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Blue line extension businesses
After more than a year of community engagement and “anti-displacement” efforts, a group of major business owners is publicly opposing a plan that could send trains down West Broadway Street in Minneapolis.
Metro Transit is working to expand the Blue Line from the Twin Cities to Crystal, Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Park.
Christel Porter, executive director of the West Broadway Business and Environment Coalition (WBC), said opposition to the project was unanimous at a recent meeting of its 28 members.
“Who wants the light rail to go down West Broadway?” I asked them. Not one hand went up,” Porter said.
In an open letter sent to the WBC website last month, the group outlined six points of opposition to the Blue Line Extension light rail transit project.
Among the main concerns could be the displacement of black-owned businesses through what has been described as the “cultural corridor” and its “undefined and poorly communicated impact on existing buildings.”
One concept map for the Blue Line on West Broadway highlights the Les Jolis Petite dance school for “conceptual removal.”
“I’ve been a staple in this community – right here in the same place for 25 years. I’m very concerned,” said his wife, Dr. Sharon Cook. “If you’re going to give me a relocation package, you know there are other things that are more important than offering to build a building of this size.”
The Metropolitan Council declined 5Investigates’ request to interview Chairman Charlie Zell about opposition to the project, but said in a statement that Metro Transit is “still in the planning and design process.”
An option to put the tracks one block north, on 21st Street, is still on the table.
“We look forward to continuing to work with members of the West Broadway Area and Business Collaborative, as well as businesses and community partners throughout the corridor, to address potential concerns and maximize the community benefits of light rail,” the spokesperson wrote.
Continuous resistance
This isn’t the first time people in North Minneapolis have voiced concerns about the Blue Line extension.
Last year, homeowners in the Lyn Park neighborhood opposed sending trains to Lyndale Avenue over concerns about crime, safety and accessibility.
At the time, he cited the work of the Met Council and Metro Transit’s “Anti-Displacement Task Force” and other advisory committees formed to address the negative impact of communities of color.
Porter and others continue to worry that the Blue Line extension could do the same damage to north Minneapolis that the construction of Interstate 94 did to St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood in the 1960s.
“When they cut that highway through that neighborhood, they destroyed the legacy of those families,” Porter said. “With the little social capital that we have, we’re finally catching up, and you put something in the middle of the road to separate each other.”
Metro Transit says it still doesn’t have a date for completion of the Blue Line extension project, but the agency is targeting “Winter 2023 – Spring 2024” to select the “preferred option” and obtain formal approval from the cities. A light rail line operates.
For Dr. Cook and her husband, Bishop Larry Cook, the stakes have never been higher. In addition to the dance studio, the couple also run a church, hair salon and gas station on the same block.
“Think of the children. Consider the environment,” Cook said. “Have some compassion, put yourself in that situation and remember that we mean a lot to this community.”
While trains aren’t expected to start running for at least another five years, Porter said her members don’t want to wait until their vote is too late.
“Now is the time to speak. We have to take a stand.’
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