METRO Orange Line September 22, 2020

Charles Carlson Director, BRT Projects Metro Transit METRO Orange Line Bus Transit (BRT) Downtown Minneapolis to Burnsville • 12 stations, 17 miles • All-day, frequent BRT and improvements for existing express bus service along I-35W • Improved access to 56,000 jobs and 81,000 residents outside of downtown Minneapolis Project Status • Fully funded, $150 million project • Under construction, aligned with major highway projects on I-35W • Opening next winter!

July 2019 Full Funding Event New 12th Street Bus Ramp

Bus-only Access Ramp at 12th Street Other Downtown Construction Underway

12th Street Auto SB Entrance 4th Ave SB 11th/Grant Exit Entrance

5th Ave NB Exit

12th Street Bus-Only Ramp (downtown entrance/exit) I-35W & Lake Street Station- Freeway Level

Future BRT Station

Present Construction Past Bus Stop I-35W & Lake Street Station- Lake Street Level

• Quality connections to Midtown Greenway, buses, Transit bridge & station future B Line BRT • Nearby jobs, shopping and Northbound Southbound residential destinations I-35W I-35W • 4-minute ride from downtown Minneapolis Station plaza

Lake Street

Past Bus Stop

Transit bridge & station Southbound I-35W Northbound I-35W

Station plaza

Lake Street 5 Knox Avenue Tunnel under I-494

• Transit and bike/ped-only I-35W tunnel under 494 Penn-American District • Doorstep access to Best Buy and Penn-American district shopping, jobs, growing residential area

I-494 • Saves 10 minutes from 76th to 82nd St compared to today’s routing via Penn Ave

Best Buy HQ

Dick’s Sporting Goods

Aug, 2020 Looking south Final Condition Looking south Construction Progress- Knox Ave Tunnel

May 2020 Looking southeast September 2020 Looking southeast Construction Progress- Knox Ave Tunnel

September 2020 Looking south Final Condition Visualization Construction Progress- Knox Ave Tunnel

Aug, 2020 Looking north Final Condition Visualization Stations Construction Progress

2020 Stations Construction Progress 2021 Construction • American Boulevard • 76th Street • 98th Street • Burnsville Heart of the City • 66th Street • Burnsville Parkway • Downtown shelter modifications • Shelters, Technology, Commissioning

American Boulevard Station NB, Sept. 2020 Network Next Project Update

Dakota County Regional Rail Authority September 22, 2020

Kyle O’Donnell Burrows Metro Transit BRT Projects Network Next Planned Outcomes

• Planned local and express bus network for 2040 - Improvements to the frequency and span of service on existing routes - New routes in areas without service today • Updated Arterial BRT network - Select and prioritize the next arterial BRT lines to be designated as the METRO F, G, and H Lines, for construction one at a time starting in 2024-25 - Identify mid- and long-term priorities beyond the METRO F, G, and H Lines COVID-19 Process Adaptations

• Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Network Next process and timeline - Pandemic limitations impact most engagement - Uncertainty around long-term impacts of pandemic on local and express bus network • 2040 local and express bus network development - On hold, hope to resume in 2021 • Updated Arterial BRT network planning - Continuing, plan to complete in spring 2021 Arterial BRT Corridor Development Process

1. IDENTIFY 2. SCREEN We 3. EVALUATE 4. PRIORITIZE are Spring 2020 Summer 2020 here F a l l 2 0 2 0 Winter 2020/21 Develop detailed arterial BRT Based on the Network Next Conduct screening to identify Review top performers based on concepts and apply robust principles, identify about 20 about 10 most promising arterial readiness criteria to further evaluation criteria including cost, potential corridors for arterial BRT BRT candidate prioritize the next three lines for ridership & other benefits to sort implementation. corridors to advance. implementation. lines into three tiers.

METRO F Line 3 near-term METRO G Line

4 mid-term METRO H Line

4 longer-term Initial corridors • 19 Initial Corridors Identified • Based on Network Next Principles • Identified from: - High-Frequency Network - High ridership corridors - Previously studied corridors - Network balance Quantitative screening criteria

Ensure the Long-Term Sustainable Growth Build on Success Design a Network that Supports a Advance Equity and Reduce of the Bus Network to Grow Ridership Transit-Oriented Lifestyle Regional Racial Disparities People Average Midday Service Average Daily Corridor Propensity POC on Planned Land Use Experiencing Levels Compared to BRT Corridor Boardings to Use Transit Underlying Route Poverty 10% 30% 20% 10% 15% 15%

Review of community 2040 Percent of riders identifying as a Ratio between the current average weekday Average daily weekday boardings at Weighted average of transit market Comprehensive Plans and related policies member of a household earning trips scheduled on trunk portion of Percent of riders identifying as stops on corridor on primary index values for blocks within ¼ for 1) nexus between land use and transit, less that 185% of the federal underlying route between 11am-1pm to people of color. Data from 2016 underlying local routes using Fall mile buffer of corridor. TMI values 2) planned residential densities meet TPP poverty line. Data from 2016 TBI expected levels of BRT service (10” all day TBI On-Board Survey. 2019 updated to reflect 2016 data requirements, and 3) corridor identified in On-Board Survey. service) plan as desired improvement BRT Corridors to advance

• Engagement on 11 advanced corridors Sept. 1 – Oct. 9 - Open comments on advanced corridors - What should be weighted most heavily in evaluation? - How should we prioritize these 11 corridors? Engagement Plan – Current Phase

• Website has been updated with various ways people can comment: metrotransit.org/network-next • Interactive StoryMap with project history, 11 potential corridors and online survey • Use social media to direct people to website and survey • Hold virtual meeting in late September • Engage community organizations and ask if they want to sponsor a community meeting or help promote links to the survey • Engage existing groups and advisory committees • Provide cities, counties with “toolkit” to help get community feedback Project Contacts

Kyle O’Donnell Burrows, BRT Projects, Metro Transit [email protected]

Jae Halverson, Outreach and Engagement, Metro Transit [email protected]

Project Email [email protected]