No Rail on 10th Street; Price Up to Light Ball Fields

Tenth Street Transit Out of the Running: The Gateway Corridor Commission has dropped consideration of a rail or bus rapid transit route down 10th Street in Oakdale, City Engineer Brian Bachmeier told the Oakdale City Council Tuesday.

The route was dropped due to concerns from the public about the alignments of the route farther west in Maplewood and St. Paul, he said. Commission members were also wrestling with how to get the route back to Interstate 94, as taking it down Helmo, Hadley or Inwood Avenue all presented issues, he said.

Oakdale City Council member Stan Karwoski said he was disappointed the route was no longer being considered, because it might be a benefit to the former Oakdale Mall site, which is currently being redeveloped.

Gateway Corridor transit could still go through Oakdale, but it would be along Interstate 94 instead, Bachmeier said. A station could also be located at The Oaks Business Park, he said, located northeast of the Interstate 94/Interstate 694 interchange.

Karwoski said he’d like to see the city push for a transit station at that site.

Ball Field Lighting Gets Pricier: Lighting the baseball field at will be more expensive than originally thought due to its soil conditions, Oakdale City Administrator Craig Waldron said.

The city has budgeted $225,000 for the project, however, with the discovery of the soil problems, the project cost will likely be about $250,000 to $275,000, he said. The cost is still significantly less it would cost to light ball fields at Skyview Community School, which was previously under consideration.

To pay for the project, the City of Oakdale is teaming up with the Oakdale Athletic Association, which has committed $11,000 per year for 10 years toward the project.