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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, February 24, 2014 Page 13 Rosedale; and concerns that any expansions will be tied to the next phase if and when TCAAP developed, and not soon enough to address continuing transit needs in northeast suburbs. Councilmember Laliberte noted that Northwestern Univer- sity has had direct contact with Metro Transit as recently as last week,to no avail; and her continuing impression that the line will definitely stop at Rosedale. Councilmember Laliberte welcomed any voices of support beyond hers. Commissioner McGuire expressed appreciation for those concerns; advising that everyone was working hard to get the Metropolitan Council to see things more clearly and to address needs earlier than development of the TCAAP area, which was all but assured to be serviced by the BRT line once that development occurs. Mr. Weinhagen advised that the Chamber was always lobbying for additional transit in this area, and now was the time to leverage the needs of Northwestern and Bethel Universities as the Green Line opens in a few months. Mayor Roe suggested, on the northeast and east metro side, the need to be smart in how available monies are spent, by having preliminary work in process or completed as opportunities arise; but also not locked into a particular mode of transit in the area, since a lower level of transit funding could still accomplish a lot toward broader goals. Mayor Roe noted the significant expense for rail transit lines and the difficulty in getting them to work adding further costs; and while maybe justified in some corridors, other options may serve the area transit needs and extend available funding beyond that through creating feeder lines for univer- sities to make necessary connections, with some footprints already available in some manner or other. Ms. Wickstrom addressed proposed federal funding changes she'd heard at a re- cent CTIB meeting, for more dedicated lanes and those addressing sharing or not sharing rights-of-ways for future projects; and how to tie in a solid infrastructure for any line installed so developers can be aware of that as they considered locat- ing to this area. Ms. Wickstrom opined that feeder lines would naturally occur with changes in bus service to transport people to those trains. Mayor Roe suggested the need to advocate for state and county funding, not just federal funding, and to be united in the advocacy for those funds. With further discussion on the rationale in not extending the Snelling Avenue BRT line beyond Rosedale, Councilmember Laliberte advised that she had been told that ridership in the past at the colleges didn't justify setting up a stop. Councilmember Laliberte noted that she countered with the argument that the rea- son they don't have sufficient ridership is because the universities have estab- lished their own circulator buses to supplement student transportation needs, thus creating a lower ridership on Metro Transit vehicles due to a lack of availability or dependability for those students.