In typical fashion, Dakota County is pushing forward with plans for Cedar Ave’s Bus Rapid Transit corridor even though there is nearly a 20% financial hole that has yet to be filled. I’m not quite sure why they’re so flustered about where this funding is going to come from as they know exactly where to find the money…via additional taxes on everyone, especially bus riders.
According to this article via the MNSun, the legislators are well aware of the extensive budget deficit affecting our fine state and they know that there just won’t be any additional funding available for transit even with the newly enacted gas tax that went into affect last year. In addition they expect Metro Transit and thus MVTA fares to go up this year — again. Apparently even though they raised the rates last year due to rising fuel costs, the complete reversal of that issue still doesn’t give them enough money. Give them an inch and they want a mile.
But even without any money, Dakota County is absolutely confident in the final plans for their $76 million pet project to bring BRT to Cedar Ave between Lakeville and Bloomington’s Mall of America which will do nothing but double the amount of time it takes for people to get downtown because they are going to drop you off at the Mall of America and expect you to take the LRT from there. I still haven’t heard one single reason why planners feel that this is a good idea.
Aside from the shortfalls in funding and the hikes in transit fares to pay for whatever it is that happens to be hemorrhaging money this year, the Cedar Ave BRT is still short nearly fourteen million dollars. With no one knowing exactly where it will come from in the next two years that they expect it to be before BRT gets going South of the River, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we hear cries for more sales taxes, higher fare prices, and possibly even parking passes required at the new transit stations they plan to build this spring.
Nearly two million dollars of the total needs to come from some mutual agreement between Lakeville and Apple Valley and another twelve million might come from the quarter percent sales tax hike but being that the county has yet to even ask for it, who knows if that will ever happen — I’m going to guess no. Neither Lakeville nor Apple Valley has stepped up to the plate to get the ball rolling on the two million and the twelve additional? Well, there are some plans for that but they are quite thin on details at this time.
So, in the mean time, even though we don’t have all the funding together and there really are no clear answers as to where it might come from, they are forging ahead with this half-wit, hair-brained idea which is terrible to begin with. Not only are they claiming that they’re at least 10 years ahead of some fictitious schedule, they are planning on starting to build both the additional Apple Valley and the new Lakeville transit stations when a newly completed one across from Apple Valley’s second Target and third liquor store sits nearly dormant with very few routes to/from anywhere. Maybe it would have been a better idea to just make that one into a gigantic parking lot and leave the building for later — like 10 years from now when that area might actually have something more than an open pit mine and some cookie-cutter houses surrounding a muddy puddle with a gazebo in the middle?
So, we have talked about BRT in the past and many of you said that you do support building now due to the low land and building costs but what do you think about requiring additional taxation and fee collection to fund it? Don’t you think we’re being taxed enough between higher fees (originally for fuel surcharges) and the quarter percent sales tax? Is it really fair to raise rates even higher to put half a band-aid on a problem that won’t be solved by the plan that’s been proposed? Whatever your feelings are on this subject, comment on, I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
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January 15th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Despite the lower fuel costs, I got the impression that a big reason for the shortfall was the reduced amount of money from the motor vehicle tax. Which is an odd way to fund mass transit, really, since (theoretically, at least) the more successful mass transit is, the more that stream of revenue would be reduced.
As for Holberg’s comment about mass transit being highly subsidized — uh, yeah, just like roads are, Mary Liz.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Personally, I would like the BRT to have been in place about 5 years ago. So, yes, I think they should continue to build it. Yes, we are highly taxed, but our taxes (property at least) are still a lot lower than in Mpls and I like the quality of life down here a lot better. I would love to not have to own a car, or for my hubby and I to have a one car household. That is not currently possible, but I hope that it will be. I am a taxpayer and I am perfectly happy with my money going towards this project.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
If additional revenue is required for BRT, this must come from additional user fees. I do question what the market will bear in terms of bus fees. If the system cannot pay for itself, this the wrong time to be looking at even more taxes; sales, income, property, gas or other.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Elizabeth, BRT is not designed to solve the issues you seem to have. It’s like the light rail — a straight shot to/from the Mall of America and probably will only run during peak times. The failure of mass transit in Minnesota is that there is no viable weekend/off-peak service and there is no suburb to suburb routes.
