Rich McMartin writes:
>The bus station plan is not dead that I know of. Origonally the plan was
>to widen the 42nd street bridge and park buses on it. It would be a
>transfer from freeway buses to city street buses. Since, er, ah, cough,
>ahem... David and King Park area residents protested it they moved it up
>to the 38th streen bridge.
This isn't exactly true.
It IS true that we protested the location at 42nd, mostly because
MnDOT/Metro Transit gave a citizens group a fairly constrained group of
variables with which to choose between the 42nd and 46th. For example, a
park at 42nd was deemed a better place to put a bus hub because there
weren't houses on all four sides. However, neighbors later noted, a park
full of kids might be an amenity where you don't want to have 54 buses a
rush hour coming in and out right next door.
A couple of years ago, several people in our neighborhood felt that 38th
should be considered since there were redevelopment possibilities and the
street already had bus service (unlike 42nd). We were told that the
configuration of the 36th on-and-off ramps made it impossible to locate the
hub at 38th. THEN when the ramp move was floated, it allowed 38th to be put
in play.
But here's the thing I want to be clear about: THE HUB HAS NEVER BEEN SITED
AT 38TH!
We did form a new task force to more comprehensively consider livability
effects. 38th, 42nd, and 46th were all options. Dore Mead and Brian Herron
effectively killed the hub last year by opposing any hub south of Lake
Street. However, if the process is reopened (which Met Council wants), my
assumption is all three streets remain hub options.
As I have told my neighbors, once all the numbers are crunched, and there is
a full, comprehensive public planning process, the hub could still go at
42nd. It could also go at 46th or 38th. At this point, we need to generate
facts and then see where it takes us, and it could take us anywhere. For
example, Metro Transit informed the second task force that serving a hub at
38th would require 50 buses per rush hour, while at 42nd it would be 54, and
at 46th it would be 42. (By the way, this applies to the east side of the
highway as well.) Those are illuminating figures. Other stuff, like traffic
studies and environmental impacts, need to be factored, too.
One other note: a big reason 38th was back in play is because we wanted to
consider a two-hub option. The reason is pretty simple: a single
south-of-Lake hub requires SO many buses to congregate there that of course
traffic, noise and pollution would be a nightmare. PERHAPS with two, the
effects would be spread out and people could live with it. (Then again, it
might only double the pain.) Again, this is still being vetted, but smaller
hubs at 38th and 46th are also an option.
David Brauer
King Field - Ward 10
King Field rep to the Bus Hub task force
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