No Section

A park and ride in Hastings, minus the ride

Hastings is building its first park-and-ride lot, but its chances of lining up bus service to go along with it don't look bright.

January 30, 2011 at 3:18AM

Hastings had grand plans for its first park-and-ride lot to serve commuters riding a bus into the Twin Cities.

The 100-spot lot will be built, but no bus service is in sight.

Carpooling, anyone?

"For now it, will be 'park-and-pool'," said Patricia Bursaw, a transit and planning manager in the metro district of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).

She said special legislation was passed last year to enable MnDOT to use up to $250,000 of highway funds for a commuter bus service to reduce "significant congestion" during construction of the new Hastings bridge being built across the Mississippi River.

Turns out, MnDOT hasn't seen much congestion.

Bursaw said congestion is expected to be minimal because the old two-lane bridge will stay open until the new four-lane, twin-arch span is ready in June 2013. "We are not able to demonstrate that a bus would mitigate traffic impacts," Bursaw said.

She said the department studied local traffic before bridge work began in October and will continue to monitor traffic flow. She told a city official this month that Hastings will have to look elsewhere for bus funding.

Metro Transit had considered extending its Cottage Grove routes to Hastings, if the MnDOT money was available, said spokesman Bob Gibbons. Given anticipated cuts to mitigate the $6.2 billion state budget deficit, "I don't see any other funding possibilities," Gibbons said. He noted the metro area had other park-and-pool lots and his agency's website links potential car or van-poolers.

Gibbons said a commuter bus survey done for the future Red Rock Corridor train transit project traced license plates of vehicles at the Cottage Grove bus station and at the Hiawatha Light Rail parking lot at Fort Snelling. Each lot had about 25 plates of Hastings drivers, Gibbons said.

"Even if there was money for expansion, I'm not sure Hasting would be on top of our list," he said, noting that Woodbury and Oakdale bus parking lots are overflowing.

Hastings has nailed down $600,000 in state funds to build the parking lot by its train station on the edge of downtown. An agreement providing the money was unanimously approved this month by the City Council and the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA), said Mayor Paul Hicks.

The city is drawing up bid specifications for the project and hopes the lot will be paved and ready by year's end, said John Hinzman, city community development director. The lot is estimated to cost $615,000. With the state providing $600,000, the city will pay the remaining $15,000 from HEDRA funds, he said.

"We feel this is a great opportunity to start transit service in Hastings," Hicks said. "Once we have a lot in place, we want be able to use it." He said the City Council will discuss joining the metro area's transit taxing district, which helps buy transit buses. However, the council would want assurances of bus service before it would agree to be taxed for transit, he said.

A long-range transit option could be to use the parking lot for light rail commuters who someday may use the proposed Red Rock Corridor train along existing railways.

For now, the 100 spots can be used for purposes that don't interfere with transit use. That would include the city's popular Classic Car shows on Saturdays in the warmer months, Hicks said.

Jim Adams • 952-707-9996