WILL E LINE DERAIL LINDEN HILLS?

Business owners worry about proposed removal of mature trees, parking and benches

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Linden Hills businesses are concerned about a Metro Transit plan to reduce street parking and remove eight mature trees at 43rd and Upton for the E Line, which will run 13.3 miles between Southdale and the University of Minnesota.
“The business district is no more than a block and a half long in either direction, and the removal of these trees and parking spaces to make way for large, raised concrete platforms with bus enclosures and steel features will fundamentally alter the sweet little business community here that helps make Linden Hills so special,” remarked New Guild owner Jen Bellefleur. “These changes will also take up the vast majority of frontage on Upton itself in the business district.”
One Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station will be located directly in front of New Guild (4300 Upton) and Heartfelt. Four trees, multiple park benches and four parking spaces will be removed on the southwest side of the intersection there. Another four trees, four parking spaces and park benches will be removed on the northeast side of the street in front of Linden Hills Dentistry.
Forty business and property owners and Southwest Business Association President Matt Perry signed a letter to Metro Transit and Minneapolis Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano expressing their concern about the E Line station plan for Linden Hills.
“Please understand that we support improved public transportation, including the creation of BRT; it is the proposed route and the proposed placement of these stops to which we object,” they said in the letter.
Metro Transit representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
The METRO E Line will be the fifth arterial Bus Rapid Transit line in the region. It will substantially replace parts of Route 6. The E Line will run every 10 minutes for most of the day with about 31 stations located every one-third to one-half mile.
It will travel along 4th Street and University Avenue, through downtown and Uptown on Hennepin Avenue to Southdale Transit Center in Edina via 44th Street and France Avenue. Construction is planned for 2024-2025, and it will begin operating in 2025, one year later than initially projected.
The 12-mile Route 6 bus will be simplified to travel from downtown Minneapolis to Minnesota Drive and France Avenue primarily via Hennepin Avenue and Xerxes Avenue, running every 20 minutes most of the day.
According to Metro Transit, pre-pandemic, buses carried approximately 45% of people traveling by vehicle on Hennepin Ave., but made up just 3% of the motorized traffic. More than 8,000 rides were taken on Route 6 each weekday in 2019. Route 6 ridership has remained strong, even during the pandemic.
The goal of the E Line is to make service approximately 20% faster than current travel time by stopping less often, allowing customers to board faster, and stopping at fewer red lights. Similar travel time improvements have been achieved on the A line and C Line.
BRT station platforms are larger and feature shelters with lights and heaters, benches, ticket machines and fare card validators, and trash/recycling bins.
E Line buses don’t have fareboxes, but instead customers purchase a ticket or tap a Go-To Card at the station, just like light rail.
The E Line will use 60-foot “articulated” buses with wider aisles, more seating capacity, and additional doors so more people can get on and off easily.
The line will serve an estimated 13,400 – 14,200 riders by 2040, according to a corridor study done by Kimley-Horn and Associates.
The Metropolitan Council approved the recommended E Line alignment in January 2020.
The preliminary estimated cost of the project is $60 million, which will be paid through a mix of federal, state, and Metropolitan Council funds.

ARE THERE BETTER LOCATIONS?
Linden Hills business owners have suggested that the bus stops be placed on the edges of the main business area versus in the center.
“It is clear to all of us that these transit stations would be more appropriate outside of rather than in the center of this tiny, 100-year-old historic shopping district that defines this community,” they stated in their letter.
They also wonder if there is a better route between Southdale and downtown Minneapolis than through this Linden Hills business district.
“If the goal of the Metro BRT is to efficiently move riders from Uptown to more southerly locations on France Avenue, wouldn’t it make more sense for the buses to drive west on 39th Street from Sheridan directly to France, and then turn left to go south on France toward 44th Street and beyond? Using that route, these large buses would encounter fewer stop signs, fewer traffic lights, less congestion, and they would not be forced to navigate through the narrow pedestrian walkway at 44th and Beard; nor stopped at the light in front of the school at 44th and Vincent. The #6 bus is still scheduled to travel from Southdale down Xerxes to Upton and 44th, thus continuing to serve bus riders in the business node. Was this route for the BRT line ever considered? It seems sensible and worth investigating.”

