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Draft Status Report on the Northstar Commuter Rail Project. June 7, 2001 <br /> <br />Lack of Corridor-Wide Transit Service - Currently there is no <br />corridor-wide transit service between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud <br />metropolitan areas. <br /> <br />Lack of Non-Motorized Facilities - There is a lack of alternative <br />facilities such as recreational trails for non-motorized travel. <br /> <br />C. Goals and Objectives <br />In response to the identified transportation needs in the corridor, <br />the overall goal of the project is to identify a transportation <br />investment strategy that meets the future transportation needs of <br />the Northstar Corridor. The following goals were adopted by the <br />NCDA to guide the selection of a transportation strategy: <br /> <br />· Improve mobility and safety in the corridor. <br />· Minimize adverse environmental impacts and foster positive <br /> environmental effects. <br />· Encourage transportation supportive land use development <br /> patterns. <br />· Provide a cost effective and efficient transportation system. <br /> <br />D. Alternatives <br />The Phase I MIS defined and evaluated a wide variety of transit <br />and highway improvements for the corridor. Transit technologies <br />considered included bus system improvements, commuter rail, light <br />rail, diesel multiple units, heavy rail, monorail, automated guideway <br />transit and personal rapid transit. Highway options considered <br />included HOV lanes, freeway upgrades, bypasses, additional <br />Mississippi River crossings, and minor highway upgrades such as <br />adding turn lanes, access consolidation, development of frontage <br />roads, construction of interchanges and selected lane additions. <br /> <br />An initial screening process was used to focus on the most <br />promising modal elements. The individual elements were then <br />combined to form multi-modal strategies. A more detailed <br />evaluation of those strategies led to the selection of the following <br />five strategies recommended for further study in the Phase II MIS: <br /> <br />· No-Build <br />· Transportation Management and Bus Improvements <br />· Commuter Rail and Feeder Bus <br /> <br />Northstar Corridor Development Authority 6 <br /> <br /> <br />