SPECIAL FEATURE: University of Minnesota Should Focus on Transit Mall

Transit for Livable Communities provides opportunities for its members to submit opinion articles for publication on our website. John DeWitt is a co-founder of Transit for Livable Communities and a longtime member. Following are his thoughts on the Washington Avenue transit mall that will run through the University of Minnesota's West Bank campus.

On May 28, the Corridor Management Committee for the Central Corridor light rail line voted to abandon further consideration of the Northern Alignment, the bypass preferred by the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, news that the University has hired a high-priced lobbying firm to carry the battle to Washington, DC, suggests that it’s not over yet. For those of us who have been following this battle for over a year, there are three fundamental questions that have yet to be answered:

1. What is the U’s real problem with a transit mall?

The U seems to be coming up with a fear of the month, not one of which it has attempted to resolve or substantiate. The most recent is that light rail trains will render expensive MRI equipment unusable. Light rail engineers have learned that installing a well grounded copper wire two feet below the tracks will fully mitigate any electromagnetic impacts.

The U remains concerned about pedestrian safety. Washington Avenue is used by 25,000 drivers a day, some of whom may be incompetent, drunk, or simply busy text messaging. Many will pass through several crowded pedestrian crosswalks to reach their destination. Light rail trains, typically one every five minutes, driven by professional drivers are much safer. To suggest otherwise is misleading.

The U frets the most about congestion. But traffic modeling shows that the real problem is the anticipated growth in traffic, not a transit mall. Why is the U concerned about the 10% increase in traffic caused by a transit mall and not the other 90%? If the U is genuinely concerned about congestion, it should work to make the Central Corridor light rail line as successful as possible, not as far away as possible.

2. Why won’t the U address the real threats and challenges we face?

With gas hovering around $4 per gallon and the specter of $200 a barrel oil ($7 gas), how long can students afford to keep driving to the U from all corners of our region? Less driving combined with more walking, biking, and transit are an important part of any response to global warming, an aging population, and the American obesity epidemic.  Yet the U seems more concerned that some drivers might be inconvenienced by a transit mall.

3. Why does the U ignore the benefits of a transit mall?

The U competes nationally for talented people in many fields. The Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) can offer Portland’s newest development, the vibrant South Waterfront district along the Willamette River. A new aerial tram connects the hilltop OHSU to South Waterfront which is built around a streetcar line linked to the region’s extensive rail network. Can the U offer anything similar?

Major medical centers in cities like St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, and Boston are served directly by light rail lines. For the half-million visitors a year to the U’s hospitals and clinics, good access for transit riders must be a priority, not an afterthought.

The original campus mall envisioned by Cass Gilbert need no longer be severed by a busy four-lane roadway complete with Jersey barriers topped by a fence. A transit mall would reunite the campus and extend a pedestrian friendly environment along Washington Avenue.

When Salt Lake City’s light rail line was extended through the University of Utah’s campus, 6,000 parking spaces and 12,000+ car trips a day were eliminated. As the third largest trip generator in our region, the U has an opportunity and a responsibility to undertake an aggressive trip reduction program.

A transit mall on Washington Avenue would become a vital element in a network of rail lines linking people throughout the region to the campus. The Central Corridor and Southwest LRT lines will soon offer students, faculty, staff, medical clinic visitors, and sports fans a one-seat ride from Eden Prairie and other southwest suburbs.

The University as well as the Twin Cities region will be much better served by a light rail line that serves the heart of the campus rather than one that bypasses the campus.