SLP School Board Joins City Council in Opposing Freight Rail Relocation

Citing strong concerns about safety and worries about the creation of an “ugly aesthetic blight,” the St. Louis Park school board sent a letter to the Met Council last week opposing the relocation of freight rail traffic in the city.

The school board joins St. Louis Park’s city council and several local lawmakers in opposing the Met Council’s proposals for re-routing freight lines to accommodate a planned segment of Southwest Light Rail Transit.

“It’s the first time in the 12 years that I’ve been on the board that we’ve been in 100 percent agreement” with the city, said board chair Bruce Richardson. “Our No. 1 priority is the safety of the kids; you lose one child in this process, and it just isn’t worth it.”

The school board said it preferred to keep the freight line in the same corridor as the light rail—an option known as “co-location.”

“The options increase freight rail traffic in the immediate vicinity of two elementary schools, our early childhood and family education center, and our high school,” reads the school board’s letter. “Each of the options substantially and unacceptably increases the safety risks to our students and families and creates negative educational impacts on our schools.”

In its letter, the school board articulated safety concerns related to the possibility of derailment as well as to the “irresistible attraction” of placing train tracks in close proximity to playgrounds.

“Whether they want to place coins on the rails or find a short-cut between school and home,” the board wrote, “the placement of a brand new track next to their school will be an open invitation.”

The board also claimed that a relocated freight rail line would cause noise disruptions and destroy the district’s $1 million investment in artificial turf for the high school football stadium.