We, the owners of Village Lofts and Village Brownstones petition the Metropolitan Council, Metro Transit, Hennepin County and the City of Mpls. to find an alternative BRT E-Line stop from the proposed station at 1st Ave. NE and 2nd St. NE.

The proposed location creates a safety issue for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, vehicular traffic and is a fire safety concern for residents at Village Lofts & Brownstones.  The current proposed BRT Station and platform will:

• Create a blind driveway adding a higher level of risk and safety to pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles using / crossing this hidden driveway.
• Create dangerous vehicle turning movements into and out of the driveway by removing a lane of traffic which currently serves the driveway and Main Street.
• Reduces visibility of the First Ave. traffic for the 500+ daily vehicles, further complicating a challenging driveway movement for all users.
• Create a fire safety response issue for the VL & VB, by creating a barrier between the public way and the building's fire connection and fire exit path.
• Create a corridor between the station and building hidden from public view and direct sightlines creating areas to congregate and increasing security concerns for pedestrians.

We request the Metropolitan Council, Metro Transit, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis to reconsider the Nordhaus block which is where the new population center of our neighborhood is located.  The safety issue of serious accidents for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles has not been considered in the current BRT station recommendation.