Bob CollinsA news release from the Met Council today suggests that anything is possible:
St. Paul, MN – (April 8, 2009) – After more than three months of discussion, research and testing, Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell and Minnesota Public Radio President Bill Kling announced today that the Met Council and MPR have entered into an agreement to mitigate the impact of light rail transit (LRT) on the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street.
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As part of the agreement, MPR will seek other sources of funding for window reglazing to mitigate LRT noise impacts on critical listening spaces within its broadcast center, an effort supported by both the Met Council and the City of St. Paul.
Under the mitigation plan, the Central Corridor project will:
• Install a 700-foot-long floating slab or its performance equivalent for the full length of the MPR building and two nearby historic churches to mitigate vibration and ground-borne noise from the train.
• Move a planned crossover switch from a location near MPR to a new location north of I-94, removing another source of LRT-generated vibration.
• Work with MPR to design, install and pay for modifications to three MPR studios to achieve “acoustical isolation” from LRT-generated noise.
• Maintain LRT vibration levels below specific thresholds within 32 recording and broadcast studios in the MPR Broadcast Center.
• Restrict the use of train horns in a “quiet zone” in the area immediately surrounding MPR and the churches.
Under the agreement, the Council will monitor the noise and vibration impacts of the line during its construction, testing and first year of operation to ensure the effectiveness of the mitigation plan and address any variances of agreed-upon mitigation criteria.
