St. Anthony Park Merchants Warn Against Proposed Transit Footprint
So now if you put another bus stop here, we’re not sure if the community is going to be able to support us because the bus could take away foot traffic,
said Austin Johnson, owner of The Little Wine Shoppe in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood.
St. Paul residents and business owners gathered Friday to protest plans for a new Metro Transit bus station in the Como Avenue corridor. The disputed stop at Como and Doswell avenues is part of Metro Transit’s planned H Line, a bus rapid transit route engineered to link downtown Minneapolis directly to the Sun Ray Transit Center on St. Paul’s East Side.
Weighing Concrete Losses Against Rapid Transit Infrastructure
Standard bus stops already service the area. Yet the upgraded H Line stations will introduce ticket machines, real-time arrival displays, and much larger passenger waiting platforms.
During the Friday protest, local participants mapped out the exact footprint of the station using hazard tape and chalk. They also pointed directly to at least four mature trees marked for removal.
Critics contend that the physical dimensions of the station will wipe out critical parking stalls and create severe access hurdles for customers trying to reach nearby storefronts. Standing immediately adjacent to the proposed site is Lanna Thai, a neighborhood restaurant featuring an outdoor patio that concentrates these operational anxieties.
Community Counters With Northern Alternative Location
Community members initially engaged transit officials during an early round of public feedback. This included a District 12 transportation committee meeting that drew more than 50 attendees, according to the Park Bugle.
Those talks led the Saint Anthony Park Community Council to issue a formal recommendation. The council wants the station moved northward from Doswell Avenue to Carter Avenue to safeguard greenery, outdoor seating, and existing storefronts.
Transit Officials Push Speed While Construction Looms
Metro Transit defends the project by emphasizing that the H Line will bring faster, more reliable service along the Como and Maryland avenues corridor. Under the current blueprint, buses would run roughly every 10 minutes through much of the day.
Engineering phases are slated to run through 2027, with construction currently scheduled for 2028 through 2029. Meanwhile, Metropolitan Council leaders have yet to issue a public response to the grievances aired during Friday’s demonstration.
