Earlier this month, we posted in Below expectations? Luverne's Sen. Bill Weber seems confused about light rail ridership figures about Minnesota state senator Bill Weber's statement:
I urged the governor to call for careful evaluation of existing light rail operations. They are not meeting original projections of ridership, etc. If people do not use it, we do not solve problems of traffic congestion.
The post examined Weber's claim at public meeting during a recent visit by Governor Dayton in Worthington. Now another source confirms the central facts about ridership on the Green Line. In In final act, Central Corridor Funders Collaborative looks at what went right (and wrong) with Green Line development, MinnPost's Peter Callaghan reports:
After two years of operations, the region’s second light rail line is exceeding expectations.
Average daily ridership on the Green Line is 37,402, well on its way to the 41,000 daily trips forecast for the year 2030. Investment along the line, which connects downtown St. Paul with downtown Minneapolis, has totaled $4.2 billion, according to Metro Transit estimates. And market-rate housing projects have sprouted all along the route, even as 3,600 units of affordable housing have been created or preserved.
As such, praising the $1 billion Green Line is a sure-fire applause line for politicians in both the east and west metro.
But southwestern Minnesota, a state senator seems certain that voters won't care about facts, but will applaud the place-baiting.
The Worthington Globe covered the meeting and Weber's initial remarks in A water warrior: Dayton touts Lewis & Clark as he urges legislative compromise.
Photo: Senator Weber at the Governor's meeting in Worthington. Photo by Julie Buntjer, Daily Globe.
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