Transit

East Metro Strong Bus Network Redesign

This report for East Metro Strong analyzes existing conditions, current transit service, and future improvement opportunities in Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington Counties. As part of the larger six county Metro Transit network, these eastern counties have suffered from being lower priority than the western counties, which incorporate the City of Minneapolis. The East Metro Strong organization hired my firm to identify short- and long-term projects that could improve and increase transit service in the eastern counties.

The initial existing conditions and transit analysis revealed some low-hanging opportunities for the region, such as simplifying the system legibility for users, increasing frequent service to key destinations and job centers, and transitioning from a highly radial network focused around downtown Saint Paul to a more gridded network across the counties.

Further discussions with stakeholders and county commissioners led to disagreements between political agendas, such as justifying the renovation costs of Union Depot by increasing its use as a transit center, even if its location disadvantages it as a sensible hub.

Eventually, the report laid out goals that the majority of stakeholders agreed on, strategies to help achieve these goals, and actionable projects the region could implement. This section of my portfolio showcases pieces of the report I compiled including GIS maps, goals, strategies, projects, and photographs taken by me during a stakeholder meeting in Saint Paul.