Riverview Corridor - History of Transit Corridor

History of Transit Corridor

The corridor was first identified for transit improvements around 1989 as part of regional transit studies. The route was first named the Riverview Corridor in February 1997 after the Ramsey County board unanimously voted the corridor as a higher priority than the Central Corridor. A study in 1998 by the Ramsey County Rail Authority determined that light rail would not be cost effective and that a busway would be the more viable. During the 2000 Minnesota legislative session there was a $525 million budget surplus of new ongoing state revenue. In order to compromise, the surplus would be split and spent with one third of the money each going to the House, the Senate and the Governor. Governor Jesse Ventura decided to use his $175 million portion of the surplus to lower auto license fees. After finding out it would be cheaper than expected Ventura agreed to allocate $44 million to a busway project. While the Riverview Corridor was not specifically mentioned, it was generally understood to be for the Corridor.

Plans for the corridor soon developed and the route was finalized. The line would run along West Seventh street through the East Side of Saint Paul to the Maplewood Mall by 2004 with service increasing to every 7.5 minutes. Unlike the then Bus Route the new service would travel along West Seventh the entire way to Downtown rather than taking I-35E. They included widening West Seventh, from I-35E to Smith Avenue, by 4 feet in order to create bus-only lanes. Traffic signals would have been timed so buses would have priority. The section along the Phalen Corridor would become a dedicated transitway. There would have been 23 stations with the option to have pre-boarding fare collection.

The bill for the busway was inserted into an unrelated bill in conference committee in the last weekend of the legislative session with no legislative hearings. The method was described as "in clear violation of legislative rules." House Republicans opposed the project but acquiesced in order to end the legislative session. Critics of the Riverview Corridor argued that it would duplicate service of the Metro Transit Bus Route 54. The Route travels along the Corridor from the Mall of America to Downtown Saint Paul. There were also concerns about the low ridership projections. Only 16,000 people a day for light rail and only 12,000 a day on a busway were projected to travel along the route. The project was supported much more on Saint Paul's Eastside than along West Seventh Street. West Seventh residents and businesses were concerned about loss of parking and sidewalk space because of the need to expand the street by 4 feet. In March 2002, $40 of the $46.1 million dollars devoted to the project was taken back by the Legislature in order to balance the State's budget. The project was cut largely due to opposition and lack of strong support.