Ex-Rep. Sabo urges Minneapolis to reject SW light rail

Retired U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo wants Minneapolis to reject the proposed Southwest light rail line, warning it will do little to help the city.

A Democrat who represented Minneapolis in Congress for almost three decades, Sabo said he decided to speak out about the project and its $1.7 billion cost after hearing some of the recent arguments made by proponents of the line, including how it would help people on Minneapolis' North Side.

Backers tried to "sell it for a while that this is something that did great things for the North Side, which I thought was just despicable and, frankly, so blatantly untrue it was laughable," Sabo told reporters Thursday at Minneapolis City Hall. "It was not designed for that and it doesn't do anything."

The proposed line has three stops in north Minneapolis. They're projected to serve far fewer riders than other stops on the line, which runs to Eden Prairie.

The city has until July 14 to approve or reject the proposed project, which includes running the trains through shallow tunnels in order to preserve a popular recreation trail between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles.

Mayor Betsy Hodges declined to respond to Sabo's statement. Other leaders, including a Metropolitan Council member, dismissed Sabo as out of touch.

A coalition of North Minneapolis activists is lobbying to improve bus service so poor communities have better access to the line. They are also pushing the Minneapolis City Council to support the project, arguing that it will create jobs.

"People of color along the whole line, including the north side of Minneapolis, have an opportunity to earn $100 million on the construction of Southwest LRT alone, in addition to having greater access to jobs along the line and in the region," said Avi Viswanathan, campaign director for HIRE Minnesota, an organization that pushes public projects to employ minority workers.

Viswanathan turned aside Sabo's criticism of the project's cost as an "old way of thinking."

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who succeeded Sabo in the House, also supports the project.

"If we continue to work together, we can mitigate local challenges and bring additional green, convenient, equitable transportation options to the Twin Cities," Ellison said in a statement.

The Met Council and the city of Minneapolis have been negotiating in private for the last month with the help of mediator and retired federal judge Arthur Boylan.

The shallow tunnels added about $150 million to the project's price tag but failed to mollify neighbors concerns about the plan.

Earlier this year, the Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution opposing the tunnels. It wanted instead to re-route nearby freight trains to St. Louis Park. That option withered in the face of opposition from the suburb and the Twin Cities & Western Railroad.

Hopkins is the only city on the proposed line to formally approve the project. St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Hennepin County are expected to vote in the coming weeks.

The Met Council is required to seek the consent of all cities along the line. While it is legally possible for the project to proceed without unanimous local approval, each city effectively has the power to veto the plan.

Minneapolis is the only one that hasn't held a public hearing on Southwest Light Rail. The city is waiting to schedule one pending the outcome of its negotiations with the Met Council.

"This is an opportunity train that will connect people to jobs, to school, and to opportunities that will give them a better shot at the American dream," said Met Council Member Jennifer Munt.

Sabo, she added, "has been retired while I've been going to community meetings where people can't wait for their train."