2017 ANNUAL REGIONAL PARK-AND-RIDE SYSTEM REPORT JANUARY 2018 Prepared for: Metropolitan Council Metro Transit Minnesota Valley Transit Authority SouthWest Transit Maple Grove Transit Plymouth Metrolink Northstar Link Minnesota Department of Transportation Wisconsin Department of Transportation Prepared by: Soobin Choi Metro Transit Engineering and Facilities, Planning and Urban Design 2016 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary .....................................................................................................................................3 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................6 Regional System Profile ...............................................................................................................................7 Capacity Changes........................................................................................................................................8 System Capacity and Usage by Travel Corridor .......................................................................................10 System Capacity and Usage by Transitway ..............................................................................................13 Facilities with Significant Utilization Changes ..........................................................................................15 Utlilization Increase in Large Facilities .................................................................................................15 Utlilization Increase in Medium Facilities .............................................................................................15 Utlilization Increase in Small Facilities .................................................................................................16 Usage Decreases .................................................................................................................................16 Capacity Constraints ................................................................................................................................18 Greatest Available Capacity .....................................................................................................................19 Factors Impacting Park-and-Ride Usage ..................................................................................................24 Express Bus Ridership Levels ..............................................................................................................24 Motor Vehicle Fuel Costs .................................................................................................................... 25 Twin Cities Freeway Congestion ........................................................................................................ 25 Metropolitan Area Housing Starts .......................................................................................................27 Employment .........................................................................................................................................28 About the System Survey ......................................................................................................................... 29 Appendix A: Facility Utilization Data ....................................................................................................... 30 Park-and-Ride System Data ................................................................................................................ 30 Park-and-Pool System Data ................................................................................................................ 36 Bike-and-Ride System Data ................................................................................................................ 38 2016 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 2 Executive Summary The 2017 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report provides a summary of current trends in the Twin Cities regional park-and-ride system. This document is a system performance update that complements other Metropolitan Council long-term planning documents, including the 2040 Transportation Policy Plan, Thrive MSP 2040 and the 2030 Park-and-Ride Plan. A survey of the system was conducted in late September and early October 2017, which included vehicle and bicycle counts for every facility. The 2017 survey counted 19,610 regional park-and-ride users, an increase of approximately 5 percent from 18,715 users in 2016. Over the past five years, usage has fluctuated annually and remains within a range of 18,000 to 19,000 users. In recent years, annual changes in usage have not shown similar patterns to express bus commuter rail, and LRT ridership patterns. Therefore, the increases in park-and-ride usage are not likely due to increases in transit riders. Yearly changes in total capacity and usage of the park-and-ride system can be seen in Figure 1. The locations of all active park- and-ride facilities are shown in Figure 2. The regional park-and-ride system currently offers 34,008 spaces at 106 park-and-ride facilities. The utilization rate of these spaces is about 58 percent. The system added 115 spaces to its capacity in 2017 with the opening of Carmike Cinema park-and-ride, which is an overflow lot for Apple Valley Transit Station. 189 Spaces were removed from the system due to four facility closures: East Bethel Theatre, Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Walnut St & Chaska Blvd, and Clover Fields Park & Ride. Six transit providers operate the region’s park-and-ride facilities and associated transit service: Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA), Maple Grove Transit, Metro Transit, Northstar Link, Plymouth Metrolink and SouthWest Transit. The region’s park-and-pools are provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the City of New Richmond, Wisconsin. The annual system survey is a collaborative effort conducted by the region’s providers. 2016 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 3 Figure 1: Regional Park-and-Ride System Usage 2004-2017 2017 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 4 Figure 2: 2017 Regional Park-and-Ride System 2017 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 5 Overview As of October 2017, the regional park-and-rides consisted of 106 active park-and-ride facilities throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In addition to park-and-ride facilities, there are 42 park- and-pool facilities. Park-and-ride facilities are defined as parking facilities that are served by transit (i.e. they have a bus route or rail line serving them), whereas park-and-pool facilities are designated parking areas that provide individuals a gathering point from which they can carpool to a common destination. Both types of facilities have been surveyed by regional and state transportation agencies since 1999. This report focuses primarily on park-and-ride facilities. The 2017 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report is complementary to the 2040 Transportation Policy Plan (TPP) adopted by the Metropolitan Council in January 2015. Goals for the regional transportation system, including the park-and-ride system, are outlined in the TPP. This report also complements the 2030 Park-and-Ride Plan, which guides the Council in the planning and implementation of the regional park-and-ride system. This plan helps forecast future growth and capacity needs of the system. The capacities of the facilities that have been expanded or newly built in recent years reflect anticipated demand based on growth projections. The model used to project demand will be updated in 2018 to better align with the TPP and Thrive MSP 2040. 2016 Annual Regional Park-and-Ride System Report | 6 Regional System Profile In 2017, the regional park-and-ride system had 19,610 users, which was an increase of about 5 percent from 18,715 users in 2016. After seeing strong growth in usage from 2004 to 2008 utilization rates have leveled off since 2008. Over this period, the trends in park-and-ride usage closely follow express bus ridership trends, the METRO Blue Line and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line. In 2016, all but two providers, Plymouth and Metro Transit, saw decreases in park-and-ride use. In 2017, Metro Transit Bus, SouthWest, and Northstar Link saw decreases in usage. Metro Transit Bus saw the biggest decline of 308 users, while SouthWest and Northstar Link saw comparatively minor declines of 4 and 7 users, respectively. Based on the 2017 survey of Metro Transit Rail facilities, there was an increase of 666 users compared to last year. Of the increase, 531 was from usage increases on the METRO Blue Line, while the remaining 135 was from usage increases along the Northstar rail. 28th Ave Station was on a short-term lease in 2017 which ended on December 31st, 2017. During the period, 28th Ave Station leased 718 parking spaces for non park-and-ride use this year, contributing largely to usage increase on the METRO Blue Line. Capacity changes by service provider can be found in Table 1. The park-and-ride system has seen incremental usage growth over the last decade and such trend is consistent in usage between 2016 and 2017. Over the past five years, usage has fluctuated each year but remains steadily within a range of 18,000 to 19,000 users. The overall capacity of the system is currently 34,008, with 19,610 spaces occupied during the survey for