When you pull the stops out on an organ, you get a bigger, richer sound. When Metro Transit pulls the stops out of a bus route, you get fewer, fancier bus stops.
Metro Transit has proposed changes to improve service on Route 4, which runs from Silver Lake Village along Johnson Street and East Hennepin into downtown. The changes that would affect bus riders in Northeast include:
• Consolidating bus stops for up to quarter-mile spacing.
• Relocating select stops past intersections with signals to reduce delays.
• Expanding the no-parking zone around select stops to ensure buses can fully pull to the curb at the bus stop.
• Adjusting the route alignment and schedule.
• Installing concrete pads to improve accessibility for customers.
• Installing new shelters at qualifying bus stops.
The southbound stops that would be eliminated along Johnson Street include 36th Avenue, 34th Avenue, 32nd Avenue, 30th Avenue, 28th Avenue and 26th Avenue, as well as the stop at 1st Avenue NE and 5th Street NE.
Northbound stops getting cut include Johnson Street and East Hennepin, 26th Avenue, 28th Avenue, 30th Avenue, 32nd Avenue, 34th Avenue and 36th Avenue. The stop at Stinson Boulevard and 38th Avenue would also be eliminated.
Two new stops would be added: The northbound bus stop on East Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street SE will be replaced by a new bus stop on 4th and East Hennepin; the southbound bus stop on 1st Avenue NE and 2nd Street NE will be replaced by a new bus stop on the southwest side of the intersection.
Bus lanes are being added along portions of Hennepin Avenue and 1st Avenue NE in Northeast as part of a Hennepin County-led project.
John Komarek, communications specialist, told the Northeaster Route 4 “was one of a few routes that were identified based in part on high frequency or ridership. Every year, Metro Transit implements changes that improve reliability on these chosen routes, known as our Better Bus Route program. Route 4 is our sixth such project.”
A Better Bus Route is one that is up for improvements, Komarek said, but not slated to become a Bus Rapid Transit Route, as is Central Avenue. He said consolidating the stops and spacing them up to 1/4 mile apart would improve the speed and reliability of service through a faster, more consistent ride with fewer stops and starts.
Asked what qualifies a bus stop to receive a shelter, Komarek said the project team takes existing stop spacing, ridership, key transfer points, adjacent land uses and limited-mobility boardings into account. He said the team has worked with the County and cities along the route and will evaluate the comments received from riders and the public during the comment period, which ended March 19. The changes to Route 4 would take effect August 17.