Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan 4.5 Public Outreach Conclusions Stakeholder and public comments provided guidance to improve various elements of the plan. About one fifth of the comments favored the plan. Four cities, one county and the University of Minnesota also supported the plan. Several neighborhood groups expressed concerns about specific elements of the plan. The majority of comments (over 60 percent) were in response to the proposed route elimination or service reductions on Routes 7, 8, 18, 19, 22, 52B, 84, 538 and 539. Another frequent comment was concern regarding increased transfers and loss of direct service to key destinations. For example, the proposed elimination of some direct service to the University of Minnesota was the source of many complaints. The Concept Plan was modified to address many of the stakeholder and customer concerns within the current operating budget and the tenants identified in the previous chapters. Of the 55 routes in the sector, 32 or 58 percent of routes were modified in response to public comment. The final plan preserves geographic coverage in all of the urban area, and most of the suburban areas, and direct service to the University of Minnesota from France Avenue/ W. 50th Street, Cedar Avenue/Portland Avenue and Snelling Avenue. This final plan, as modified to address the concerns raised during the public outreach phase, is supported by all five cities and the two counties found in the study area. 5 Planned Transit Service Improvements 5.1 Planned Transit Service Network The service improvement program begins with a high-to-medium frequency grid network of local service in high-density population and employment areas such as south Minneapolis and St. Paul. This is combined with a high frequency, high-capacity express and limited-stop bus and rail network. This grid will thin in less densely populated areas such as Edina, Richfield and portions of Bloomington. In low-density south and west Bloomington, community-based, shuttle services such as the BE Line will connect to the core network through timed transfer in lieu of more traditional fixed-route services operating on a grid network. At certain isolated employment sites where the regional system is not economical, employer-sponsored shuttle connections may be an effective solution. The planned transit service network is shown in Figure 6. Page 12 Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan Streamlined Grid Network – Urban Local Services Urban local service will be increased and routes simplified by streamlining services onto corridors and eliminating unproductive segments. Several local routes would be extended to serve major employment destinations along the I-494 corridor (France, York/Xerxes, Nicollet, Penn and Lyndale). Frequencies would improve to allow connections with LRT and enhanced express and limited-stop bus service. More continuous crosstown services would further develop the grid-based network. Figure 7 is a map of the planned urban local transit service for Sector 5. Suburban Based Services Several new rush-hour shuttle routes or local extensions of express routes (where appropriate) will serve the suburban communities. These will replace some existing express service route “tails” and allow connections to new express service on I-35W and Highway 100. Current BE Line service will be restructured and enhanced to provide better connections to local and regional transit service. Figure 8 shows enhanced suburban- based transit service for Sector 5. Enhanced Express and Limited-stop Transit Network Light-Rail Transit (LRT) along the Hiawatha Corridor between downtown Minneapolis and Fort Snelling is scheduled to begin in April 2004 with the extension to the airport and Mall of America (MOA) set for December 2004. As part of the final plan, both limited-stop arterial and express bus services will augment the new LRT line. Figure 9 is a map of improved express and limited-stop service, showing park-and-ride lots, transit centers, and LRT stations. Urban Local Services • The urban local service is simplified and is more direct to major destinations such as along I-494 and Hiawatha Avenue. For example, radial Routes 4 and 6 are simplified and extended to connect to improved crosstown service along I-494. Route 74 (old Route 64) is extended to the Route 55 Hiawatha LRT line. • Urban crosstown service coverage and frequency is improved. For example, the new Route 46 or Route 84 extensions to the Route 55 Hiawatha LRT line. Frequency and service span is improved on Route 23. Page 13 Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan Suburban Local Services • I-494 Corridor – Provide new enhanced all-day service on both local and express routes within this heavily traveled corridor. Express service is planned to ultimately connect Southwest Station in Eden Prairie and Mall of America. Initially the service will operate partially on I-494 and on key parallel arterials just north of the freeway and end at Best Buy Transit Center. The long-term proposal calls for development of exclusive transit lanes with integrated