By JOHN CHARLES WILSON
New schedule changes effective 7 December 2019 are in effect at Metro Transit, including some routes which serve the Phillips Community. Most of the changes are pretty minor, but you may want to pick up a new schedule, especially if you ride during rush hour.
Changes include:
Ӣ Minor schedule adjustments will be made to the Blue Line and Routes 5, 21, 22, and 53. The changes to Routes 21, 22, and 53 include reinstating trips which had been abolished during the bus driver shortage last year.
Ӣ Buses which normally run on 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis which were temporarily detoured to 6th Street are now back on 8th. Heading toward Phillips, these include Routes 5, 9, 19, 22, and 39.
With the winter season upon us, including the specter of fines and towing charges for parking in the wrong place during snow emergencies, I”™d like to make an open suggestion to Metro Transit. You see, their current rules don”™t allow overnight parking at most Park and Ride lots. I am thinking the Metropolitan Council could earn some public goodwill by relaxing that policy during snow emergencies. The idea would be for people who only have street parking at their homes to be able to park at a Park and Ride the night they have to be off their home street. They could take the bus home and then back to the Park and Ride to get their car the next day. This would alleviate the parking shortage that occurs on those streets where parking is allowed during the snow emergency. The car owner gets a safe, legal parking spot for the night. Metro Transit gets two fares, and maybe some appreciation, and the Park and Ride facility gets a little extra utilization, making the expense of building it incrementally more worthwhile.
