Ridership Rises at Fridley Station for Northstar Commuter Rail

There were almost 3,000 morning boardings in Fridley during the first two months of the year—an increase of 6 percent over the same period in 2012.

It's been a good year so far for Northstar Commuter Rail.  Total ridership for January and February 2013 was 108,552—an increase of 14.84 percent over the same two months in 2012, according to Metro Transit.  At Fridley Station, the rise was less dramatic but still an increase. In 2012, Fridley saw 2,818 riders board trains in the morning. In February–March 2013, the tally was 2,996, for an increase of 6.32 percent. Related:

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Letter: I Like the Northstar Train

Marilyn Kordiak rides the train from Fridley to downtown Minneapolis

MAP: Where Central Avenue NE Streetcar Would Run and Stop

Open houses planned to showcase project that would link Columbia Heights to Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis.

Here's a map of where streetcars would run on Central Avenue NE if the proposed Nicollet-Central Corridor transit project becomes a reality. On Wednesday, City of Minneapolis officials released the map showing proposed routes and stops for a streetcar or "enhanced bus" line from south Minneapolis to Columbia Heights. Read a Fridley Patch Local Voices blog post by Columbia Heights City Councilmember Donna Schmitt: "We Don't Need Streetcars, Mayor Rybak!" The corridor study is part of a year-long process designed to settle on a plan that can be presented to federal transit officials in a search for more funding. This 2007 City of Minneapolis study lays out the logic—and expansion options for a citywide streetcar system. If you'd like to …

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Poll: Should Suburbs Change or Should Critics Back Off?

Fridley has embraced transit-oriented development near the Northstar train station.

An opinion column that had the unusual distinction of appearing in both the Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press over the weekend was written "In Defense of Suburbs," as the Star Tribune's headline put it. In his op-ed, locally-based city-planning consultant Tom Martinson beat back a range of criticisms frequently levelled against suburbs: As suburbia expanded coast to coast over the past decades, criticisms only increased. Suburban subdivisions are not "walkable," so people have to drive everywhere. Suburban traffic is terrible. ... As an antidote, suburban neighborhoods should be made as citylike as possible, with very small lots resulting in much higher densities, emphasizing increased walking, bicycling and reliance on public …

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Fridley in D.C.

Ellison Report: Backs Light Rail

Fridley's rep in Congress backs transit project.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN), Fridley's representative in Congress, applauded the Federal Transit Administration’s support for the Southwest Corridor light rail line linking Eden Prairie and Minneapolis. The agency’s approval gives the go-ahead to begin the preliminary engineering phase. Minneapolis Public Radio reported that the approval doesn’t come with federal money—but added that it’s important because the Metropolitan Council expects the federal government to pick up half of the project’s $1.25 billion dollar cost. In a press release, Ellison noted his long support for the Southwest line, including his help securing $534,000 for the project in 2009. “This is great news for Minnesotans and for the state’s economy,” Ellison said. “…

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Transportation Bill Provides Reprieve for Bus Riders

Harsh cuts to transit budget didn't happen, so service won't be slashed.

The state budget signed Wednesday resulted in good news for Fridley bus riders. Metro Transit won’t be cutting back routes or increasing fares due to state budget cuts, as was previously feared. Metro Transit had started preparing for drastic cuts that could have reduced service along Fridley's north-south routes after the transportation bill passed by the Legislature would have cut $109 million in state funding for transit. The cuts would likely have meant the first fare increase for riders of the Northstar Commuter Rail line. Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed that bill, and the bill he signed into law Wednesday contained a $51 million cut. “We’re in a much better position than we were with the earlier bill, though funding challenges remain,” …

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Charge Says Fridley Man Threatened Bus Driver with Mock Finger-gun

He said he would blow the driver's brains out, the prosecutor alleges.

A Fridley man is facing a charge of making a terroristic threat against a Metro Transit bus driver. According to the Hennepin County Attorney's office, Michael Anthony Francis told the driver he would blow his brains out. The occasion for the May 10 threat at 48th Street and Chicago Avenue S. in Minneapolis, the criminal complaint alleges, was when the driver told Francis he had to leave the bus. Francis "made a hand gesture with his fingers as [if] he had a gun," according to the complaint, which also claims that Francis hadn't paid his fare when he boarded the bus downtown. The driver "took the threat seriously," the complaint says. Francis' criminal record includes several convictions for transit- and weapon- related offenses, according…

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Fridley City Council Agenda: Pigeons Put Off Again?

Action set on transit-oriented zoning but not on pigeon-keeping.

On Monday the Fridley City Council will take its second and final vote on a proposed transit-oriented development zone around the Northstar Commuter Rail station. But a vote on renewing a pigeon-keeping license is likely to be tabled again, due to city staff's difficulty in reaching the license-holder. Another item is a petition from the owner of a vacant just south of I-694 on Seventh Street NE to vacate an undeveloped stretch of platted street to create a bigger, developable parcel. And the council will take its final vote on a proposed ordinance to ban parking near mailboxes that prevents the delivery of the mail. Below is the agenda for the May 9 council meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at council chambers at City Hall. For details, …

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Capitol Clips

Transit Service in Suburbs Topic of State Senate Debate

Goodwin says cuts to transportation funding will reduce needed bus service; Wolf would put buses at bottom of list for cuts.

In the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee Monday, state Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) aired a gripe you hear often in Fridley: that there isn't enough east-west transit service for people traveling from suburb to suburb. The topic arose as part of the debate over a transportation funding bill, S.F. 898. Goodwin argued that budget cuts of as much as 27 percent would mean bus-service cuts when people need more bus service. Fridley's other state senator, Pam Wolf (R-51), is a co-author of the bill as a member of the majority Republican party on the Transportation Committee. Wolf's view, according to aide Joy Spencer, is that bus service should be the last area to face cuts because it serves low-income people; train service used by higher-income …

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