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0Item No: 01 <br />Meeting Date: Sep 6, 2022 <br />Type of Business: Work Session <br />City Administrator Review: _____ <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: Jon Sevald, Community Development Director <br />Item Title/Subject: Metro Transit Route #25 <br />Introduction: <br />In fall 2021, the City Council requested MTC provide additional transit services in Mounds View. <br />MTC has stated that ridership and operations do not support additional service, but that routes <br />can be adjusted. Beginning December 2022, Route 25 will be shifted to provide service along <br />County Road I, and Quincy Street (removes portions of Silver Lake Road). MTC has shifted the <br />route off of Red Oak Drive in response to resident’s concerns regarding increased traffic. <br />Unless the Council has any objections, the route has been finalized. <br />Discussion: <br />Metro Transit (MTC) operates regional mass transit. In Mounds View, bus service includes <br />local, express, and dial-a-ride service. Fixed routes include: <br />•Route 25:Northtown Mall – downtown Minneapolis – Hwy 100 & Cedar Lake Rd <br />•Route 250: Radisson Road Park & Ride – downtown Minneapolis <br />•Route 804: Co Rd H Park & Ride – Saint Anthony Village <br />In September, 2020, Express Routes 825 (Northtown Mall – downtown Minneapolis) and 860 <br />(Northtown Mall – downtown St Paul) were suspended due to decreased ridership. <br />In September 2021, the City Council adopted the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Plan includes <br />Transportation Policies related to (summarized) supporting Transit Oriented Development, mass <br />transit, alternative transit, and transit facilities.1 <br />In the fall of 2021, the City Council requested to meet with MTC to discuss transit options and <br />the lack of service in the northeast quadrant of the City. MTC Staff presented at the March 14, <br />2022 City Council meeting. Additionally, MTC staffed a booth at the April 18th Town Hall. <br />In June 2022, the City Council adopted the 2023-2025 Strategic Plan. Goals related to transit <br />include (paraphrased) find ways to improve amenities for pedestrians and transit options. <br />Metro Transit Route 25 <br />Route 25 currently operates weekdays; 14 trips north and 17 trips south, and Saturdays, 7 trips <br />north and 7 trips south. Route 25 ridership decreased from 49 daily boardings in fall 2019, to 30 <br />daily boardings in fall 2021. <br />Throughout the past year, Staff and MTC continued to discuss options, primarily if to be <br />rerouted south of County Road I on Quincy Street (sidewalk & closer to manufactured home <br />park, but competes with school traffic) vs. Jackson Drive (adjacent to apartments, but no <br />sidewalk, and further from manufactured home park). This culminated in MTC mailing a letter to <br />1 To provide context, in 2019, MTC’s Park & Ride lease at The Mermaid expired, leading to conversations of the <br />potential for a ramp on Co Rd H (not financially feasible), and TOD potential adjacent to the Park & Ride lot.