Agencies and Organizations Engaged with the Central Corridor

There is much confusion surrounding the many public agencies and community groups involved in planning for rapid transit and development in the Central Corridor. This list is designed to clarify the functions of each organization.

Public Agencies Working on Central Corridor

Transit

• The Metropolitan Council is the lead agency in the planning, design, and construction of the Central Corridor LRT Project. Preliminary engineering will begin in the spring of 2007 and is expected to take two years. The Met Council is made up of 17 members, with 16 representing geographic districts and one chair who serves at large. Council members are all appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor. The State Senate confirms Council member appointments. In addition to being the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Met Council runs the regional public transit system, collects and treats wastewater, manages regional water resources, and plans regional parks.

• The Central Corridor Management Committee replaced the Central Corridor Coordinating Committee, as required by state law. The Central Corridor Management Committee (CCMC) is composed of senior elected and appointed officials from Hennepin and Ramsey counties, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, Mn/DOT, and the Department of Finance. It also has one person representing the business community and one person representing the general community. Met Council Chair Peter Bell also chairs the CCMC reports to the State of Minnesota Commissioner of Transportation (that is, the head of MNDOT).

• The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority (RCRRA) was the lead agency in preparing the comprehensive Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which evaluated the benefits and impacts of light rail vs rapid bus transit. The DEIS was submitted to the Federal Tranist Administration in 2006 with a recommendation to construct light rail transit in the Central Corridor. The RCRRA has handed the Central Corridor Project over to the Met Council, who now is the lead agency on this project.

• The Central Corridor Coordinating Committee (CCCC) was the body that, since 2000, studied the various alternatives for Central Corridor transit improvements and narrowed the options for extensive study down to two: light rail transit (LRT) and bus rapid transit (BRT) along University Avenue. The CCCC was made up of appointed representatives from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the Minneapolis and St Paul city councils, the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Airport Commission, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. At the end of the DEIS public comment period, the CCCC chose LRT as the Locally Preferred Alternative for the Central Corridor. Once they made their recommendation, the job of the CCCC was complete and they ceased to exist.

• MNDOT (the State of Minnesota Department of Transportation) assists the Met Council with the day-to-day operations of the Central Corridor project.

• A Central Corridor Community Advisory Committee(CAC) was established in January 2007. As it was for the Hiawatha light-rail project, the CAC will provide public input and feedback during the design and construction of the projects on such issues as possible changes in alignment, station placement and design, public art, and plans to mitigate adverse impacts during construction. Along with a member of the Metropolitan Council, there are 43 community members from Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the University of Minnesota. The committee is chaired by Jerry Blakey, former Saint Paul Councilmember and business owner. A Metropolitan Council member will be named co-chair later this year.

Development and Land Use

• The City of Saint Paul is the lead for land use and development planning along the Saint Paul portion of the Central Corridor. The Mayor has declared the Central Corridor one of his top priorities and secured funding to support an extensive community-based planning process. The Planning Commission appointed two separate task forces, one to address planning in Downtown Saint Paul and one to address planning along University Avenue. The City retained a nationally know urban design and transit corridor planning firm to support City staff and the community in developing a "Central Corridor Development Framework." Phase I of this work is nearing completion. The City anticipates adopting the Framework by mid-year. Phase II of this work will flesh-out a number of the recommended strategies, including an interim transit-oriented overlay district for consideration by the City Council.

• The City of Minneapolis has completed a two-year planning process for its stretch of University Avenue from its border with Saint Paul to 29th Avenue near the University of Minnesota. Planning and urban design consultants worked closely with neighborhood organizations to develop Transit Corridor Development Objectives, Scenarios, and Design Guidelines. These documents and a Pedestrian-Oriented Overlay District have been adopted by the City Council.

Community Organizations Working on Central Corridor

• The District Councils Collaborative of St. Paul and Minneapolis (DCC) was formed to help neighborhoods navigate through the complex web of information and planning processes, and ensure that the needs and interests of residents and businesses are fully represented in Central Corridor transit decisions.

• University UNITED has been working on development issues on University Avenue for more than twenty years. The current focus is on Transit Oriented Development, planning for increased density and mixed use development along this major transit corridor.

• The Central Corridor Partnership is a business-led coalition, founded in 2004, to promote funding and development of light rail in the Central Corridor, as a vital link in the regional transportation system connecting Minneapolis and St Paul.

• The University Avenue Community Coalition (UACC) brings together a group of organizations committed to equitable development on University Avenue. Using grassroots organizing, the coalition is promoting community benefits agreements as a powerful tool to effect social and political change.

• The Central Corridor Equity Coalition (CCEC) was organized to ensure that disengaged ethnic communities develop a shared voice and exercise significant influence on whether or not light rail is constructed on University Avenue; and if constructed, to make sure it is done equitably, with meaningful civic participation of underrepresented stakeholders to secure valued community benefits.