Metropolitan Council solicits public input on 17 Green Line Extension station locations

The Metropolitan Council is hosting several open houses this month to solicit public opinion on the future locations of all 17 stations that will be part of the Minneapolis area's Southwest Light-Rail Transit project, also known as the Green Line Extension.

The meetings will help project designers and engineers to determine which station location options under consideration would enhance connections to existing neighborhoods and promote future development opportunities, council officials said in a post on the agency's website.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement identified station locations to the nearest cross streets. Now, designers and engineers need to pinpoint the locations of station platforms; a roadway; pedestrian, bike and bus connections; and park-and-ride lots.

When completed, the Green Line Extension will run from downtown Minneapolis through the southwestern suburban cities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, and pass near Edina. Then proposed alignment is primarily at-grade and includes about 15.8 miles of track.

The open houses began earlier this week and will continue through June 26.