Walking, biking, rolling, and transit improvements
We need your feedback on improvements for people walking, biking, rolling, and using transit.
Improvements for people walking, biking, and rolling
People who walk, bike, and roll face specific challenges while traveling along and across Hwy 252/I-94. The road design is being evaluated based on its potential to improve the experience for people walking, biking, rolling, and using transit in the area.
All options being studied will include improvements for people walking, biking, and rolling across Hwy 252 and I-94. The range of potential design options could include:
- Improved trails, sidewalks, or bridges at all existing crossing locations
- Dedicated bridges for people walking, biking, and rolling over Hwy 252 and I-94 at Humboldt Ave./81st Ave., 70th Ave., 62nd Ave., and 34th Ave.
- Trails and sidewalks along local roads
- For the most part, where interchanges are installed, shared use paths and/or sidewalks will be on both sides of the local road crossing Hwy 252. However, at 66th Ave., there will only be a sidewalk on the south side.
- Where intersections are closed on Hwy 252, a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians or a multimodal underpass will be installed.
Improvements for people using transit
We are working with Metro Transit throughout the study to ensure that road design and intersection access options support transit improvements now and into the future. This includes both access to stops and design alternatives that support faster travel times.
All options being studied will include a bus stop at Hwy 252 and Brookdale Dr. to serve express routes 765 and 768. Additionally, potential local bus stops along West River Rd. Potential local and express bus stop locations will be integrated into all Hwy 252 and I-94 project layouts. While there are no bus stops on I-94, bus stops at crossings along the area were also evaluated for accessibility. Mobility enhancements will occur at all crossings and stop improvements will occur for those stops within the project limits.
Options that do not include a priority bus travel lane will be designed to include bus-shoulder lanes. The design options will be compared in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement based on their ability to accommodate transit service and operations on Hwy 252 and I-94.
Potential improvements include:
- Faster travel times due to bus shoulder or managed lanes (E-ZPass or carpool lanes)
- Improved access to bus stops
Potential local and express bus service route improvements:
- Route 721: More frequent all days
- Route 722: More frequent all days to Target North Campus
- Route 723: Extend span all days (earlier and later trips)
- Route 724: More frequent Sunday service
- Route 725: New weekend service
- Route 765: More frequent weekday service (midday)
- Route 766: All-day bi-directional service/new weekend service
In March 2025, Metro Transit published Network Now, a vision for transit service to best meet the needs of the region through 2027. The plan represents the region’s top priorities for transit as captured in over 8,000 comments over multiple years, coupled with policy guidance and technical evaluation. Network Now responds to the priorities outlined in Forward, Metro Transit’s strategic plan and when fully implemented the Network Now framework will:
- Expand transit service by more than 40% to help attract more riders.
- Improve access by providing new bus routes and Metro micro service.
- Modify commuter and express service to meet today’s travel patterns.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging transit use.
This work completed by Metro Transit was incorporated and treated as the baseline condition for the DEIS. Given the breadth of outreach, the regional framing of the improvements, and the evolving landscape of travel patterns and transit demand, the service and frequency improvements identified in Network Now were determined to appropriately capture the improvements and analysis documented in the Scoping Decision Document. Improvements to transit stemming from the Hwy 252/I-94 project were subsequently analyzed from stop accessibility and reliability perspectives, however, no further service and frequency improvements were explored.
