Chicago-Lake Transit Center to see the wrecking ball

Doors to the Chicago-Lake Transit Center closed two years ago and will not reopen.

The Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee last week voted to permanently shutter the transit center and terminate an easement that gave Metro Transit the right to build the facilities and operate buses on a shared private road on property owned by the Midtown Exchange Commons (MEC).

Sonja Burseth, Metro Transit’s senior planner of engineering and facilities, told the council the transit agency no longer needs the two buildings at 2946 Chicago Av. S.

Buses will continue to stop at the Chicago-Lake Transit Center for about another month before shifting to on-street bus stops.

Chicago-Lake opened in 2006 and served as a south Minneapolis bus hub for the heavily used Routes 5 and 21. But transit routes and needs have changed dramatically over the past few years with the opening of the Metro D-Line, a rapid bus line running from Brooklyn Center to the Mall of America traveling along Chicago Avenue. New platforms where riders are to pay fares in advance of boarding the Metro D-Line opened on Chicago Avenue, eliminating the need for the Chicago-Lake Transit Center. The platforms also are served by Route 5 buses.

Additionally, this fall, new stations on Lake Street, which will serve the Metro B Line when service begins in June, will be substantially completed, allowing them to be used by Route 21 buses until the new rapid line is up and running. The B Line largely will replace Route 21, which runs from southwest Minneapolis near Lake Bde Maka Ska to downtown St. Paul following Lake Street and Selby Avenue.

The new rapid lines allow buses to avoid pulling into a transit center by instead pulling up to curbside platforms, allowing for faster bus trips, something riders place a high value on, Burseth said.

Both of the transit center’s buildings are fully depreciated and have no resale value, said Kelly Jameson, the Met Council’s director of real estate.

Plans call for demolishing the buildings to make way for future development, which could include affordable housing, a new innovation center proposed by the Neighborhood Development Center or both.

“Removing the transit shelters would really help spur future development,” Jameson said.

Since Metro Transit used federal money to build the transit center, the Federal Transit Administration will have to sign off on the plan.

Weigh in on the Metro G-Line

Metro Transit is moving ahead with plans for the Metro G-Line, another rapid transit line that would run between Little Canada and the Northern Dakota County Service Center in West St. Paul.

Last week, the transit agency released its draft plan for what will be Metro Transit’s seventh rapid bus line. The line largely will replace routes 62 and 68 and run on Robert and Rice streets and travel through downtown St. Paul.

Plans call for 28 stations along the 11.5-mile route that will be built in two phases. The northern end of the line will be built first with construction slated for 2026 and 2027. Stations on the second portion of the line are expected to be done by the end of 2028, and service would extend from downtown St. Paul to West St. Paul at that time, Metro Transit’s plans show.

The public is asked to give its thoughts on the proposed G-Line stations through Oct. 25. Comments can be submitted online at metrotransit.org/g-lineproject, by email at GLine@metrotransit.org or by calling customer relations at 612-373-3333

“This is going to be a great line for the east side of the metro area,” said Deb Barber, chair of the Met Council’s Transportation Committee.