The fate of the $445 million Purple Line bus rapid transit project in the east metro is unclear after the Maplewood City Council reversed its earlier support of the line on Monday.
Studied for more than three decades, the Purple Line was slated to link Union Depot in downtown St. Paul to Maplewood beginning in 2029, using dedicated lanes for buses along much of the route.
But at a workshop meeting earlier this month, the Maplewood City Council voted on a measure directing staff to prepare resolutions rescinding previous support of the line in favor of “dynamic, flexible” modes of public transportation, such as door-to-door micro-transit buses and autonomous vehicles.
On Monday, the majority of the council said the cost to build the Purple Line is too expensive and construction would disrupt businesses along White Bear Avenue, part of a possible new route being studied by the Metropolitan Council. The regional planning body would design, build and operate the line.
The City Council also questioned whether post-pandemic ridership on the line would justify the cost, and if electric buses would be used, as promised.
On Monday, the council voted 3-2 to formally rescind its support. The council chambers, overflowing into the lobby of City Hall, erupted in applause following the vote.
“This is about common sense; we need to come up with alternatives,” Mayor Marylee Abrams said. “It’s not the end of transit. It’s the end of the Purple Line.”
But Council Members Chonburi Lee and Nikki Villavicencio argued that the Purple Line would meet Maplewood’s future public transit needs and help stem climate change.