Front Page - Bus routes changing for Camden riders - Bus routes changing for Camden riders

MetroTransit has recommended changes to several Camden area bus routes that are planned to take effect in early 2007. The study area was for areas west of the Mississippi River and north of Interstate 394 and included parts of Minneapolis, as well as west and northwest suburbs. The proposed changes were presented to the Metropolitan Council on April 26, and if approved by the council, several open houses will be held in May and June to receive feedback on the proposed changes.

    The Penn Avenue leg of Route 5 will be replaced by a newly configured Route 19. This bus will travel between downtown Minneapolis and the Brooklyn Center Transit Center via Olson Memorial Highway and Penn Avenue/Osseo Road. One branch of the proposed Route 19 will serve Thomas Avenue between Dowling and 42nd Street; however unlike the current Route 5-H, it will not travel west of Thomas to York Avenue.

    Another branch of the new Route 19 will serve 36th Avenue and York, via Penn and Lowry Avenues, with three morning and three evening runs, replacing the current Route 32-Y. This will convert Route 32 into a Robbinsdale-Rosedale Crosstown Line via Lowry Avenue, with connections necessary to another bus route for service to downtown Minneapolis.

    Route 5 will primarily service Emerson and Fremont Avenues with some small modifications to the existing route, with service maintained on 44th Avenue North/Osseo Road and the Humboldt Greenway/49th and 51st Avenues to Brooklyn Center. There will also be some limited stop service along Penn Avenue North.

      Consideration will be given to potential future expansion routes to be implemented in the coming years based on anticipated growth in our community. Several future routes could include Route 56, limited stop service for the Dowling Avenue corridor to downtown Minneapolis; Route 30, crosstown service between North and NorthEast Minneapolis via Broadway Avenue; Route 51, limited stop service between Robbinsdale and downtown Minneapolis; as well as expanding Route 32 service to include evenings and weekends. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along Bottineau Boulevard (Hwy 81) and Lowry and Broadway Avenues is still in the planning stages with anticipated implementation in 2008.

    Among area routes that will not see significant changes are the express buses serving the Interstate 94 Corridor and Route 22. Route 22 will continue service between downtown Minneapolis and the Brooklyn Center Transit Center via Lyndale and Bryant/Humboldt, but changes to the route in communities north of Minneapolis may require a transfer to one of the regional routes that are served via the Brooklyn Center Transit Center.

    Notice of the meetings will be distributed on MetroTransit buses via their Takeout publication, or visit www.metrotransit.org. Residents are encouraged to attend one of these sessions. Input from these meetings will be added to the final Northwest Metro Transit Restructuring Plan that will go before the Metropolitan Council for final approval in September.