Streetcar options down St. Paul’s West Seventh could cost $2.1 billion — and roll slower than existing Route 54 bus

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
Updated ·8 min read

Ramsey County officials have long debated the pros and cons of running passenger rail down West Seventh Street from the downtown St. Paul Union Depot to the Mall of America in Bloomington.

With new cost estimates and projected travel times in hand, a key advisory committee on Thursday voted to release three options for public comment.

Following a public engagement process, the policy advisory committee could recommended a preferred mode for the 12-mile “Riverview Corridor” to the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority this fall. It would set the stage for a new transit corridor that could potentially roll out from downtown St. Paul, through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and onward to the Mall of America around 2030 to 2033.

Costs, travel times

According to information released by Ramsey County, here are key numbers for each option:

• The bus rapid transit option includes capital costs of $121 million, without a full reconstruction of West Seventh Street and with an annual operating cost of $16.8 million. Travel would take approximately 40 minutes each way, compared to the 42 to 43 minutes the current Route 54 bus takes.

• Street car option No. 1 (center-running) would cost $2.1 billion and have an annual operating cost of $34 million. It would be a minute or two slower, one way, than the current Route 54 bus.

• Street car option No. 2 (side-running) would cost $2.12 billion and have an annual operating cost of $34.5 million. It would take roughly 45 minutes one way.

Streetcars

Two concepts involve streetcars, which are smaller and less obtrusive than light rail, but still carry a projected price tag of approximately $2.1 billion for capital construction and estimated peak-hour travel times that are at least a minute or two slower in each direction than the existing Route 54 bus.

County planners have noted that something as simple as a car blocking the tracks or a passenger holding open doors — a common occurrence on the Green Line — could lead to further delays, more so with a side-running streetcar option than with passenger boarding from a center platform.

“You have the potential for less reliability if there’s someone blocking the rails … but overall, they’re pretty consistent,” said Jennifer Jordan, transit project manager for Ramsey County.

Some passenger-rail fans have called those cost estimates inflated, given a 40% contingency built into the numbers, though budget overruns on the southwest extension of Metro Transit’s Green Line to Eden Prairie offer a telling example of how easily construction costs can climb.

The projected travel times, as well, have drawn some pushback.

“This timing estimate is misleading,” said Tyler Blackmon, a community representative on the policy advisory committee. “It’s only because the streetcar goes to lots of places the bus wouldn’t — Fort Snelling, Terminal 2. On the St. Paul side, it’s almost certainly faster.”

Bus rapid transit

At $121 million, a cheaper option would be bus rapid transit, which could travel in existing traffic at much less cost than streetcars but likely not draw the same level of ridership or attract the same amount of real estate investment along the route. With fewer stops than the existing bus service, a BRT route would conceivably be faster — 40 minutes in each direction, compared to 42 to 43 minutes for the Route 54 bus.

St. Paul City Council Member Rebecca Noecker and others on Thursday noted that the $121 million BRT cost estimate did not include the price of a full reconstruction of West Seventh Street or bridge work at the Minnesota 5 river crossing, two costs that were factored into the streetcar options.

Noecker said given the condition of the street, a full reconstruction of West Seventh is necessary no matter what option moves forward, and the projected price tag should be adjusted upwards accordingly.

“Construction costs need to include street reconstruction for bus rapid transit,” she said.

Opinions on the 3 options

Both streetcar options involve constructing a new elevated transit station on 82nd Street in Bloomington, serving both the Riverview Corridor and the existing Blue Line light rail near the Mall of America. That could make the Blue Line about two minutes faster. The streetcar options would also entail bike and pedestrian improvements on the Minnesota 5 bridge.

Pointing to the experience of small shops that closed or relocated during Green Line construction, longtime neighborhood advocate Joe Landsberger cautioned that a loss of both parking and truck delivery area — on top of up to three years of track and station construction — could hurt rather than help economic prosperity along West Seventh Street.

