The New West 7th Concept

After years of study and community feedback, the City of Saint Paul, Metro Transit, MnDOT, and partners are shifting to a transportation improvement plan for the West 7th corridor that includes Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) while enhancing all existing travel modes in the area.

The concept is a transformative vision that includes a generational investment in West 7th Street to incorporate a fast, frequent, and reliable BRT line, sidewalks and pedestrian streetscape enhancements, and on-street parking at key locations. The concept also includes a vision for a new regional multi-use trail and dedicated lanes for BRT on the nearby railroad spur.  

This new multimodal approach to West 7th:

  • Balances the competing needs of the various modes
  • Builds on the many years of study and extensive public engagement led by Ramsey County
  • Creates opportunities to transform the corridor and the cities along the way
  • Focuses on near-term implementation while addressing roadway ownership for long-term maintenance
  • Avoids or mitigates known challenges of prior proposals

Printable one-page flyer of the New West 7th Corridor Concept (Hmong, Spanish, Somali)

Timeline 

The Concept is being introduced in the Spring of 2025 with the goal of having BRT operational in the early 2030s. 

The New West 7th Corridor Concept timeline

New West 7th Corridor Concept

Join us to learn more about the New West 7th Corridor Concept.

The New West 7th Corridor Concept

Explore the corridor and the concept components. 

Printable map of the New West 7th Corridor Concept

Map showing the New West 7th Corridor concept from downtown Saint Paul to Mall of America with various segments described

Community Meetings

The city and its project partners hosted two in-person and one virtual community meetings in early April. All the events had the same information and a summary of feedback is being compiled. When finished, the summary of feedback will be posted to this website. 

Missed the meetings? 

Watch a recording of the virtual community meeting on April 9, 2025, or feel free to review meeting materials on your own time at the links below: 

Coordination with Other Work

The concept spans 12.5 miles, crosses two counties, two cities, an international airport, and multiple regional destinations. As such, it’s related to dozens if not hundreds of other initiatives and will work to be supportive of each and of every one of them. The major work that the government agencies have coordinated on and are using as foundational to implement this concept include MnDOT’s West 7th Mill and Overlay, the City of Saint Paul’s Downtown Streets and Sidewalks Plan, and Metro Transit’s investment in bus rapid transit for the METRO network.  

Documents

Last Edited: May 5, 2025