Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

[Tcmetro]

I recall that an 8th St bus lane was proposed when the street was reconstructed a few years back but was removed from the design. With the Gold Line being added to 8th St, I'd hope that the city reconsiders that decision.

[blo442]

The reason the 8th St bus lane stalled while 7th St went forward, according to some colleagues who worked on the project back in covid times, had to do with the off-peak parking in the left lane on 8th. If the 8th St bus lane was implemented, only one general travel lane would be left off-peak, which the city believed would violate the State Aid rule requiring a minimum of two through lanes on one-way streets in the state aid system.

Since then, Hennepin County worked through the process with the State Aid office on Lagoon which has the same bus lane, thru lane, dynamic thru/parking configuration. On that project the State Aid office determined it would be acceptable to count the bus lane as a second lane for the purposes of meeting the regulation. With no regulatory barrier, it's all down to political will at the city now (but with Public Works staff shortages and Frey's lukewarm attitude towards transit, I don't think that will exists at City Hall these days)

[Silophant]

Ah, that makes sense. If the regulatory question is out of the way, I'm pretty optimistic that it'll happen in 2027ish alongside the Gold Line extension. Metro Transit pushes harder for the flagship BRT lines.

[wingedmolotov]

How far south would Nicollet BRT run? Curious if the study was for the entirety of 18.

[Bakken2016]

How far south would Nicollet BRT run? Curious if the study was for the entirety of 18.

I believe the original study was to American Blvd.


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[twincitizen]

From the 2021 Network Next study: https://www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites ... collet.pdf

The endpoint shown on that doc is the layover/turnaround for the 18D: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oJe4djYLwFhnhe8w9 I assume bus operators can use the restroom at the Super8. While that turnaround makes for efficient use of operator hours, it's kind of a black hole in terms of connections to other buses. From a network standpoint, maybe Nicollet BRT could turn west on American Blvd, hit the transfer point with the Orange Line at Knox/Southtown, and layover/turnaround at 81st St/35W along with Route 4.

[Wezle]

https://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meetin ... nfo-2.aspx

New aBRT update presentation from Metro Transit for the Met Council. Gives some rough timelines for announcement and implementation of the J,K, and L lines as well as plans for selecting further routes down the road. Seems like corridors should be evaluated and selected for J,K, and L by the end of this year!

[daveybabymsp]

Bummed that after the B and the E line are opened this year, they are on planning for 6 new lines in the next 10 years. I get that they can only plan so many routes at a time, but I wish they could throw more resources at the program and do closer to 10 new lines in 10 years since the current lines have been such a success on pretty much every metric

[COLSLAW5]

I think the hard part is that cities and counties are wanting to line up whole road reconstruction efforts so that creates rigid timeline to follow those projects.

Also interesting to see that they are starting a process to review existing lines for potential updates

[BigIdeasGuy]

From the outside when it comes to transit planning the time spent talking & planning vs the time spent doing seems way off. For what largely amounts to an upgraded bus route how in the world does it take 5 years to figure that out? I get that funding isn't always available but how does it take multiple years to figure out where a modular improved bus stop is goes?

[UrbanMPLS]

Completely agree. I’m sure a planner could give me a bunch of reasons why this isn’t the case, but once the corridor has been selected, I feel like planning these routes should take maybe six months. And that’s including community engagement.

[COLSLAW5]

Unfortunately it really comes down to the fact that these projects tend to cross several cities and county infrastructure. Because of that the coordination on funding and planning is frustratingly complex. I agree that we should be shortening public comment periods but when you need to get approvals from committees that only meet once a month timelines stretch fast.

[DanPatchToget]

I'd like to know if it's feasible to do a quick rollout of an ABRT route and build the permanent infrastructure at a later date. For example the C Line stations along Olson Memorial Highway are just a regular bus shelter with a tiny real-time bus arrival display board. As for the ticket/Go-To card machines, I saw a couple at a park & ride in Shakopee that are portable and you just plug into an outlet, so I wonder if something like those could be used. Anything to bring these improvements quicker assuming the buses and drivers are already available. I know it isn't as good as a fully built ABRT service, but would the public care if they have to wait for real ABRT platforms but still get the higher frequency, slightly faster service, and simplified route right away?

