Metro Transit receives $3.2 million in FTA funding

NEWS FROM METRO TRANSIT:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that transit providers across the nation will receive a share of $928.5 million in federal funds for more than 300 public transportation projects.

Metro Transit will receive $3.2 million for two projects: $2.6 million for improved customer facilities in downtown St. Paul and $600,000 for an alternatives analysis study of transit options in the Midtown Corridor in south Minneapolis.

Downtown St. Paul facilities

Plans for the first project call for new transit shelters at stops along 5thand 6th streets and Cedar and Minnesota in downtown St. Paul, in addition to NexTrip real-time route information and streetscape improvements. Existing customer facilities along those streets are 18 years old and not consistent with the level of service that Metro Transit aspires to provide, said Metro Transit’s Facilities Planning Manager Maurice Roers. The project is motivated by Metro Transit’s desire to provide a strong connection between bus service and the new Central Corridor (Green Line) light-rail transit service in downtown St. Paul, he said.

Construction of the new facilities is expected to start next fall.

Alternatives analysis study

While the Midtown Corridor is currently served by high frequency local and limited-stop bus routes, the alternatives analysis will explore a broader range of transit options there, specifically streetcar and bus rapid transit on Lake Street and streetcar, light rail and dedicated busway along the Midtown Greenway just north of 29th Street.

These options, combined with associated improvements in customer facilities and vehicles, would increase the speed and attractiveness of transit service in the corridor. The study is expected to start in early 2012 and be finished in 12-15 months, said Transit Planner Michael Mechtenberg.

Each project will also receive funding through a 20 percent local match.