Taking the opposite tack, transit advocate Tim Marino urged the policy committee to think bigger and consider the passenger and economic development appeal of light rail, rather than streetcar. “Streetcar is limited to 30 miles an hour,” he said. “The Blue Line can go 55.”

Here’s a comparison of each mode, as presented by county staff and consultants:

Existing Route 54 bus

The existing Route 54 bus makes 26 stops between the downtown St. Paul Union Depot and the Mall of America, traveling the corridor in 42 minutes eastbound and 43 minutes westbound while operating in normal traffic. As of 2019, the traditional diesel bus drew some 4,600 daily passengers. County staff have been hesitant to predict what future ridership will look like until passenger models are updated for the era of remote work.

Bus rapid transit

A Riverview “arterial bus rapid transit” service would largely operate in shared lanes with normal traffic, making 21 station stops, including 14 new stations between the existing terminus at the Mall of America and downtown Kellogg Boulevard. Along Fifth and Sixth streets in downtown St. Paul, the Riverview bus could use the dedicated lanes of the future Gold Line bus rapid transit corridor, which will soon connect St. Paul to Woodbury.

At peak hours, Riverview’s westbound and eastbound travel times would be about 40 minutes each way. Unlike the streetcar options, the BRT service would not stop at Historic Fort Snelling or MSP Terminal 2, and it would not require major changes to the Minnesota 5 bridge, so there would be no bike or pedestrian improvements there. Along West Seventh Street, curbside station platforms would offer pedestrian bump-outs to decrease crossing distances.

Planners foresee no conflicts with trees. Stations would force the removal of about 70 parking stalls along West Seventh Street, sparing about 570 parking spots.

Projections find that the BRT service could draw 8,000 daily riders by the year 2040, though passenger models are being updated for the era of remote work. County officials are hopeful the service could rely on an all-electric fleet. Capital cost: $121 million, without a full reconstruction of West Seventh Street. Annual operating cost: $16.8 million.

Streetcar option No. 1 (Center-running)

The first streetcar option would connect 20 stations, with 10 miles of the 12 mile-corridor serviced by dedicated lanes. It would share lanes with traditional vehicular traffic from Grand Avenue Station to the downtown Union Depot. Along West Seventh Street, pedestrians would have to cross traffic lanes to access a center-running platform.

The corridor would share tracks with the Blue Line closer to the Mall of America and make stops at MSP Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Major improvements to the Minnesota 5 bridge would facilitate new bike and pedestrian amenities.

Of the three options, this configuration offers the longest overall pedestrian crossings at stations, but with median refuges to accommodate them, and crossings would be limited to signalized intersections. The other options allow crossing at all intersections.

Along West Seventh Street, more than 600 parking spaces would be removed, sparing about 35 parking spots. Trees would not be impacted by overheard catenary wire, but there would be less room on the boulevard for trees.

Estimated travel times for this streetcar option are about 42 minutes westbound and 43 minutes eastbound. By the year 2040, it could draw 11,600 daily riders.

Capital cost: $2.1 billion. Annual operating cost: $34 million.

Streetcar option No. 2 (Side-running)

This streetcar option would make 22 station stops, with eight miles of dedicated track. Along West Seventh Street, it would share lanes with traditional traffic from Otto Avenue in St. Paul to the Union Depot, with passengers accessing the side-running streetcars through curbside boarding.

As the slowest of the three options, the streetcars would travel the corridor in about 45 and a half minutes westbound and 44 minutes, 49 seconds eastbound.

Greater shared use of traffic lanes along West Seventh could lead to more delays than with the other options as an obstacle as simple as a double-parked car could block travel. About 400 parking stalls would remain and 240 stalls would be removed.

This option carries the most potential for tree impacts from overheard catenary wire. It also carries more options for left-turning vehicular traffic than the first streetcar option. Loading zones could be added to lessen impacts on truck deliveries for local businesses compared to option No. 1, though that would come at the expense of parking.

By the year 2040, the streetcar could draw 11,200 daily riders.

Capital cost: $2.12 billion. Annual operating cost: $34.5 million.

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