Park and Ride Update

On Wednesday, September 21, local residents met with Metro Transit officials and with members of the Bdote Reconciliation Consortium to talk about the analysis of alternatives MTC did for expansion possibilities at the Lower Afton Park and Ride. Also present were City officials and State Representative Sheldon Johnson.

We looked at 5 different options and Metro Transit said that only three were viable for them in terms of impacts and cost - maintain the status quo, the original expansion plan (which would remove screening trees and come too close to the mounds), or a modification of the current situation (which would involve restriping and designating parking spaces along the street).

There was a good deal of discussion about the other two options - a new surface lot north of Lower Afton, or parking at the current Lower Battle Creek lot in the park. Metro Transit eliminated these possibilities because of cost (the first) and safety concerns (the second).

Another alternative was suggested by the group - using the money that had been earmarked for the expansion on removing the current lot and restoring the greenspace, and then studying an alternative location for the lot further south along Point Douglas Rd.

Metro Transit assured the group that they were not pushing any alternative and that they were now concerned that any expansion at the site would only exacerbate the problems that neighbors are currently having - congestion at the Point Douglas/Lower Afton intersection and parking that narrows the road.

So where do we stand now??

The District Council is looking at the broader issues that this planning and the station area planning for the Red Rock Corridor have raised. We will be investigating potential collaborations that can develop and propose a short and medium term solution to all the community issues here, that will move us toward the long-term vision that has developed AND that will respect the natural and spiritual features of this area.

We will keep people up to date here and via email, so if you want email updates, contact us at our email address.