Snarled traffic leads Kleis to push for commuter rails

According to the Texas Transportation Institute's 2005 Urban Mobility Report, the Twin Cities ranks fifth worst in traffic congestion, which is determined by the cost of delay in traffic and excess fuel consumption.

Commuters from the St. Cloud area who are traveling on either I-94, I-494 or Highway 10 to or from the Twin Cities can spend hours stuck in traffic during their rush hour commute.

St. Cloud, with the support of legislation and the surrounding communities, could have an opportunity for its commuters to avoid the headache of rush hour traffic.

Mayor David Kleis and other supporters are lobbying for St. Cloud and other surrounding communities to be connected to the Northstar Commuter Rail Project.

The Northstar Corridor from the St. Cloud area to downtown Minneapolis is one of the fastest growing transportation corridors in the state.

The $307.3 million Phase One of the project has already been passed and is well on its way to being completed.

The planning for Phase One of the project began in 1997, and it is estimated that it will be fully operational sometime in 2009.

Phase One will allow commuters to ride a 600-seat commuter train from Big Lake to Minneapolis on a 40-mile trek that will only take 43 minutes, no matter the weather conditions.

After the train leaves Big Lake, it will stop for one minute in Coon Rapids and Fridley to pick up other commuters as it rolls south to its final destination in Minneapolis.

There will be five trains running Monday through Friday from 5:45 a.m. until 7 p.m., with the most crucial times occurring during both the morning and evening rush hours.

Kleis was recently in Washington, D.C. for a mayors' convention, and while he was in the nation's capital, he did some lobbying for Phase Two of the Northstar Commuter Rail project.

Phase Two of the Northstar Commuter Rail Project has not been finalized, because other Minnesota communities are also lobbying for their city to be part of the project.

If Kleis is successful in his lobbying, Phase Two would include St. Cloud, Big Lake and Rice in its future plans.

"The project (Phase Two) is extremely important for the communities of Big Lake, Rice and St. Cloud," Kleis said. "It is an important transportation need for the community of St. Cloud, and I am here to help push this project forward."

Because St. Cloud was not included in Phase One of the commuter rail, Kleis and supporters of Phase Two now have to wait even longer for plans to begin.

St. Cloud and its administrators have already waited close to 10 years for an opportunity to join the project.

If Phase Two was to be completed as planned for St. Cloud, it would connect Becker, St. Cloud, Big Lake and Rice to the other 40 miles of tracks.

It will take close to $750,000 just to get Phase Two off the ground and running, along with other stipulations put forth by Northstar Commuter Rail.

"We will need stations built in Rice, Becker and St. Cloud for Phase Two, along with many improvements to the tracks themselves," said Paul Danielson, team project manager for the design of the Northstar stations.

"We will also need a layover facility for the trains to sit overnight, which will be at the last stop of the night in Rice."

In order for Phase Two to work out, there must be a great amount of support from St. Cloud and its surrounding cities.

Right now, the facts show people want St. Cloud to be included into Phase Two.

It will cost St. Cloud residents $60 million for the train to run through St. Cloud.

In a survey done by the Northstar Commuter Rail, 66 percent of St. Cloud residents supported the project.

Legislation has not started any planning for the Phase Two project and it will not be known until the Northstar Commuter Rail committee has decided what direction they will go with the project.

When the Northstar Commuter Rail committee comes to a final agreement, Gov. Tim Pawlenty will have to introduce the plan to Congress, where it can finally become a reality.

If Phase Two is passed into legislation, then planning will begin within the next year and will be completed within the next 10 years.

For now, St. Cloud commuters will just have to wait to get rid of their rush hour headaches.