Ramsey County Board Workshop on Bronze Line Bus Rapid Transit - August 5, 2026

The Ramsey County Board held a workshop on August 5, 2026, to discuss the Bronze Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The workshop provided an overview of the project, proposed capital grant agreement, cooperative project delivery agreement, and public works staffing plan. No votes were taken. The capital grant agreement is scheduled for board consideration on August 18, 2026.

Discussion Items

• Project Overview: The Bronze Line is a 10-mile BRT route from Union Depot to Maplewood Mall, with 22 stations (17 new). Fifty percent of the alignment is dedicated guideway. The project aims to improve mobility, safety, and multimodal access. Key statistics: 28% of trips are work commutes, 64% of trips are expected from households without cars, and 97% of trips involve walking, biking, or transferring between transit lines.

• Funding and Delivery: The project is 100% locally funded. Approximately 90% comes from Ramsey County (regional railroad authority levy and county-controlled sales tax), and 10% from the Metropolitan Council. The project is delivered through an integrated approach: Ramsey County handles roadway, utilities, streetscape, and pedestrian improvements; Metro Transit handles stations, transit systems, fleet, and dedicated bridges.

• Technical Issues: Presenters highlighted several technical challenges:

  • RK Station proximity to the Pay Phelan community, with requests to move the station closer to Arcade Street.
  • Coordination with Walk on TP (a Dakota-led nonprofit) on daylighting Phalen Creek along the Bruce Vento Trail, where the county will reconstruct the trail and guideway.
  • Johnson Parkway Bridge proximity to the Real Life Cooperative retirement community (50 feet from the building); the county is exploring shifting the bridge.
  • Reconstruction of Pennsylvania Avenue, Maryland Avenue, and White Bear Avenue, with efforts to minimize property impacts and maintain business access.

• Staffing Needs: Public Works identified a need for additional staff in engineering, traffic, right-of-way, and communications to deliver the project. These positions will be funded through project funding sources, not the general levy.

• Board Questions and Discussion: Commissioners raised questions about:

  • Funding breakdown between the levy and sales tax (currently expected to be 50/50, but may change).
  • Decision points and thresholds: a project decision board comprising three Ramsey County elected officials and two Met Council members will approve scope, cost, and schedule changes at 30%, 60%, 90%, and 100% design. Items over $150,000 require board approval.
  • Business support during construction: Commissioners emphasized proactive communication, technical assistance, and a business resiliency inventory, rather than direct grants or loans.
  • Inclusion of benches at BRT stations for aging residents.
  • Request for a future workshop on pedestrian and bicycle lane design across multiple projects.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken at the workshop.
• The Capital Grant Agreement will be presented to the board for action on August 18, 2026.
• The Cooperative Project Delivery Agreement is still under negotiation and will be brought to the board later in 2026.
• Staffing increases were endorsed, funded by project sources.
• The board agreed to hold future workshops on specific topics (e.g., pedestrian/bike lanes) to provide ongoing oversight.