HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution - 2006-138 - Support for Preliminary Recommendations of Southwest Transitway Alternatives Analysis Study - 12/04/2006 CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION NO. 2006-138
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE SOUTHWEST TRANSITWAY ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS STUDY
WHEREAS, transportation infrastructure forms the backbone of the region's economy as well
as its quality of life, and has a direct impact on economic development; and
WHEREAS, a well designed and functional transportation system with multiple mode choices is
essential to maintaining long-term mobility throughout the metropolitan region; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council's long-range transportation plan identifies a future fixed
transitway corridor in the Southwest Metro through the cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park,
Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Metro has experienced unprecedented population and employment
growth over the last 20 years and has become a major employment destination for the
metropolitan region; and
WHEREAS, a Light Rail Transit (LRT) line servicing the cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park,
Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie will accommodate projected growth and will help
maintain a competitive business environment and high quality of life for the entire Southwest
Region; and
WHEREAS, the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority is near completion of the Southwest
Transitway Alternatives Analysis Study that compares the costs, benefits, and impacts of a range
of transit alternatives for the Southwest Corridor; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Transitway's Technical Advisory Committee has provided the
preliminary recommendation that LRT Alternatives 1A, 3A, and 3C be retained for further
consideration; and
WHEREAS, the recommended LRT alternatives have daily ridership projections between
2 3,5 00 and 28,100; and
WHEREAS, the LRT 3 Alternatives have higher daily ridership projections, more new transit
riders, and better cost effectiveness indices than the LRT 1 Alternatives; and
WHEREAS, the LRT 3 Alternatives that serve the Eden Prairie Major Center Area, the Golden
Triangle, and Opus, better serve the employment and commercial centers of the Southwest Area
than the LRT 1 Alternatives; and
WHEREAS, the LRT 3 Alternatives provide better opportunities for development,
redevelopment and economic development and better support the City's long-range planning
initiatives in the Major Center Area and the Golden Triangle Area than the LRT 1 Alternatives;
and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Eden Prairie City Council, that the City of
Eden Prairie supports the preliminary recommendations of the Southwest Transitway
Alternatives Analysis; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Eden Prairie maintains a strong preference for
the LRT 3 Alternatives that best serve the City's residents, businesses, and visitors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Eden Prairie strongly supports all efforts by
the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority, the Metropolitan Council, MnDOT, and the
Federal Transit Administration to fund and construct in a timely manner, a LRT line through the
Southwest Corridor, that it be considered a priority project for the region, and after the Central
Corridor, become the next planned expansion of the Comprehensive Transit System for the
metropolitan region.
ADOPTED by the Eden Prairie City Council this 41h day of December, 2006.
an - ce s, Mayor
ATTEST:
K leen Porta, City Clerk