Lake Elmo's refusal to host the Gold Line busway out of downtown St. Paul is leading transit planners to propose sending a cavalcade of buses down a major arterial roadway toward the western end of Woodbury instead.
An advisory panel of local officials learned Thursday that serious thought is being given to building a new bridge over Interstate 94 connecting Helmo Avenue in Oakdale and Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury, and sending buses across it to a station near a major commercial concentration at Tamarack Road.
"And remember," said Washington County Commissioner Lisa Weik, "this is not light rail, confined to a track, so theoretically a bus could be free to go on to other destinations, such as Cottage Grove or even Stillwater."
With such a drastic change from past plans, officials from both Woodbury and the regional corridor commission promised extensive consultations with businesses and homeowners along the proposed new bus-rapid transit (BRT) route.
They also stressed that no decisions have been taken and other alignments remain in the mix. A public hearing is expected in November, followed by a formal recommendation and local cities' consent by December.
Militantly rural Lake Elmo decided in January to opt out of the Gold Line, whose planners had hoped to use the community's extensive open land to build busy new nodes of activity.
That raised the prospect of switching the route toward wide-open vistas still available on the eastern edge of Woodbury, where a major landowner would have been delighted. But Woodbury nixed that idea, which also would have alarmed the quiet neighboring suburb of Afton.
The Gold Line, if approved and funded, would be the state's first busway of its type — avoiding freeways but having dedicated lanes of its own in both directions. Buses are to run every 10 minutes during rush hour and frequently through the rest of the day.
The line would extend from Union Depot in downtown St. Paul and through the East Side into Maplewood — including 3M headquarters — Landfall, Oakdale and Woodbury.
Under the latest thinking, the buses would enter Oakdale and go south on Hudson Boulevard and Helmo Avenue, crossing I-94 on a new bridge that would include separate lanes for BRT and motorists, plus a trail.
Transit planner Lyssa Leitner stressed that lots of buses already ply Bielenberg Drive; there's an express bus park and ride at the Woodbury Theater, near the Target Greatland store in Woodbury Village.
A new BRT route could interfere with some access points, she said, but everyone along the roadway either has an alternative exit and entrance, or one could be furnished in some way.
City officials pointed to the proposed route, she said, partly because it's "the location of some of the older retail" in the suburbs, areas likely headed for redevelopment anyway. A new bridge connecting Helmo and Bielenberg also is already in Oakdale and Woodbury's long-term plans, she said.
"We got a clear answer from Lake Elmo," Leitner said, "so we have taken a step back, and long term could consider running buses on Valley Creek to the City Hall area as well. That probably makes Afton nervous, but up on 94 our options are limited."
David Peterson • 651-925-5039
