NEWS OPINION SPORTS
‘Journey in Motion’ offers an evening of dance at the Burnsville PAC. See Thisweekend Page 11A.
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount APRIL 8, 2011
VOLUME 32, NO. 6
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Navigating Cedar Avenue will be a challenge Construction work for a BRT line began this week; groundbreaking is on April 11
week or two to learn a route that works best for them.”
by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Short-term troubles for longterm gains. This is a mantr a that pervades travel along Cedar A venue in A pple Valley and Lakeville. Dakota County kicked off two years of construction f or the ne w bus rapid transit (BRT) line along the street last Monday, April 4. The initial phase of construction starts at 155th Street in Apple Valley and ends at Dodd Boulevard in Lakeville, said County Engineer Mark Krebsbach. Crews will widen Cedar to cr eate lanes dedica ted to b us and emergency vehicles. The idea, Krebsbach said, is tha t buses will be able to circumvent traffic. Hence the “rapid” in BRT. During the construction, cars will use the inner lanes w hile the outer lanes are worked on and vice versa, Krebsbach said. In 2012, the county will so the same thing with the northern end of the project area in Apple Valley from 155th Str eet to 138th Str eet, which is just before Cedar becomes a freeway. Finally, in 2013, “w e’ll be back for any final paving that might be needed,” he said. T urf establishment and landsca ping work will ensue. The process of moving the utili-
BRT, more than a bus
BRT differs from standard or express bus routes in tha t special buses travel along dedica ted rights-of-way, akin to a light r ail. This allows for quicker transit times. Also like light r ail, BRT features regular but shorter intervals of buses. Just show up and ride. The buses are equipped with a device that allows for “Transit signal priority,” Krebsbach said. “When conditions allo w, it will allow a bus to extend a green light,” he said. What it will not do, however, is afford a b us driver the a bility to turn a r ed light gr een, something only public safety officials can do. Photo by Rick Orndorf
Route
The Cedar A venue BRT line Dakota County and the Metropolitan Council have begun construction along Cedar Avenue in Apple Valley and Lakeville to accommodate the forthcoming bus rapid transit (BRT) line that will run along the corridor will start a t the par k and ride a t 181st Street in Lak eville and ter and connect with the Hiawatha Light Rail line at the Mall of American Transit Center. minate at the Mall of America ties from along Cedar (w here the with traffic still mo ving on Ce- too many business accesses to transit station, where riders will wider lanes will end up) started last dar. close the road down,” he said. board the Hiawatha light rail line fall, Krebsbach said, but had to be “We need to keep traffic movThe County has not demar - to reach downtown Minneapolis. delayed because of early and exces- ing and tr affic signals oper ating cated any official detours or sugMost of the stops are in Apple sive snowfall. at all times ,” he said. “Intersec- gested any alternate routes. Valley, but there will also be one in tions, especially with signals, are “We’ve tried to be v ery forth- Eagan. Still moving very challenging.” coming about (informing people Krebsbach said the biggest Shutting down the road entire- about) construction,” Krebsbach E-mail Aaron Vehling at aaron.vehling@ challenge for the County is tha t ly is not an option. said, noting signs ha ve been up ecm-inc.com. it must conduct all this roadwork “There’s too much volume and for weeks. “It will tak e people a
Close encounters of the farm kind Wanted: input from Photos by Rick Orndorf
One-year-old Logan Wolak (left) got up close and personal with one of the goats at the Minnesota Zoo’s Wells Fargo Family Farm on Tuesday during “Farm Babies,” the annual spring event which features the newest members of the zoo’s family – ducklings, piglets, bunnies and more.
Farm Babies runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through April 30, and zoo volunteers are on hand to answer questions and assist with interaction with the animals. More photos from the opening week of Farm Babies can be found online at www.ThisweekLive.com.
mountain bikers by Erin Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
County park officials are seeking input fr om local mountain bikers on a plan to upgrade the Le banon Hills Mountain Bike Trailhead. An open house to discuss the project will be held from 5 to 7 p .m. Thursday, April 14 at the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center, located at 860 Cliff Road in Eagan. Plans for the upgrade include the addition of a small picnic shelter, restrooms, a drinking fountain and maintenance storage space. The current gravel parking lot and entrance will also get a mak eover, complete with paving and a small increase in par king capacity. Changes to the entrance aim to make it safer f or users to access, said Bruce Blair, manager of facility development for Dakota County parks. This is a very basic, functional upgrade that was included in a master plan developed about 10 y ears ago, Blair said. Drawings of the curr ent plan will be a vailable at the open house, and County staff and consulting ar chitects will be on hand to e x-
plain the project. But the feedback of mountain bikers themselves – a v ery organized group, Blair said – is key to the success of the project. “We want to mak e sure we’re checking in with the predominant users in the mountain biking comm unity,” he said. “Users can do the best job of telling us what works and what doesn’t work.” Regular trail users would know better than an ybody the practical considerations of laying out the space, such as how much room is needed between parking spaces to get bikes down from the tops of cars, Blair said. “We’re fact-checking with the community: Is this going to work for you folks who are going to be using this?” he said. The project, which is budgeted to cost ar ound $500,000, will be funded by a ca pital improvement grant from the Metropolitan Council. Construction is expected to begin in late August. Erin Johnson is at eag an. thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
Final blast of bluegrass (for now) Bluegrass Americana Family Night series at Celts ends April 28 by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Bluegrass fans ha ve two more chances to catch the fast-pickin ’, foot-stompin’ action at Celts Pub & Grill in downtown Rosemount. The final concerts in the Bluegrass Americana Family Night series run this month: Bluegr ass Pals on April 14, and the General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
Middle Spunk Cr eek Boys on April 28. Each band will pla y from 7 to 9 p .m. There’s no cover charge and all ages are welcome. Thus far, attendance at the twice-monthl y concerts which began in January, has averaged 70 to 120 people , according to Cr aig Evans of Rosemount, organizer of Bluegrass Americana Family Night. Co-sponsored by the Rosemount Area Arts Council, the concerts are funded with money left over from a Minnesota Arts and Cultur al Heritage Fund gr ant obtained for the Bluegrass Americana Music Weekend at last summer’s Leprechaun Days celebration. The series a t Celts,
14506 South R obert Trail, kicked off in January with a perf ormance by the Ditch Lilies; other concerts fea tured Rosemount’s own Sawtooth, Singleton Str eet, Switched at Birth, the Eelpout Stringers, and Chris Coole and Iv an Rosenberg. Those who missed the Celts concerts can ca tch many of the same acts in the summer a t the 2011 Bluegrass Americana Music Weekend during Leprechaun Days. The Eelpout Stringers, Switched a t Birth and Sawtooth have all been booked for the Leprechaun Days event. Also, another famil ynight bluegrass series is tentatively planned f or 2012, as organizers have received another gr ant
Photo submitted
The Middle Spunk Creek Boys are featured at the final concert in the Bluegrass Americana Family Night series at Celts Pub & Grill in do wntown Rosemount. The free concert on April 28 runs from 7 to 9 p.m. from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, Evans said. More information
about the Celts concerts is a t www.bluegrassamericanaweekend. com under the “F amily
Night” link. Andrew Miller is at andrew. miller@ecm-inc.com.