New BRT line to run on Chicago Avenue on the drawing board

Photo: Metro Transit's A-Line makes a stop along Snelling Avenue in St. Paul

This week the Drive told you about how plans for the new bus rapid transit (BRT) line on Penn Avenue are progressing. On Thursday, Metro Transit will share its plans for another BRT line that is in the works.

The transit agency will hold an open house for the D-Line, which would run on Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis and along Fremont Avenue in north Minneapolis. The line connecting the Brooklyn Center Transit Center with downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America would largely replace Route 5, one of the system's busiest lines. Each weekday, Route 5 provides about 19,000 rides.

The open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pearl Park Recreation Center, 414 E. Diamond Lake Road in south Minneapolis.

BRT lines use large buses that operate much like light-rail trains. They run on city streets but stop only at stations and platforms about every half mile apart. Riders pay fares at machines on the platform and can board or exit buses through the front or back doors.

The goal is to speed up trips with fewer stops and faster boarding, Metro Transit said.

BRT could help on-time performance along the corridor where during rush hour local Metro Transit buses carry 20 percent of people moving through the corridor and often run late. Metro Transit says trips could be up to 20 percent faster than they are now.

There are still plenty of details to be worked out, including where to place stations between 46th Street and 56th Street on Chicago Avenue. Riders can expect one or two stations in this stretch, Metro Transit said.

The D-Line would be the area's third BRT Line. The first, A Line on Snelling Avenue, Ford Parkway and 46th Street was the first region's arterial rapid bus line. It opened on June 11, 2016. Planning for the new C-Line on Penn Avenue is ongoing.