They could have just as easily solved this problem for less money by preempting the lights, building that dedicated shoulder and throwing more bus routes at the problem. Unfortunately, at least according to some discussions with the legislators and Mayor Elizabeth Kautz at the Burnsville City Council work session I attended earlier this week, MVTA may have to cut even more routes even though they are already bare bones.
So, BRT is going to be a waste of time and money and is being touted, through confusing marketing, as the savior of the South Metro’s transit woes when in reality, it’s just another bullshit excuse to waste tax dollars.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I’m only for it if the operators of those fancy buses wear some sort of Buck Rogers type outfit. That combined with the fancy wheel covers in your picture seal the deal for me! Seriously though..what are those wheel covers supposed to do? Make the buses more rapid??!!
Something needs to be done with that road, and I like public transit. I gave up on Cedar last year, but when I did drive it the existing buses always looked to be packed in the morning. If each of those folks was in a car we would be even more screwed. My fear is that this is another half ass patch to a road that needs a total makeover. The thing that really bothers me is that they don’t seem to be doing anything about curtailing development in key areas where overpasses will supposedly someday be built. 140th, 42, and 160th all have been built up considerably or have had plans for development that will make doing anything down the road almost impossible. I’d like to see more money going to revamping the most congested intersections. Then go for the wheel covers.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:02 am
I wish those in the most south metro would quit bitching about Cedar or downtown traffic & gas prices. Move closer to the city. I choose to live in Eagan because I knew I didn’t have the patience for an extra 15 – 20 minutes each way on my commute, but didn’t want to pay the price for a place in the city. Everyone knows how bad Cedar gets in the morning. Why did you move down there? Only the cities using that transit should be taxed, not everyone else who had half a brain to live closer.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Do you guys think that the extra capacity being added to 35W will alleviate some congestion on Cedar? I personally would have to assume it will make a big difference.
Also, JaLurker. I don’t get it. Are you saying you are a fucking genius? Congratulations.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Jalurker——Where does “the most south metro” begin? Anyone who doesn’t live right where you do? Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, St Paul, and Mendota Heights folks could say the same thing about all the money that was spent on 35e, Cedar, and 494 in Eagan with that logic.
Cedar ave in Eagan is horrible too and Eagan is just as involved in this transit thing as Apple Valley is. Eagan is using that transit, so you should pay since you didn’t have half a brain to live in St. Paul.
If you’re ever on the Cedar bridge look down at the old two lane bike bridge to the west. That was the Cedar ave bridge until not all that long ago. Before millions of dollars were spent on 35e, Hwy 13 was the main route. Eagan is now pretty much built out, but they had to address all the same things that “further south†is dealing with.
This is just part of growth and a continuation of what has been happening since the car was invented. Cities grow and infrastructure grows with them.
The metro didn’t stop growing once Eagan was done.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
JP–Not sure. I think the extra lane through Burnsville will help, but maybe only a little and only for so long. Cedar needs to be redesigned and expanded at some point.
I think the recession and tanking of the housing market might make a big difference for a while too. Lakeville alone is projected to have almost 90,000 residents once it’s built out, but a big old recession could slow that back for years. Plus if more people are unemployed, they won’t be driving to that job they no longer have.
January 17th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I wouldn’t have a problem with the money being spent on this if it would work, but I too am skeptical. I’m all for more transit spending — I think the new stations are a great idea, for example — but only if it’s going to be effective. And I am quite concered about not having full assurances regarding the route. If it’s just going to go to MOA, well, that’s not an improvement over the current situation — there’s already buses that do that; I ride one of them home every day.