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Summary of major transit projects funded with UPA grant

Better transit facilities in downtown Minneapolis  

By far the biggest chunk of the UPA grant, $32 million, is for reconstruction of Second Avenue S. and Marquette Avenue from 12th Street S. to First Street S. in downtown Minneapolis. The City will rebuild the streets from building face to building face. Two lanes will be designated for buses, which will travel in the opposite direction of two lanes of auto/truck traffic.

The sidewalk width on the transit side of each street will be expanded to 17 feet. Bike lanes on both streets will be eliminated and bikes will once again be allowed on Nicollet Mall. The transition period will be challenging but manageable as displaced bikes, buses and cars navigate downtown during construction, Lamothe said.

The improvements will make getting into and out of downtown much quicker and more convenient for transit commuters. The 2000 Census showed that during the peak morning period, 40% of downtown workers commuted by bus. With the advent of light rail and the overall growth in transit usage, that share has likely increased significantly.

Implementing bus rapid transit on Cedar Avenue

BRT on Cedar Avenue is one of the top-priority transitways in the Metropolitan Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan. BRT uses buses but incorporates a number of the premium characteristics of light rail or commuter rail. These characteristics can include specialized vehicles, unique and improved stations, signal preemption or priority, off-board fare collection, improved signage and other features that allow vehicles to operate faster and more reliably than local or express buses.

With a mix of federal, state and local funding, several components of Cedar Avenue BRT will be implemented:

• MVTA will build two BRT transit stations with park-and-ride lots, and two additional BRT station stops.
• Dakota County will construct a BRT station and park-and-ride lot.
• Mn/DOT will construct a left-turn lane with a special traffic signal as a transit advantage for northbound buses on Cedar Avenue heading west on Highway 62 to I-35W.

 

In addition, the University of Minnesota and MVTA will implement a lane guidance system for buses running on the narrow shoulders of Cedar Avenue. Buses will be equipped with a combination of technology that allows drivers to have more confidence driving on the shoulders, Lamothe said. Shoulders on Cedar Avenue are 10 feet wide, compared with the typical 11- or 12-foot shoulders on most metro area highways.

“USDOT is very interested in this part of the project because of its potential to be replicated in older cities on the East Coast where highways were built earlier, with narrower shoulders than are typical here in the Midwest,” Lamothe explained.

The technology will also allow for future precision guidance of low-floor buses to the edge of station platforms so that wheelchair ramps will no longer be needed, speeding up boarding for passengers in wheelchairs.

 

Adding transit capacity on I-35W

Metro Transit will design and build three new park-and-ride lots along I-35W to expand transit capacity:

• A 500-space parking structure adjacent to an existing park-and-ride at 95th Ave. in Blaine.
• A 400-space parking structure in the new Twin Lakes development at County Rd. C in Roseville.
• A 500-space parking structure just north of Cty. Rd. 50 in Lakeville, which joined the Transit Taxing District in May.

 

Purchasing buses and building shelters

Metro Transit will purchase 26 new buses to expand service on I-35W and Cedar Avenue, and build bus shelters on Second and Marquette avenues in downtown Minneapolis.

 

Providing real-time traffic condition signage and other technology

Metro Transit will implement a number of technology projects along I-35W and Cedar Avenue to make using transit more enticing and convenient, Lamothe said. These include:

• Signage with real-time information about park-and-ride locations and space availability, traffic conditions and, on I-35W, HOT lane travel times.
• Access to similar information on the Internet and by phone.
• Signal priority to allow transit vehicle quicker passage through intersections.
• Possible dynamic fare pricing on buses to encourage transit use at certain times.

 

Tolling, technology and telecommuting projects

UPA projects that fall under one of the other three “Ts” – tolling, technology and telecommuting – include, briefly:

• Conversion of the northbound left shoulder on I-35W to a dynamically priced toll lane from 42nd St. to downtown Minneapolis during congested periods.
• Construction of a MnPASS toll lane on both northbound and southbound I-35W between 66th St. and 42nd St.
• Conversion of the existing HOV lanes south of 66th St. on I-35W into a MnPASS toll lane.
• Construction of an auxiliary lane and collector/distributor ramp on northbound I-35W between 90th St. and I-494.
• Construct a new lane on southbound I-35W from 106th St. to the westbound Hwy. 13 exit.
• Add cameras, dynamic signs, communications, signal interconnect and signal priority for transit on Hwy. 13 from Nicollet Avenue to Hwy. 169.
• Partner with local Fortune 500 companies on telecommuting programs modeled after Best Buy’s Results-Only Work Environment.

 

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