On October 24, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem shared remarks at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at 1 Federal Drive, near the Fort Snelling METRO light rail station on the Blue Line. With the proximity of a demonstration at the federal building to direct transit access with METRO light rail, hundreds of demonstrators chose to take transit that afternoon and evening.
I was in Downtown Minneapolis when I first got the action alert for a demonstration at Whipple. I arrived at the U.S. Bank Stadium METRO station at 11:59 am. From U.S. Bank Stadium to Fort Snelling METRO light rail station was less than 20 minutes. On the train, I met up with a transit rider friend. She said that she made a transfer in Downtown from her local bus, and this was a very direct route to the federal building. Usually when she goes to the Mall of America, she takes a bus there, and when she goes to Downtown St. Paul she takes the Route 94 bus that is faster than the METRO Green Line along University Avenue. She shared with me that having a broad transit network was important to her because she likes to avoid walking far distances. She will using map apps to find routes with less walking over ones that are quicker but require more walking. She also lamented how the Route 94 bus has become more popular, because that made it harder to find a seat to herself to enjoy the ride to St. Paul.
About an hour after I arrived, I met up with another friend of mine who works Downtown. He didn’t have work today, so he biked from the Holland Neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis, crossing at the Sen. Kari Dziedzic 10th Avenue Bridge, and continuing directly to the federal building along Minnehaha Avenue. The entire ride one-way was about one hour. Having reliable and independent transportation that you can carry with you is something to consider when attending a demonstration. At the Fort Snelling METRO light rail station, there were six uniformed Metro Transit police keeping the rails clear for trains, but not blocking any protest activity or checking fares. If there had been a direct action against the light rail trains, that would make it incredibly hard to get home unless you did have a bicycle like my friend did.
When I was on the train car back, I saw that a rider had an electric bike in the vertical rack. Electric bikes are a great range-extender for the last mile between light rail and your home or work some distance away. For me, I live about two-thirds of a mile from the U.S. Bank Stadium METRO light rail station, so walking home was not a significant concern if transit was available. I could also stop for a bite to eat because I had not had much for lunch and I arrived home later.
The Whipple Federal Building is built for cars. There is a sea of parking lot surrounding the building, even with the excellent Fort Snelling METRO light rail station just outside the property line. The federal building was remodeled by Ryan Companies over a decade ago, with work completed in August 2014. The original building was built in 1969. Hennepin County Road 62 (the “Crosstown”) was built over the course of the late 1960‘s, then was acquired by the State of Minnesota as State Highway 62 in 1988. Federal Drive has direct on-ramps and off-ramps to Crosstown MN-62 and a new interchange with the highway portion of Hiawatha Avenue MN-55.
The Whipple Federal Building is also where the sidewalk ends. There is a four-foot wide gravel path, but is is not accessible with no curb cuts and no rollable surface. There is a sidewalk across the street on other property, but not the federal property at 1 Federal Drive. Demonstrators walked their bikes over the steep curbs, but I did see a number of demonstrators in power chairs who used the roadway and parking lot to get to the demonstration. It would be more difficult for any federal employees or visitors to access federal services without accessible sidewalks.
When I left there, I said goodbye to the Federal Protective Service officer blocking the gate with his Ford Explorer, then headed to the Fort Snelling Station. As I mentioned, there were six Metro Transit Police officers and no activity at the light rail station. There were nice benches at the light rail stop, and I sat down and rested a little. Then I took the Blue Line back to Downtown, and it was a good day.
In a windowless conference room, Secretary Noem thanked federal law enforcement on their anti-immigration efforts and drug enforcement. She did not announce any new operations or greater deployment of federal resources. There are, however, thousands of new I.C.E. officers going through training who will be hitting the streets in the coming months.