Standing in a crowd of fellow activists at an Aug. 10 rally, Safety in the Park supporter Jeff Roy hoped to show  the negative effects of a freight reroute near the high school.

Safety in the Park is a group that opposes proposed reroutes through residential areas in St. Louis Park.
According to Roy, the upcoming construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) is the reason the freight trains might be rerouted.

The new route may cut through the neighborhood surrounding the high school and Park Spanish Immersion (PSI). Roy said one of his biggest concerns is increased noise pollution.

“The noise, which will be increased because of the elevation of the train, will cause disruption of education because teachers will have to stop instruction while the trains are going by,” Roy said.

According to Superintendent Rob Metz, one proposed route cuts through the high school’s football field while the other runs above the PSI playground.

“Both routes would have the train in the air 18 feet high, and the trains would be long, with 85 to 100 cars that carried coal and other resources,” Metz said.

According to Metz, it is less likely the Metropolitan Council  (Met Council) will select one of the routes near the high school rather than in the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis.

SWLRT communications manager Laura Baenen said the project engineers have not announced the likelihood of a route’s selection.

Senior Jozlyn Wandersee said she would find it annoying if the train ran through the football stadium.

“I just find it a little irritating that it will be going through our new turf that took quite a bit of money to have done,” Wandersee said.

Metz said the PSI building may be rendered unusable with a freight train traveling so close to it.

“We would definitely have to move the playground,” he said. “We aren’t sure if we can even have school in that building with the train going that close.”

Bonnie Blumberg, who attended the rally, said she is concerned the increased rail traffic would deter potential residents.

“Children should be able to feel safe where they live, and I’m afraid that with the reroute they won’t anymore,” Blumberg said. “People don’t want to live somewhere dangerous with their kids.”

However, Baenen said she is not concerned the increased train traffic will drive away Lenox and Sorenson neighborhood residents.

“Many people live along main active freight lines in the Twin Cities,” Baenen said. “It’s not unusual in the Twin Cities to have trains going frequently in any number of communities.”

The Safety in the Park website states Met Council will announce its decision 4 p.m. Sept. 25