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Mayor Myron Bailey gave a video update recently talking about the future of Cottage Grove Transportation.

One of the city’s strategic goals is to diversify our housing stock and provide more lifecycle housing. We’re finding Cottage Grove is a place where everyone wants to live, whether they’re a young professional, starting a family, or ready to retire. That’s why we’re a growing community. Projections show the city will grow to 47,000 residents by 2040, representing a 24% population increase in the next few decades.

While we are constantly updating upgrading and building new trails and roadways for folks to travel on. I’m often asked about the potential for more public transportation, connecting our city to the rest of the metro area. I’d like to start by talking about what’s available.

Metro Transit has operated a park and ride lot off West Point Douglas road, featuring more than 500 parking spaces for years. While COVID has affected recent operations, in normal times buses travel from the lot to both St Paul and Minneapolis, and every year as summer winds down, it becomes a very busy place for folks heading to the great Minnesota get together.

In addition, the city launched the Cottage Grove bus loop in October 2019. The bus loop is available to the entire community, but it certainly helps us serve our growing senior community. Offering services, every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the loop makes 10 stops, which not only includes two of our largest Senior Living complexes, but also banks, grocery stores, medical services, restaurants, and retailers. As we plan for future residential growth and all housing sectors, we must dedicate our focus on making sure we make more transportation options available.

We will work with our state lawmakers, on this very issue, every year, exploring state and federal funding options for bus rapid transit through the implementation of the Red Rock corridor plan. The plan provides a comprehensive look at the population growth throughout the southeast Metro, and Cottage Grove is a big part of that increase. In fact, the Minnesota Department of Transportation projects that by 2030, the 20 mile stretch of highway 61 connecting cottage road to I 94 will be severely congested.

City staff members are currently seeking state and federal investment in our community by promoting plans for two bus rapid transit stations with high frequency service and enhanced parking facilities. As part of the Red Rock corridor, our proposal includes stations in the area of 80th Street and East Point Douglas road, and Jamaica Avenue and East Point Douglas road. It’s important to note that these stations are not in our immediate future. In fact, they’ll be built several years down the line. If we get them funded and approved. But our goal today is to make sure you know the city’s thoughtful, strategic role is not short-sighted. Elected leaders and staff members are constantly trying to secure more and more transportation options and accessibility for all of our residents now and into the future. Cottage Grove continues to grow. It’s a community where folks want to be, we’ll keep working hard to make sure our residents can get where they want, when they want.