Metro D Line (Minnesota)

The METRO D Line is a planned bus rapid transit line in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. The route will primarily operate on Fremont and Chicago Avenues from Brooklyn Center through Minneapolis to the Mall of America in Bloomington. The 18.5 miles (29.8 km) route was identified by Metro Transit in 2013 as one of several existing local bus routes to be upgraded to arterial bus rapid transit (aBRT).[2][3] As part of aBRT service, the D Line will feature "train-like amenities" including improved station facilities, off-board fare payment, modern vehicles, fewer stops, and higher frequency.[4] The current alignment would substantially replace the existing Route 5, the highest ridership bus route in Minnesota. In October 2020, the project is received funding from the Minnesota Legislature, with construction slated to begin late 2020 with an anticipated opening date of late 2022.[5][6]

METRO D Line
The D Line would use 60-foot articulated buses similar to those currently in use on the METRO C Line.[1]
Overview
System	METRO
Operator	Metro Transit
Vehicle	NFI Xcelsior XDE60, NFI Xcelsior Charge XE60
Status	Awaiting construction start
Began service	Late 2022
Predecessors	Route 5
Route
Route type	Bus rapid transit
Locale	Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota
Start	Brooklyn Center Transit Center
Via	Emerson Avenue, Chicago Avenue
End	Mall of America
Length	18.5 mi (29.8 km)[2]
Stations	40 (8 one-way station pairs)
Service
Operates	55 mph (89 km/h) max
Ridership	23,600 (2030 average weekday estimate)[2]
Route map Brooklyn Center Transit Center C Line Xerxes & 56th Avenue MN 100 Brooklyn & 51st Avenue C Line via Penn Avenue 44th Avenue & Penn-Oliver 44th Avenue & Humboldt-Girard Fremont & 42nd Avenue Fremont & Dowling Fremont & 35th Avenue Fremont-Emerson & Lowry Fremont-Emerson & 26th Avenue Fremont-Emerson & West Broadway Fremont-Emerson & Plymouth 7th Street & Bryant I-94 C Line via Olson Memorial Highway I-94 7th Street & Olson-5th Street Downtown fare zone I-394 Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center 8th-7th Street & Hennepin 8th-7th Street & Nicollet 8th-7th Street & 3rd/4th Avenue 8th-7th Street & Park (to/from C Line layover) Downtown fare zone Chicago & 14th St I-35W/ I-94 Chicago & Franklin Chicago & 24th Street Midtown Greenway Chicago/Lake Transit Center B Line Chicago & 34th Street Chicago & 38th Street Chicago & 42nd Street Chicago & 46th Street Chicago & 48th Street Minnehaha Creek Chicago & 52nd Street Chicago & 56th Street Portland & 60th Street MN 62 Portland & 66th Street Portland & 70th Street Portland & 73rd Street Portland & 77th Street I-494 American & Portland-Chicago American & Bloomington American & Thunderbird Mall of America Blue Line Red Line   Planned Shared with C Line all stations accessible ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

Background

The Metropolitan Council, the metropolitan planning organization for the Twin Cities, completed a 2030 Transit Master Study for the region in 2008 which identified arterial bus network corridors and encouraged further study of arterial bus rapid transit projects.[7] The council set the goal of doubling transit ridership by 2030 in their 2030 Transportation Policy Plan and identified implementing arterial bus rapid transit as a method of increasing ridership.[8] Metro Transit began study of 11 corridors for their potential for arterial bus rapid transit in 2011-2012.[9] Those 11 routes served 90,000 riders per weekday, which was close to half of the total ridership for urban routes. Ridership on implemented routes was predicted to increase 20 to 30 percent after the first year of opening. Corridors were evaluated on capital and operating costs, potential ridership, and travel time savings. At the time, an opening for the first BRT line was hoped to open in 2014.[8] The A Line was selected as the first corridor for study in 2012 with the line opening in 2016. After the B Line project was postponed so the corridor could undergo further study as the Riverview Corridor, the C Line was the next project placed under development and opened in 2019.

