The Metropolitan Council recently released an independent report on possible alternate options for the location of the freight rail, including a re-route into St. Louis Park.
The report indicates the option of rerouting the freight rail through St. Louis Park is viable. This option has been a point of contention for residents of the city since it was first proposed, and many were surprised the report would revive it, including city officials.
St. Louis Park mayor Jeff Jacobs was among those dismayed.
“I am surprised and disappointed in the report,” Jacobs said. “We think it’s based on inaccurate information. We are vetting it for accuracy.”
Safety in the Park, an organization that opposes the reroute and is co-chaired by St. Louis Park resident Jami LaPray, expressed concern over the report, as they consistently opposed past reroute plans.
A major objection to the report aside from potential safety risks are claims of incomplete or misconstrued data. Safety in the Park, the city government and students all raised objections.
“The studies were extremely vague. It’s this vagueness that is the most disconcerting,” LaPray said.
Senior Nancy Waite expressed concern over the potential reroute.
“A tunnel system is safer and better long-term,” Waite said. “Safety is always the most important.”
Jacobs described the different method for calculating costs and expenses used in this report, that differs from those previous.
“The Met Council’s projections use build-year costs [the cost of construction in the future] and property costs. The new report does neither, so it’s like comparing apples and oranges,” Jacobs said. “The bottom line is the numbers are wrong.”
Other problems include misrepresenting the rail line’s view of the new route.
The Met Council is not yet changing their recommendation based on the report.
“There needs to be a technical analysis of it, then see how it sets with the public,” Laura Baenen, communications manager for the Southwest line said. “I don’t know what will happen, we’ll get public comments, and then the consultant will issue a final report, there is no way to predict what they will do, and  the vote will go to the full Met Council.”
Baenen said she believes the entirety of the details need to come out, and that more discussion with the consultant responsible for the report is necessary.
There is also the problem of paying for and displacing houses and businesses for the potential reroute, an issue that the report does not address.
While the city discusses costs, many citizens and students still put safety as their top concern.
“It’s better not to have light rail than to have it be unsafe,” said sophomore Mark Truskinovsky.
The Met Council will host a town hall meeting from 6-9:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the high school Auditorium.