stations. Short-term access is planned with stations on Normandale (Computer Avenue) at 77th, 76th at Parklawn, Minnesota Drive at France Avenue, York Avenue and Best Buy Transit Center. To complement express service, new all-day local service serving the frontage roads to the north and south of I-494 is planned between Mall of America and East Bush Lake Road. Express Bus Service • I-35W Corridor – Restructure service to provide all-day, high- frequency service along the corridor, allowing customers to drive to park-and-ride lots and catch the next trip rather than having to plan for a specific trip. Convert the local portions of some south Bloomington express routes to shuttles connecting residents with express service. Some local service extensions of express routes will remain where ridership is highest. Stations (some with park- and-ride lots) will provide transit center access to the express service at Bloomington South Transit Center (98th Street), 82nd Street, Southtown, Best Buy Transit Center, 76th Street, 66th Street, Diamond Lake Road, 46th Street and Lake Street. The planned implementation will have two phases. Phase One will introduce the stations, connecting services and limited park and ride lots. The long-term Phase Two would bring extensive exclusive bus lanes, additional (38th Street) or relocated stations (such as at 82nd Street), expanded and additional park-and-rides together with increased frequency to meet the “show up and ride” demand. Page 14 Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan • Highway 100 Express – Restructured express routes will provide high-frequency service to existing and new park-and-ride lots during rush hours. Access will be provided at park-and-ride lots at 98th Street & Normandale, 94th Street & Nesbitt and 84th Street & Chalet Road in Bloomington Road and a site to be determined in Edina near Highway 100 and Vernon Avenue. Two local extension routes will serve western Bloomington. Two other local extension routes will serve western Edina. • Limited-stop service to the University of Minnesota from south Minneapolis, Edina and Richfield - The “52” series routes will be renumbered to the 120 series and most of the existing service will be retained. Service will operate on 66th Street from Cedar Avenue (new Route 121), from Southdale and France Avenue (new Route 122), from 48th Street & Grand Avenue (new Routes 124 rush hours, 126U non-rush hours) and on Hennepin from 36th Street (new Route 126 rush hours, Route 126U during non-rush hours). Limited-Stop Bus Service Limited-stop bus service operates on arterial streets and serves widely spaced stops. In the long term, customers will have access to real-time arrival information and speed will be improved using signal priority, queue jumps and bypass lanes. • Route 53 Lake Street (in Minneapolis)/Marshall (in St. Paul) – This will be a frequent weekday rush-hour service to replace the current limited service on Route 191 Express. Limited stops will be made at: Uptown Transit Station, Girard Avenue, Lyndale Avenue, Nicollet Avenue, 1st Ave., I-35W, 4th Avenue, Chicago Avenue, Bloomington Avenue, Cedar Avenue, Lake Street Midtown LRT Station, 26th Avenue, 36th Avenue, 44th Avenue, Otis Street, Cretin Avenue, Cleveland Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Fry St., Snelling Avenue/I-94 and University Avenue/Pascal Street (Midway Shopping Center). During rush hours, every other trip (every 20 minutes) will continue to and from downtown St. Paul via I-94. • Route 54 West 7th Street in St. Paul – This restructured all-day, seven-day service will operate between downtown St. Paul and Mall of America. Local stops will be made from downtown St. Paul to Grand Avenue. Then limited stops at St. Clair Avenue, Randolph Avenue, Watson/Tuscorora Avenue, Otto Avenue, Albion Avenue, Homer Street, Rankin Street, St. Paul Avenue/Madison Street, Maynard Drive, Airport/Lindbergh Terminal, 34th Avenue & 80th Street, 80th Street & Metro Dr., 28th Avenue & 82nd Street and Mall of America. Page 16 Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan Stronger Transit Center Connections Transit Center and Station connections will be strengthened to provide better transfer connections. Some examples of these new facilities are: Bloomington South at 98th Street & I-35W, Best Buy Transit Center at 76th Street & Penn, Chicago & Lake and Midway Shopping District near University Avenue & Pascal Street, Hiawatha LRT 46th Street Station and Mall of America. 5.2 Description of Planned Service Changes Figures 10, 11 and 12 show existing Metro Transit routes and the corresponding planned routes for urban local, suburban local and express service. Also included in each table is a description of routing changes. Figure 13 is a frequency comparison of existing and planned services. See the Appendix for a full description of each planned route and map. Page 17 Metro Transit Central-South (Sector 5) Final Plan Figure 10 – Urban Local Services for Sector 5 Current New Routing Changes Route Route See Appendix for Route and Service Details 2 2 Route remains primarily unchanged.