The D Line became the third project to enter planning stages and in 2017 hosted open houses where Metro Transit estimated construction could start by 2020 if funding was secured.[10] Later in 2017, the route was downgraded under the Metropolitan Council's Transportation Policy Plan from being funded under the "Current Revenue Scenario" to the "Increased Revenue Scenario" which means the project would only be built if funding is found. The city of Minneapolis passed a resolution in support of the project, partially in protest, but the Metropolitan Council defended the planning decision because at the time funding was not identified for the project.[11][12] Governor Mark Dayton included $50 million for the D Line in his bonding bill request in 2018.[13] Funding was again supported by Governor Walz and regional leaders in 2019 but did not secure funding in the state budget.[14]

Route

The D Line would travel north from Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis via American Boulevard, Portland Avenue, and Chicago Avenue. While in downtown Minneapolis, the route would travel on one-way pairs of 7th and 8th Streets, before traveling along 7th Street to Plymouth Avenue in North Minneapolis. From there, the route travels on the Fremont and Emerson Avenues one-way pairs before reconnecting on Lowry Avenue and continuing on Fremont Avenue. Once the route reaches 44th Avenue, it travels west and eventually follows the route of the C Line to Brooklyn Center Transit Center via Brooklyn Boulevard.[3]

Plans include a station for the intersection of 38th St and Chicago Avenue, which is the site of the killing of George Floyd. However, upon receiving full funding for construction, Metro Transit decided to remove the station from construction at the time. Metro Transit will remain engaged with the community and the City of Minneapolis regarding the intersection's design in the future and the station will be constructed at a later time.[15]

The line would largely replace Metro Transit's Route 5 which in 2017 provided 19,500 weekday rides. With over 120 northbound and southbound trips daily on Route 5, 23 buses were required to serve the line during peak periods.[10] Plans for adding transit signal priority to 19 intersections on the north portion of the route and 12 on the south end were unveiled in 2017 with a planned opening in 2018.[16][17]

External links

• D Line Project Website

References

1. "D Line FAQs - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
2. "Addendum to the Arterial Transitway Corridors Study" (PDF). metrotransit.com. Metro Transit. January 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
3. "D Line (Chicago-Fremont Rapid Bus)". Metro Transit. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
4. "Rapid Bus". Metro Transit. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
5. Moore, Janet (22 October 2020). "Two Twin Cities rapid bus lines win state funding". Star Tribune. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
6. Hazzard, Andrew (9 March 2020). "Hornstein pushing for BRT funding at Capitol". Southwest Journal. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
7. "2030 Transit Master Study". Metropolitan Council. August 8, 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
8. Dornfield, Steven (October 21, 2011). "Could bus rapid transit increase ridership 30 percent in the Twin Cities?". MinnPost. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
9. Roth, Kaie (October 22, 2013). "Arterial Bus Rapid Transit in the Twin Cities" (PDF). Presentation at Railvolution. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
10. Harlow, Tim (October 20, 2017). "Plans for New BRT line unrolled". Star Tribune.
11. Harlow, Tim (December 25, 2017). "Plan moves the D-Line down on transit list". Star Tribune.
12. Callaghan, Peter (March 19, 2018). "'It's a big deal': C Line to bring bus rapid transit to popular north Minneapolis route". Minnpost.
13. Callaghan, Peter (May 16, 2018). "Are GOP lawmakers at the Legislature 'focusing on roads and bridges' or waging a 'war on transit'?". MinnPost.
14. Lee, Jessica (June 7, 2019). "What now for Metro Transit's bus rapid transit plans?". MinnPost.
15. "METRO D Line Update- December 2020". Metropolitan Council (Press release). December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
16. Harlow, Tim (July 3, 2017). "Speeding up Route 5 with signal priority". Star Tribune.
17. Nyberg, Gary (May 22, 2017). "Route 5 Transit Signal Priority Project". Presentation to Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee. Retrieved 19 July 2020.