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State Representative Michael Beard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8872
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS COLUMN
RE-EXAMINING THE DAN PATCH PROHIBITION
Back on March 12 I was interviewed for a story in the Star Tribune concerning my bill to let us study what has been named the “Dan Patch” commuter rail line. I know a lot of people, especially new residents, might be unaware of the history of the proposed line, so I thought I’d sum up the article and provide some more information about why I’ve introduced a bill that would let us consider it as an option for commuters.
The proposal for the Dan Patch rail line received serious attention and study about ten years ago. MnDOT named it a top-tier project, placing it on the same level as the Northstar Commuter Rail line that is soon to run from Minneapolis to Big Lake. The plan was to have a commuter rail line run on existing train tracks from Northfield to downtown Minneapolis, running through Savage, Burnsville, Lakeville, Bloomington, Edina and St. Louis Park.
But the plan went off the tracks when two state senators decided they didn’t want a rail line running through their districts, so they slipped a provision into law that completely prohibited the state from even discussing it as a possibility. That was in 2002.
Now the Met Council is updating its 2030 transportation plans and a lot of us are looking back at what those two senators did and scratching our heads. Normally the way to stop a transportation project from happening is to simply not fund it. Going to the extraordinary length of not even allowing anyone to talk about it is uncalled for and, really, contrary to the entire legislative process.
If we’re going to have an effective regional transportation system, it doesn’t make sense to have laws that require us to ignore one option or another. The not-in-my-back-yard attitudes of two senators – neither of whom are still in office – shouldn’t get in the way of considering an option for the hundreds of thousands of people now living in the southern metro.
My bill would simply repeal their ban on studying or talking about the line. It doesn’t require us to build the line, just to consider it along with everything else. Right now my bill is included in the larger overall transportation policy bill. I’ll keep you updated on the progress as the session goes on.
We want people planning a better transportation system. With the help of 20/20 hindsight, it’s pretty clear that civic leaders of decades passed – in both parties - dropped the ball on creating a transportation infrastructure that could handle the growth we’ve seen in the last 10-15 years. Making the Dan Patch line an option is the right thing to do so that we give ourselves the most possible options for the future.
If you are curious as to where the name Dan Patch came from, follow this link and learn some interesting local history. http://www.danpatch.com/
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