Title
Accepting the Robert Street Transitway Alternatives Analysis Conclusion.
Body
WHEREAS, the Dakota County Regional Railroad Authority (DCRRA) and the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority (RCRRA) serve as co-project sponsors in the conduct of the Robert Street Transitway Alternatives Analysis (AA), formalized through the execution of a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) in August 2011; and
WHEREAS, in July 2012, the DCRRA and RCRRA commenced an AA compliant with the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts program; and
WHEREAS, the JPA has defined an oversight structure for the AA that established a Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Committee co-chaired by the DCRRA and RCRRA and incorporated municipalities and agencies within the study area, including the City of Saint Paul, into the evaluation and decision making processes of the AA; and
WHEREAS, the AA established a study framework based on goals formed by the Steering Committee that guided a technical analysis evaluating numerous potential route alignments and modes; and
WHEREAS, the AA produced a limited number of alternatives for detailed analysis and consideration by the Steering Committee; and
WHEREAS, the AA incorporated numerous opportunities for public and stakeholder involvement throughout the course of the study, including open house meetings, stakeholder presentations, and regular distribution of information on the AA through email and website communications; and
WHEREAS, the AA evaluation process, developed and overseen by the Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Committee, identified two alternatives, Robert Street Arterial Bus Rapid Transit and Robert Street Streetcar, that can meet the goals established for the project; and
WHEREAS, the Steering Committee has acted to conclude the AA without selection of a single alternative to allow for additional local land use planning to better understand and facilitate the potential economic development correlation with a future transit project, allow for the formation of regional policy on the development and operation for the modes under consideration, further consider FTA’s requirements for land use planning in cities’ comprehensive planning processes, and further coordinate with the City of Saint Paul on its streetcar system planning efforts. Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council supports the evaluation process conducted by the AA and its conclusions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council acknowledges the decision by the Steering Committee to conclude the AA with two alternatives that will be carried forward for consideration in further study at a later date; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Saint Paul City Council, nonetheless, encourages all the partners to be diligent in their efforts to adopt transit supportive land use plans, provide for streetcars in the regional Transportation Policy Plan and secure dedicated transit funding sufficient to build out the regional transitways network.