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Twin Cities transit: The B Line replaces the Route 21 on Saturday
After decades of transporting passengers from the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul, the slow but storied Route 21 bus will be discontinued this month and replaced by a new bus rapid transit service that travels intermittently in its own lane, allows passengers to pay in advance and offers boarding from three doors.
With 34 stops instead of 90 and a more direct trajectory, Metro Transit's new B Line is expected to shave time off end-to-end commutes while cementing the public transit authority's commitment to its growing network of bus rapid transit corridors.
The Route 21 is Metro Transit's most popular yet slowest bus, drawing 7,000 average weekday riders along the corridor while traveling at some eight miles per hour.
'BRT is all about less stop and more go,' said Katie Roth, Metro Transit's Arterial Bus Rapid Transit project manager.
The first B Line bus will roll out at 4 a.m. Saturday, absorbing passengers from the Route 21 at 42 new bus shelters equipped with electronic real-time signage, bike racks and other amenities.
The B Line, which follows Lake Street and Marshall and Selby avenues before entering downtown St. Paul, will collect riders from curbs that, in many cases, have been elevated to nine inches, instead of the standard six inches, for easier boarding and dismounting.
Those and other touches, including more frequent departures and traffic lights that in some cases communicate with buses to offer signal priority, are intended to speed boarding and improve overall quality of service compared to the Route 21, reducing end-to-end commutes — Lake Street and France Avenue to the St. Paul Union Depot — from 76 minutes down to 64 minutes, and Uptown to downtown travel times from 64 to 52 minutes.
B Line fares on Saturday will be free from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., courtesy of Midtown Global Market. Community celebrations, featuring snacks, a Metro Transit mascot and kid tables, are planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the downtown St. Paul Union Depot and the Lake Street and Chicago Avenue station.
Roth noted that 100,000 people living within walking distance of the line, which will service a sizable number of colleges and high schools, including Concordia University, Central High School and St. Paul College.
Not all of the B Line's 34 stops mirror those of the Route 21. Unlike the Route 21, the B Line will bypass University Avenue completely, with only a single stop on Snelling Avenue at Snelling and Dayton avenues.
To fill in the gap in the Midway, Metro Transit is launching a new Route 72, which will travel between the Snelling/University area and the SunRay Transit Center on St. Paul's East Side. In Minneapolis, a new Route 27 will service South Minneapolis around Lake Street and Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
In downtown St. Paul, the B Line will share six stops with the Gold Line at the Smith Avenue ramp at Fifth Street, Sixth and Washington streets by Rice Park, Sixth and Minnesota streets, Sixth and Jackson streets, the Union Depot and Wacouta Street, and within the Union Depot station itself.
The B Line marks Metro Transit's seventh bus rapid transit service in the Twin Cities metro, and the second of three BRT lines launching this year. The Gold Line began service from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury in March, and the E Line begins service from Westgate Station on University Avenue to the Southdale Transit Center in Edina in December. By 2035, Metro Transit anticipates having 15 BRT lines in operation.
Funding for the B Line design and construction totaled approximately $74 million, including some $16 million from the Federal Transit Administration, $43 million from the state and approximately $15 million from the Metropolitan Council. St. Paul, Minneapolis, Hennepin and Ramsey counties contributed more than $25 million in additional corridor improvements, including resurfacing some 31 lane miles along Lagoon Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis.
Construction of the B Line shelters, lanes and other amenities began in 2023, connecting the corridor with 42 new BRT platforms, 236 ADA-accessible pedestrian ramps and 12 miles of underground fiber optic cabling. An operator restroom has been installed at the Lake and France end of the line.
Due to unrelated construction on Interstate 94 this year, a temporary westbound bus lane has been installed on Marshall Avenue between Wilder and Cretin avenues, eliminating access to 40 parking spots between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
The temporary measure is in response to changes in traffic patterns, but will be lifted before the end of the year, according to Metro Transit. Some building owners have complained they received late written notice of the changes, which arrived on Monday, even though they take effect this week.
• The B Line travels 13 miles from France Avenue and Lake Street in St. Louis Park to the downtown St. Paul Union Depot off Fourth Street.
• Serving 34 stations, some of which are shared in St. Paul with the new Gold Line to Woodbury.
• It had a $74 million design and construction budget.
• B Line buses will travel in dedicated bus lanes on intermittent portions of Lake Street and Lagoon and Marshall Avenues, and in downtown St. Paul. Most of the bus-only lanes are westbound.
• The B Line is Metro Transit's seventh bus rapid transit service and the second of three BRT lines launching this year.
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