E line will link southwest to 6 other BRT routes

About 44% of the people within a quarter mile of a BRT line identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color, and about 13% of nearby households do not have access to a vehicle today.”

Anjuli Cameron

Residents who are steps from an E Line station will be able to be at Southdale, Uptown, Downtown, or the U of M within minutes on a fast, comfortable ride. The benefit to retail business of a steady stream of pedestrian traffic in connection with the E Line cannot be understated.”

Eric Lind

The Metropolitan Council is finalizing design plans for their new E Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line this summer. With construction planned to begin next spring and service starting in 2025, the focus this year is on the station designs and roadway improvements.
The new BRT line aims to provide faster, more reliable service along what is now mostly the route 6 bus line. The line will run from the Westgate Station in Prospect Park near the University of Minnesota to downtown Minneapolis and through southwest Minneapolis mostly on Hennepin and France avenues. It will end at the Southdale Transit Center near 66th St and York Ave in Edina. 
“I am very excited about the continued build-out of our Bus Rapid Transit network, including the E Line,” said District 5 Metropolitan Council Member Anjuli Cameron. According to Cameron, the 6 is one of the city’s busiest routes. Prior to the pandemic it typically had over 8,000 rides each weekday, and she expects ridership to grow with the opening of the E Line. “In BRT corridors, buses often carry 20-45% of the people traveling in vehicles, but make up less than 2-3% of vehicle traffic. As a result,” she said, “transit serves as a more reliable and convenient option in these high-traffic corridors, both for riders and everyone else using these roadways.”
The new E Line will be one of the Met Council’s planned network of 12 BRT lines that they hope to have in operation by 2030. Currently there are five lines running, with two more (the B and E lines) set to begin operation in southwest Minneapolis by 2025. (Read story on B Line along Lake St. in the May 18 Connector.) When the 165-mile-long network is fully built, a quarter of the region’s residents (580,000 people) and 600,000 jobs will be within a quarter mile of a BRT line, according to a council report in February.
“About 44% of the people within a quarter mile of a BRT line identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color, and about 13% of nearby households do not have access to a vehicle today,” said Cameron.

SPEEDIER AND MORE RELIABLE
BRT lines usually have fewer stops than regular bus routes and include stations areas with more amenities that use the system of paying fares at the station before boarding a bus. Because of this, people can get on and off more quickly using either front or rear doors. According to a Met Transit report in February 2023, BRT routes now account for about 10% of regional rides.
“This will be another upgrade in service to a busy transit corridor using a proven model,” said Eric Lind. He works at the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota and is a former Met Transit manager. “By increasing the speed, reliability, frequency, and span of service to places where there is already proven transit demand, these rapid bus lines connect people more easily and more quickly to the destinations they need to reach.”
“The E Line will significantly improve the experience for current customers and make transit more attractive to those not currently using public transit,” Cameron said. “The E Line offers improved access to several important destinations, including the U of M, downtown Minneapolis, Uptown, Linden Hills and 50th & France, and the Southdale area.”
One station location in Linden Hill, at the intersection where 43rd, Upton and Sheridan meet, was relocated last year after businesses expressed concerns. “Based on the feedback received,” said Cameron. “Metro Transit did make changes to the proposed E Line Station at this location, shifting the southbound platform from the far side (southwest) corner of the intersection to the near side (northwest) corner of the intersection” This addressed some community concerns, including preserving more trees and more on-street parking spaces.

STATION LOCATIONS
The station locations were approved by the Met Council in 2022 when the route was also set. There will be more than 40 stations total along the 13.1-mile-long line. Each station includes a similar set of amenities including pylon markers, accessible boarding area, ticket machines with fare card readers, trash receptacle, lights, shelter with heat and security cameras, bicycle racks, and a tree, or sometimes two.
“The great amenities that come with arterial BRT service (real-time information screens, heated and lighted shelters) are the front door to the E Line, and should be where people want to be, where people already are,” said Lind. “Residents who are steps from an E Line station will be able to be at Southdale, Uptown, Downtown, or the U of M within minutes on a fast, comfortable ride. The benefit to retail businesses, in all these places, of a steady stream of pedestrian traffic in connection with the E Line cannot be understated.”
On June 1, preliminary station plans were shared at an online meeting and staff said that they want to hear from riders, future station neighbors, and other members of the public about the placement of shelters, pylons, and other amenities within each station area.
Things that they consider when designing each station include bus operations and standard BRT station architecture and features; local and county street design standards and traffic engineering factors; station activity level and size; the amount of space available; accessibility and safety for all users; input from station neighbors; other street uses in the same area like trails and bike lanes; and geographic features.

ROAD WORK BEING DONE, TOO
The timing of the construction of the stations and opening of the line is being coordinated with both Hennepin County and the city of Minneapolis, who will be making roadway improvements at the same time. Hennepin Ave., in Uptown, is expected to be fully reconstructed next year by the city. The county is planning to make major improvements to France Ave. as well, including at station intersections.
This means that lane reconfigurations, better pedestrian crossings and medians at intersections may also being made. One, for example, is the proposed raised median and pedestrian flashing beacons on the pedestrian crosswalks to get to and from the station at 47th and France.
In June, staff will be gathering feedback and using it to make further modifications to designs. They have asked people to pay careful attending to concerns about safety and accessibility to and from the station, and also to and from nearby businesses and other buildings. They will also be reviewing drainage, lighting, utilities, sightlines, and cost estimates.
“Right now is a good time to learn more about the project and provide public comment on design elements,” said Cameron. “Feedback on preliminary station designs is an important part of our process, and staff are actively working to address comments in the design phase.”
Review plans and provide feedback by visiting https://www.metrotransit.org/e-line-project.
The lines and stations can also lead to other benefits. “Investments in new housing are already happening at or near several station areas,” said Cameron. “The E Line also complements planned improvements to Hennepin and France avenues.”
“Reliable, predictable operation of the E Line will mean avoiding the traffic snarls that plague sections of Hennepin Ave between uptown and downtown,” said Lind. “Single-occupancy autos can prevent the E Line from reaching its true potential, so it will be important to closely evaluate the combo bus lane-parking lanes currently proposed for that section.”
“Overall, plans for the E Line have been well-received throughout the corridor,” Cameron said, adding “and we look forward to continuing to work in close partnership with neighbors, business owners and our municipal partners to bring this vision to life in the coming years.”