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The University of Minnesota is strongly committed to transportation alternatives. A highly effective transit system is essential to the Twin Cities campus. The University has invested heavily to enhance service and accessibility. In fact, the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities was selected as one of the "Best Workplaces for Commuters" by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The Central Corridor line will pass through a campus that attracts 80,000 people on a typical day. Washington Avenue is the hub for University residence halls, Coffman Memorial Union, the graduate and professional schools, the Institute of Technology, the University libraries, and dozens of heavily used class rooms.
The Central Corridor line will include three stations that directly serve the Twin Cities campus: the Stadium Village, East Bank, and West Bank stations. The University is one of the six partners on this project.
On the east side of downtown Minneapolis at the Metrodome, the Central Corridor line will connect with the existing Hiawatha line. Heading east, the Central Corridor line will cross underneath Interstate 35W and follow Washington Avenue as it approaches the West Bank. The line will continue over the Mississippi River on the Washington Avenue Bridge to the East Bank. At Pleasant street, a transit/pedestrian mall will begin that continues to Walnut street. Vehicular traffic will be redirected onto East River road and other local streets. At the Huron Avenue intersection, where it will veer northeast across University Avenue to an alignment parallel to the University Transitway east of 25th Avenue South. Shortly afterward, the line will head east to 29th Avenue, where it will curve to realign with University Avenue and continue on to St. Paul.
The comprehensive campus master-planning process underway at the University must anticipate the impacts of LRT and should seek to leverage the substantial infrastructure improvements that will be required to improve the campus environment. University staff held an afternoon workshop with participants of the University's Access and Movement and the Design and Preservation working groups to update them on the status of LRT planning and get specific input on each station area. Representatives from other public agencies, as well from Minneapolis and St. Paul and from Hennepin and Ramsey counties, attended.
As the third largest trip generator in the metro area for alternative modes of transportation, the University is committed to establishing, maintaining, and improving a comprehensive transportation system that reduces congestion, eases accessibility, and enhances a friendly University community.
The University will be one of the biggest factors in the successful operation of a Central Corridor LRT line. The line will connect the Twin Cities campus with the two downtowns and the airport and will bring students, faculty, staff, and visitors to campus from all over the metropolitan area. An estimated one fourth of all daily riders on the line will be generated by the University.
The University plans to work closely with local and regional partners to plan and design the Central Corridor line so that it works efficiently and safely through campus.
The safety of students, staff, faculty, and visitors is of primary concern to the University.
Washington Avenue is one of the densest, liveliest pedestrian environments in Minnesota. On Washington Avenue, “rush hour” happens 10 times a day–at the beginning of every class period.
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