Pressed for money by a looming budget deficit, Metro Transit will close two smaller park-and-ride lots in Minnetonka and Brooklyn Park on Wednesday and shift about 150 commuters to other nearby transit parking.

The metropolitan area transit system, which includes Metro Transit, suburban bus systems and Metro Mobility for the disabled, is facing a $72 million budget shortfall for the next 2 1/2 years, and closing lesser-used park-and-ride lots is one way to cut costs, said Bob Gibbons, director of customer services for the transit agency.

"About 38 percent of the Metro Transit bus budget comes from motor vehicle sales taxes, and nobody is buying cars," Gibbons said.

By closing the Minnetonka lot, Metro Transit expects to save about $17,000 a year on snow plowing and $16,000 a year on lighting.

Commuters who park and ride the bus to downtown Minneapolis from the Minnetonka lot on the north side of Interstate 394 at County Road 73 will be urged to use a parking ramp on the south side of I-394.

The lot has about 288 parking spaces with 148 now used on a typical day. The ramp has 732 spaces with 319 in use, Gibbons said.

Buses will continue to stop at the parking lot bus stop for people who walk to the stop, Gibbons said. In the future, Metro Transit will use the lot for State Fair service and could re-open it if the ramp fills up, he said.

Minnetonka understands the ramp can accommodate the lot parkers, "but whenever we lose spaces it is concerning because we have a lot of commuters on 394 and it is a high-traffic corridor," said Julie Wischnack, community development director for Minnetonka.

In Brooklyn Park, Metro Transit will close a lot at Hwy. 252 and 73rd Avenue where only 13 of 117 spaces are in use. The commuters will be urged to use the lot across the street at the Church of the Nazarene, which has 115 spaces, of which 58 are in use.

Metro Transit owns the land and will keep it in case the lot is needed in the future. But closing it now will save about $1,100 a year on lighting, Gibbons said.

Although these two lots have been underused, use of park-and-ride lots in general grew by almost 7 percent last year and about 2,000 new spaces were added in 2008 to meet demand, Gibbons said.

Around the metro area, 25,700 park-and-ride spaces are available and 18,300 are in use, Metro Transit estimates. There are no plans for closing any other lots at this time, Gibbons said.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711