With the Maplewood City Council withdrawing support for the Purple Line bus-rapid transit project, its future is up in the air, at least according to two Ramsey County commissioners.

“We’re still looking to see what the impact to the Purple Line will be. We’re still in discussions with the Met Council,” said Rafael Ortega, Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority chair and county commissioner, on Tuesday. “But, quite frankly at this point, you know, it is a setback.”

Ramsey County Board Chair Victoria Reinhardt said that the Corridor Management Committee, which advises Ramsey County and the Metropolitan Council on the Purple Line project, will still meet on Oct. 14. The Met Council will decide what happens next for the project, Reinhardt said.

There is a lot for the Met Council to consider as they go forward, she said.

“They could decide to pause and not lose all of the valuable information that they already have. They could decide to stop and say, ‘We’re not going to do it.’ They could look for another terminus to it,” Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt said the project is only in the initial stages of design and it is still early enough to make decisions, but she respects Maplewood’s choice.

“And see, that’s the point: There’s still too much up in the air because there’s more to the Purple Line than Maplewood,” Reinhardt said.

Maplewood rescinds support

The Maplewood City Council passed three resolutions Monday night rescinding support from the Purple Line and directing the city to look into alternative transit options.

The resolutions included one to support public transit while requesting discussion with relevant entities to learn more about alternatives to the Purple Line, one withdrawing support from Bruce Vento Regional Trail corridor alignment and one withdrawing from the White Bear Avenue alternative.

The first resolution requesting discussion on alternative options was supported 4-1, with council member Nikki Villavicencio opposed, and the resolution withdrawing support from the Bruce Vento Regional Trail corridor alignment received unanimous council support.

Motion withdrawing support

The third resolution withdrawing support from the White Bear Avenue alternative was passed by the council 3-2, with council members Chonburi Lee and Villavicencio opposed.

Lee said he felt blindsided by the council’s Sept. 9 decision during a council workshop to bring the three resolutions forward and said he considered the decision to withdraw to be premature.

Lee made a motion to table the resolution until the council received final recommendations from the Purple Line project team in October and to direct staff to develop a comprehensive public engagement plan. His motion was opposed 3-2.

Mayor Marylee Abrams and council member Kathleen Juenemann repeated many of the concerns they mentioned at the Sept. 9 meeting, including issues with ridership numbers and disruption for businesses in the area.

“I’m applying common sense. I support transit. We need transit, but I think we can do better than a $450 million project that will take two years of construction that will rip up White Bear Avenue,” Abrams said.

Maplewood isn’t the first city to oppose the project. In 2022, the White Bear Lake City Council passed a resolution requesting that the originally envisioned 15-mile line not terminate in their city. As a result, Metro Transit settled on a new northern terminus at Maplewood Mall in Maplewood. An alternative alignment along White Bear Avenue was also being studied, along with options for extending the Purple Line beyond Maplewood Mall.

Support for project

Meanwhile, state Rep. Peter Fischer, DFL-Maplewood, wrote a letter to the Maplewood City Council expressing support for the Purple Line, citing positive impacts it would have on businesses dealing with labor shortages and Century College students. Bus routes are not guaranteed to continue in an area, unlike permanent lines like the Purple Line, Fischer said.

Lack of reliable transportation can leave people unable to attend medical appointments, make it to work or finish classes needed for their degree, Fischer said.

Others who expressed support for the Purple Line included Century College President Angelia Millender, the Hmong American Partnership, the East Side Area Business Association board of directors and other local organizations.

Following the Sept. 9 council meeting, the Met Council and Ramsey County released statements expressing support for the Purple Line.

The statements were released as part of a memo from Purple Line project staff “addressing factually incorrect and misleading information stated during the Sept. 9 Maplewood City Council workshop.” The memo can be accessed at metrotransit.org/purple-line-project.

When asked how Maplewood’s withdrawal from the project would impact the Purple Line, Met Council officials provided the following statement:

“The Met Council is committed to the Purple Line as a critical investment in our region’s transportation future. Transitway projects across our region are significant investments that not only improve our transportation system but advance prosperity and convenience for every resident. We will continue our work with our east metro partners to ensure every corner of our region is served by frequent, safe and convenient transit services.”