Bottineau Boulevard bus rapid transit is coming

Service expected to begin in 2009

If all goes well, commuters in the congested northwest corridor between Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park could soon be waving at slow-moving traffic from comfy seats aboard the region’s first-ever bus rapid transit (BRT) line.

Funding for the Bottineau Boulevard BRT along County Road 81 survived a scare at the Legislature last month that could have halted planning efforts. But the crisis was averted when the Legislature renewed for four more years an unused allocation of $20 million for additional BRT planning. Service is scheduled to begin in 2009.

“It’s an exciting project and one that shows great promise for commuters in the northwest corridor,” said Brian Lamb, general manager of Metro Transit, and a longtime bus commuter himself. “We’re looking forward to finishing our work and bringing BRT into service as soon as we can. I think it’s going to be very popular and very effective.”

What is BRT?

Bus rapid transit is a new form of public transportation that uses public roads and bus-only lanes to provide dependable, high-speed bus service regardless of weather or traffic conditions. BRT is popular in many major cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe and South America.

This 40-foot hybrid “New Flyer” bus is the kind of vehicle that could be put into use on Bottineau Boulevard and other BRT corridors in the Twin Cities in coming years.

BRT combines the advantages of rail transit with the flexibility of bus service. Key features of the Bottineau BRT are frequent express service, fewer stops, improved passenger boarding, signal priority at key intersections, enhanced transit stations and increased park-and-ride capacity.

Bottineau BRT — the first of several bus rapid transit lines planned for the metro area - will travel on existing roads from Minneapolis north along County Road 81 to Robbinsdale, and then north to Osseo. Where there is sufficient right-of-way, buses will run in median lanes separated from general traffic. Stations also will be located in the median near major intersections.

Planning has been underway for several years. The Bottineau Boulevard Partnership has been spearheading the overall effort, with help from the Metropolitan Council, Minnesota DOT, Hennepin County and other groups. A citizen’s advisory committee also is an active player.

Two new park-and-ride lots along BRT

Congestion in the northwest metro has grown considerably in the past few decades and will only get worse. Projections for the corridor show a 30 percent increase in population and a 38 percent increase in jobs by 2025.

Plans are currently underway for two large new park-and-ride facilities along the route. Construction will begin this summer on the first site at 63rd Avenue, with room for 550 vehicles. A second, larger facility will be added near Brooklyn Boulevard in coming years. The facility will start with room for 200 vehicles and be expanded to about 1,000.

By 2025, planners expect 23,000 daily trips on Bottineau BRT.