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Hennepin County studies options for Bottineau Transitway

Hennepin County is conducting a detailed alternatives analysis to determine if investing in light-rail transit (LRT) or bus-rapid transit (BRT) is feasible in the Bottineau Corridor study area. 

The analysis will determine which transit mode is best suited for the corridor as well as the best location for a transitway alignment. When complete in summer 2009, the analysis will provide comparisons of various BRT and LRT options and a baseline bus alternative. Commuter rail was studied in the preliminary phase of the analysis, but is recommended for elimination. 

Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council had planned to implement BRT in the Bottineau Corridor study area, which parallels Bottineau Boulevard (Cty. Rd. 81) in a northwesterly direction out of Minneapolis. But a variety of factors led to reconsideration of this choice, including changing attitudes toward transit in the region, the overwhelming popularity of Hiawatha LRT, and recent development growth in the study area.

Bottineau is one of five corridors identified as a “Tier 1” transitway in the Metropolitan Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan, adopted in 2004. A transitway is a premium transit service offering improvements in service and speed, which may include dedicated right-of-way.

A 2008 study of the regional transit system by the Metropolitan Council evaluated the potential of more than two dozen transit corridors in the region and confirmed Bottineau’s strong transitway potential. The study indicates that the density of existing and projected population and jobs in the Bottineau Corridor may support the development of LRT as part of a regionwide transitway system plan.  The study’s recommendations will likely carry into the Council’s policy plan update late this year.

Population, jobs are growing in the corridor

Residents of the corridor got a chance to look at and comment on the preliminary options during a series of open houses held by the county in late July at five locations dispersed along the corridor.

At the JSumner Library open house in north Minneapolis, project officials talked about the corridor.  “A lot is happening in the Bottineau Corridor,” said Joe Gladke, Manager of Engineering and Transit Planning for the county. He cited the corridor’s strong population and job growth, highlighting Maple Grove at the northwest end of the corridor, as well as Target’s corporate offices in Brooklyn Park.

The growth has led to an increase in traffic congestion, according to Joe Kern, who is leading the technical analysis team for SRF Consulting, the firm Hennepin County has hired to perform the alternatives analysis. Another reason to take a look at a dedicated transitway investment is that $4 per gallon gas is creating “a growing demand for travel options,” Gladke said. And in order to obtain federal “New Starts” funding for the transitway, an alternatives analysis is required, he said.

Either BRT or LRT would differ from a typical bus route because the stations are further apart, a dedicated transitway is faster and more reliable, and improved vehicles and amenities enhance the customer experience. “We’re looking at the super-highway of transit,” Gladke said.

Residents weigh in on route options

The county will evaluate LRT and BRT on two trunk alignments through Robbinsdale and Crystal, including use of right-of-way in an existing Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railroad corridor or a parallel roadway. Two north-end alignments will be studied, leading to Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, or both.

On the south end of the corridor, the transitway could use Lowry or Broadway Avenues to Lyndale Avenue, or Olson Memorial Highway (Trunk Hwy. 55). These alignments would connect with downtown and other transitways near the new Twins Ballpark and new intermodal station, where Northstar commuter rail and Hiawatha LRT will intersect.

A few of the dozen or so residents at the Sumner open house expressed concerns about the Hwy. 55 route out of downtown Minneapolis.

“It looks like an easy way to isolate North Minneapolis,” said Anne McCandless. She favored a route along West Broadway. “We’re talking about a transit-dependent population and an area that needs development,” she said. Another resident of the Harrison neighborhood advocated for the TH 55 alignment connecting to downtown.

Gladke emphasized that one of the primary screening criteria is to make sure the chosen alignment is accessible to people who depend on transit. The line would be designed so that buses would connect with it as they do along the Hiawatha line, where Metro Transit reoriented bus service to make good connections with the train, resulting in faster trips to key destinations.

Barbara Milon, executive director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, said that planners need to involve the community so that the project can be integrated with efforts to support business and workforce development, as well as housing. “Faster and quicker is wonderful but if we don’t involve…the people living in the community then we have really missed an opportunity,” she said.

One of the project’s objectives, Kern said, is to encourage transit-supportive development. “We’ll use some of the lessons we’re learning from the Hiawatha line.”

A Community Advisory Committee, comprised of residents and community groups from each city along the corridor, is providing ongoing input as the planning proceeds. Periodic open houses and public meetings are also planned. Technical and policy advisory committees engage agency stakeholders and communities along the corridor. The Council, including Metro Transit, serve on these committees and will continue to work closely with the county and its consultants on detailed aspects of project planning, according to Charles Carlson, Council transportation planner.   

Next steps in the analysis

The alternatives analysis has four phases:

1. The first phase, nearly complete, includes looking at the problems and needs in the corridor, establishing goals for a transit solution, detailing the universe of alternatives to be studied, developing criteria for evaluating the alternatives and narrowing of the universe of alternatives to a limited set for full analysis.
2. In the second phase, planners will sketch in more details on each of the alternatives, including where stations might be located, how the bus system would connect with the LRT or BRT, etc.
3. The alternatives will be evaluated and compared for ridership, cost, development impacts and other factors. The alternatives will be brought to the public for review and comment.
4. A preferred alternative is selected (summer 2009).

If the corridor continues to show strong promise for transitway investment, next steps could include environmental documentation, engineering and construction.