All businesses opposed
Here are additional comments from the letter 40 businesses signed:
Linden Hills’ small commercial corridor, centered at Upton Avenue and 43rd Street, was constructed along the Como-Harriet streetcar line in the 1920s and today remains home to many small and local shops, services, and restaurants. On Upton Avenue, from 43rd Street to 44th, the street is uniformly lined on both sides with mature trees with brick-rimmed flower beds that create the charm and ambiance that define this neighborhood. These trees continue north on the east side of Upton Avenue, along with park benches and a charming brick “pocket park.”
Ours is a very small business node, extending no more than one and one half blocks in any direction. If we lose the flower beds, benches, decorative light poles and eight or more mature trees, we will lose the attractive qualities that make this a vibrant business node. These trees that are slated for removal are also lit for the holidays; attracting customers to shop local requires that the business node looks appealing, and trees, both green in the summer and lit for the holidays, are a very big part of this node’s aesthetic. Additionally, the benches slated for removal are used frequently by dentistry patients, especially amidst COVID, waiting their turn for appointments, and by neighborhood families who rely on these benches and shade to take a break, eat locally purchased lunch outside, etc.
The BRT stations themselves will take up sidewalk space that allows the casual, pedestrian shopping experience critical to the survival of our businesses. Plus, the village itself hosts several long-established events, like Woofstock and Reindeer Day, and Wine & Stroll. All these events rely upon the charm and appeal of this district to survive, as well as the spaces on the street and sidewalk. Large transit stations will disrupt those existing activities.
Another major problem is that this plan will cost the business district eight or more parking spaces. Considering the size of this area, one block in each direction, eight parking spaces represents a substantial percentage of our total parking. Also, some of the higher density dwellings that have been approved in the immediate area have had their parking requirements waived, which has further strained parking in our community.
The retailers and restaurants in this tiny district receive frequent and regular deliveries – the restaurants in particular. These delivery trucks will often be parked on Upton with the hazard lights on. Buses will need to wait for those trucks to leave. Cars also parallel park all day on this street into dwindling spaces... that will delay the buses.
Every owner of commercial property and every proprietor in this business node is opposed to the placement of these BRT stations. We are unanimous in our opposition to this proposal (see below; more than 40 business owners and land owners have signed this letter). Property owners know that their commercial properties will suffer from reduced desirability; their “curb appeal” will be compromised, and their established rents will be hard to maintain. Likewise, if the locally-owned, “mom and pop” shops are driven out by this transformation, chain and big-box stores will move in and the uniqueness of Linden Hills will be erased, gone forever, and property values will diminish. Every real estate agent who sells in this community knows that few things contribute more to the property values here than this small yet vibrant commercial district. ...
We insist that Metro Transit consider other options for these stations now proposed at South Upton Avenue and West 43rd Street.
Email comments to ELine@metrotransit.org. Learn more online at www.metrotransit.org/e-line-project.
* Editor’s note: Everett & Charlie owner Suzie Marty, who signed the letter along with other business owners, is a sales representative for the Southwest Connector.

Comments

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  • laker2000

    Bus platform? What is that? Wouldn't a bus platform prevent wheelchairs from getting on the bus?

    Also, I noticed you didn't interview any bus drivers. Why not?

    Monday, December 6, 2021 Report this

  • JimReilly

    The business owners protesting the new bus stops in Linden Hills seem to think that the bus will pass through Linden Hills without either picking up or discharging passengers--that the goal is "to efficiently move riders from Uptown to more southerly locations on France Avenue". But some of us, to get to Linden Hills to shop or to work, are glad the bus goes (and we hope, will continue to go) through Linden Hills, either because we don't own or choose not to use a car. Linden Hills is, after all, a destination, and destinations need public transit.

    Tuesday, December 14, 2021 Report this