Metro Transit Plans New East-West Route in Brooklyn Park
A new east-west bus route with service through Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Blaine may be on its way to the northwest suburbs.
It’s part of a larger Metro Transit plan called “Network Now.”
Cyndi Harper, manager of route planning for Metro Transit, said the planning process came partly due to changing transit needs in the post-pandemic era.
“I think the days of folks going, of downtown Minneapolis office workers going into the office five days a week, eight hours a day are probably behind us,” she said.
In an effort to better meet the needs of riders, Network Now is expected to expand service on more than 65 routes, as well as create 20 new bus routes, among other changes.
Meanwhile, some routes that were suspended during COVID may be done away with completely.
“It’s a short-term plan taking us really through 2027,” Harper said. “And it’s a plan that will help us expand service in the region by adding more than 35 percent in service hours.”
A new east-west bus route with service through Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Blaine may be on its way to the northwest suburbs.
New Route
Calls for east-west bus routes in Brooklyn Park have been long-standing.
The Brooklyn Park City Council recently questioned the lack of east-west busing during the municipal consent process for the Bottineau Blue Line Extension light rail project.
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Lunde, a former mayor of Brooklyn Park who represents much of the northwest suburbs on the county board, said the lack of busing makes life difficult for residents without cars.
“I think the thing that’s always been Brooklyn Park’s challenge is you can’t get from east Brooklyn Park to west Brooklyn Park, you have to leave, go down outside the city and come back in,” he said. “I mean in our area, you have a high number of people who have no access to cars.”
A proposed new bus line could potentially relieve some of those issues.
A new line called the 725 would function as a crosstown route running mainly on 85th Avenue. It has stops in Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Blaine.
It would provide access to Hennepin Technical College, Walmart, North Hennepin Community College and Northtown Mall.
The Starlite Transit Center and Northtown Transit Center would offer access to other routes.
Lunde expects the route to be popular.
“I think just having the line there so people have the option — you know, especially with inflation nowadays, people are looking for ways to save money,”
he said. “And transit can offer that package.”
