't have enough space for the anticipated growth from the Northstar train, he said.

"We're going to need that ramp in Ramsey," Berg said. "It makes more sense to put a station there than to try to add more parking in Elk River."

Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart, who chairs the NCDA, said each city is in a different position as it seeks a Northstar station. Fridley is already included in the agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe that gives permission for Northstar to use the rail tracks. The funding for Coon Rapids' Foley stop could be lumped in with a plan for a line from Duluth to Minneapolis, and it could be a location for passengers to transfer to the Northstar line.

"I just told the mayor of Ramsey that if you don't keep at it, it won't happen," he said.