Robert Street Transitway Planning Underway

Editor's Note: Dakota County Commissioner Tom Egan represents Mendota Heights, Lilydale, Mendota and a portion of Eagan. He was elected to office in 2004 and is now serving his second four-year term. Egan will write regularly to Patch readers about county government. In this dispatch, Egan explains how commissioners are joining with Ramsey County to determine the best mode of transportation for the Robert Street Transitway.

The Dakota County Board of Commissioners, acting as the Dakota County Regional Rail Authority, recently submitted a successful application to the Federal Transit Administration and was awarded $1.18 million to conduct what is known as an alternative analysis (AA) study for the Robert Street Transitway.

The transitway travels all the way from the Union Depot in St. Paul to Umore Park near Rosemount. This study will determine what the best mode of transit should be for this corridor to meet the congestion issues facing Dakota County residents.

Because the study enters Ramsey County, the Dakota County Regional Rail Authority has joined into a joint powers agreement with the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority so that both authorities contribute toward the mandatory 20 percent local match for this study.

The joint powers agreement details formation and membership of a steering committee, a project management team and a technical advisory committee.

I will be joining three of my fellow county commissioners, Kathleen Gaylord, Nancy Schouweiler, and Will Branning, in serving on the steering committee. Commissioner Gaylord will serve as the steering committee's co-chair.

Public involvement in this process is vitally important, and elected officials from affected stakeholder communities including Lilydale, Mendota Heights and Eagan in my district will be invited to participate.

It is anticipated that a recommendation for the most appropriate mode of transit should be made within the next 18 months.

The Dakota County Board of Commissioners is looking forward to moving ahead on this issue.