Minneapolis Metro Transit celebrates launch of Hennepin bus lanes

The city of Minneapolis and Metro Transit launched the new Hennepin bus lanes, starting with a kick-off at the Uptown Transit Station on Sept. 6.

Red paint has been rolled out on Hennepin between Franklin Avenue and Lake Street for buses to use during peak weekday periods. Bus lanes have also been permanently implemented on southbound Chicago Avenue, from East 28th Street to the Chicago/Lake Transit Center, and will be piloted on portions of Nicollet Avenue, between Lake Street and Franklin Avenue, later this fall.

The bus lanes are being added to the three transit corridors to improve service reliability. Lessons learned from the new bus lanes will help inform work on the Minneapolis Transportation Action Plan, a 10-year plan to implement the transportation visions outlined in the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

The bus lane projects are supported by the city’s participation in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ American Cities Climate Challenge. The city of Minneapolis is one of 25 cities participating in the challenge, a two-year acceleration program that provides cities new resources to tackle carbon reduction goals.

“As our city continues to grow, it’s our responsibility to step up efforts to make sure people can get around safely and efficiently,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. “Ridership data shows clearly we can meet that core responsibility, decrease congestion and curb climate change through our targeted bus-only lanes.”

“Bus only lanes will help our transit system become more efficient and reliable, which is critical to meet our goals of linking people to jobs and reducing our city’s climate impact,” said City Council President Lisa Bender.

Minneapolis Metro Transit Manager Wes Kooistra added, “We thank the city of Minneapolis for continuing to support transit advantages that improve the speed and reliability of our services. The real winners are the 3,300 bus riders who travel this corridor each weekday.”