[COLSLAW5]

You sorta described the better bus routes program which honestly could also be sped up. I think an understated upgrade that ABRT brings for faster service is Transit Signal Priority. To do that you have to upgrade signals along the route which are controlled by the city or county. Also there is a fiber optic line the entire length of the route to help with that.

I am not trying to be a debbie downer but just trying to point out that a lot of these projects are doing more the fancy shelters and buses. As we get better at these the cities are opening up to using them as opportunities to improve the pedestrian environment around the stations which make these lines even more usable.

[thespeedmccool]

I love the idea of speeding these up (which probably just requires smoothing out coordination and lining up funding more quickly,) but I don't think I like implementing "temporary" aBRT facilities to upgrade them later. aBRT is already a diluted mode for mass transit, and I'm hesitant to dilute it further.

There's a general kind of anti-transit argument that goes something like "We don't need [high-cost infrastructure], we just need [lower-cost infrastructure]." You see this with the groups who think Robbinsdale doesn't need LRT, just highway BRT. You see it with some of the anti-transit folks around E Line stations in Edina that said they didn't need those big aBRT stations because a simple shelter would be enough.

I understand the instinct to go faster, but I don't want to sacrifice an opportunity to line up all the relevant actors for a higher quality version of a project. I know the suggestion for quicker rollout wasn't made with the above-mentioned anti-transit thoughts in mind, but I think we shouldn't accept less when we have a window to do more.

[angrysuburbanite]

Yeah, I kinda agree with that. If there's an opportunity to plan a route in coordination with a street reconstruction it's probably worth it to integrate it better with the streetscape. I'd rather it take longer to get a better final product than shorter for something lackluster.

[BigIdeasGuy]

I think there is a big difference in postponing a project for a few years to better line up with other planned construction work. To me that's a valid reason to delay an upgrade. On the other hand delaying a project for years because of engagement and process because engagement and process makes us feel good doesn't come near to being a valid reason.

I would also point out there is a vocal group of urbanist that you can can count on ripping on bold, risky ideas in favor of more, small, cheaper projects and marginal improvement. I think that approach can be the right one at times but it's also shutdown down dreaming, unless of course it's their perfect dream.

[DanPatchToget]

I forget which thread, but I remember recently there was discussion about American Boulevard and Bloomington doing a study for transit improvements along it. Here's the project website: https://letstalk.bloomingtonmn.gov/am_b ... source=ehq

To be honest, I hope nothing is done in the near-term besides some bus improvements (and I can always hope the powers that be come to their senses and allow the 540 or 542 to go deep into Eden Prairie) and trying to upzone land along American Boulevard. Without a radical change to land use though, I don't see American Boulevard ever being a corridor built more for people in mind than cars.

[Bakken2016]

I forget which thread, but I remember recently there was discussion about American Boulevard and Bloomington doing a study for transit improvements along it. Here's the project website: https://letstalk.bloomingtonmn.gov/am_b ... source=ehq

To be honest, I hope nothing is done in the near-term besides some bus improvements (and I can always hope the powers that be come to their senses and allow the 540 or 542 to go deep into Eden Prairie) and trying to upzone land along American Boulevard. Without a radical change to land use though, I don't see American Boulevard ever being a corridor built more for people in mind than cars.

Southwest Transit just announced their I-494/American Blvd service today. Starting March 31st.

https://swtransit.org/news-media-press- ... NSYb7AUHPQ


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[angrysuburbanite]

Wish there was a schedule or map.

Glad it's 7 days a week, but it looks like they are using repurposed prime minibuses rather than normal transit buses which is kind of disappointing (take a look at the contest page). 45 to 60 minute headways is better than I was expecting to be honest, but I fail to see how this is better than extending a Metro Transit route.