Poll: Minnesotans support Central Corridor

A plurality of Minnesotans want funding for the Central Corridor light rail line back in a bonding bill vetoed last month, a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll found. The poll, conducted Thursday and Friday, found that 48 percent supported reconsideration of the Central Corridor funding, while 42 percent opposed the idea. And it wasn’t metro area residents showing the most support for the Downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul line; the majority of support came from Greater Minnesota.

Sixty percent of survey respondents in the western portion of the state approved of the project, compared to 50 percent in the southern part of the state. Forty-Seven percent of residents in northeastern Minnesota supported it, while only 45 percent of metro area residents wanted the Central Corridor back in the bill.

After initial support for the project, Gov. Tim Pawlenty used his line-item veto to remove the project from the bonding bill last month. Budget negotiations between the governor and the DFL have hinted that Pawlenty may use the Central Corridor funding to bargain on other aspects of the budget.