A new, comprehensive 22-page report prepared this summer collects ideas and opinions from residents of North Minneapolis about the planned METRO Blue Line Extension light rail line that will be built in their community.
Homeowners and renters, elders and youth, business owners and the disability community were among the groups who came together to answer a question both simple and profound: What do Northsiders want?
The result of the meetings convened by a trio of community leaders — OneMn.org's Brett Buckner, strategist Anika Robbins and communications executive Stan Alleyne— is contained in the DREAMNorth report.
“Northsiders have a lot to say!” said co-author Buckner. “Our communities are so often told what we need as opposed to asked what we want. We have a grand opportunity with light rail to remake our community. It’s our time to make this thing happen.”
Earlier this summer, some 480 residents of North Minneapolis participated in the community sessions. Meeting at the University of Minnesota Urban Outreach Research Center, the community recommendations were summed up in the word DREAM: Develop Recommendations Empower Action & Mobilize.
When the METRO Blue Line Extension is completed in 2030, the multi-billion dollar infrastructure project will lay 13 miles of track from the Target Field Station through North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park and connect the northwest metro communities to the light rail system.
The DREAMNorth sessions asked participants to imagine what the new prosperity and opportunities associated with the massive transportation project could bring to the Northside community.
Many expressed hopes for new affordable and senior housing options, expanded employment opportunities, more green space and attractive Blue Line Extension LRT stations that promote transit-oriented development.
“We asked, what do you need? What we heard is, we need the basics. Then we asked, what would you want if money was not an object? And then we heard some amazing ideas about building on the Northside vibe,” Buckner said.
Those ideas to enhance the culture and quality of life in the area included the addition a jazz lounge, an open-air Northside Mall, go-karting, museums, a cannabis spa, sustainable urban farming and other innovations.
The DREAMNorth report also seeks ways to ensure that workers from the community are involved as labor for the planning, construction and operations of the METRO Blue Line. The report includes recommendations for ways to prevent displacement and disruption during construction and ways to stabilize neighborhoods along the route with options like rent freezes for residents and business owners.
The next step for the development of the METRO Blue Line Extension is for the project to receive municipal consent from each of the cities along the line, with Hennepin County, the Met Council and the individual communities signing off on the plan.
The DREAMNorth report is meant to “ensure the people’s voices are heard in the process,” according to Buckner.
“The community can rally around this document,” he said. “The planners of the Blue Line have done an excellent job, but this is our view of what we can do with this investment in our community. We want to think about what we can get beyond more transit seats.”
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