What is Station Area Planning?
Station area planning supports development of housing and businesses near transit stations. It also identifies ways to make it safer to walk and bike to transit stations.
Examples of questions in station area planning include:
- Which sidewalks or street crossings need to be safer?
- What kinds of development would be good for your neighborhood (housing, retail, etc.)?
- What properties in your neighborhood would you like to see redeveloped?
Station Area Working Group Summit
Station Area Working Group participants first met on Sept. 12, 2023, to learn about the project and Station Area Planning. These participants represented the 10th Street through Cook Avenue stations. Attendees discussed their hopes, fears, and goals for their station area(s). Find presentation slides and notes from the meeting. There is also an overview of Metro Transit’s efforts on transit safety and security, a main concern among participants.
Station Area Working Groups: Three rounds of engagement
The five Station Area Working Groups each met once in October/November 2023, January/February 2024, and July 2024. At the first round of meetings in 2023, participants completed asset mapping and visioning exercises for the half mile areas around stations. Comments fell into three main categories: transportation infrastructure and maintenance (e.g., the need for better sidewalks and snow removal), amenities and services (e.g., the need for more groceries and retail options, affordable housing, community gardens, and public bathrooms), and public safety (e.g., the need for improved lighting and surveillance). See summaries and raw notes from the meetings.
Station Area Planning staff used the input from the meeting to craft draft goals and actions to discuss with working groups at the second round of meetings in January/February 2024. During the third round of meetings in July 2024, participates discussed their priorities for actions to implement. Their feedback was used to craft the draft Station Area Plans for the following stations. Higher quality plan images (larger file size) are available upon request.
The draft station area plans will be reviewed and considered for adoption by the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board and City of St. Paul at a later date. Check this page for future updates on the plan review and approval process.