The wheels on the Route 19R bus service to the Hubbard Marketplace/Robbinsdale Transit Center will no longer be rolling after Dec. 1.

Metro Transit began picking up and dropping off riders beyond the route's previous layover at 42nd and York avenues on May 31, two years after it began making comprehensive system improvements to its service in the northwest suburbs.

The old route from downtown Minneapolis ended at that Robbinsdale intersection.

According to Bob Gibbons, the director of customer services at Metro Transit, some residents near 42nd and York avenues complained about bus noise from the layovers. In addition, approximately 500 people signed a petition asking that the route continue into downtown Robbinsdale.

So in July 2007, a joint powers board made up of two Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board representatives, two Metro Transit officials and Minneapolis City Councilmember Barbara Johnson, gave Metro Transit the green light to use three blocks of Victory Memorial Parkway, from 42nd to 45th avenues, for an expanded route.

But that decision is expected to be rescinded at a future reconvening of the joint board.

Last year's approval included the condition that the parkway be repaved to accommodate bus traffic. The city of Minneapolis would do the work, and Metro Transit would pay for it. But the repaving has never been done and won't be.

Because the repaving has not been completed, the bus route had been temporarily using Thomas Avenue in Minneapolis, which runs parallel to the parkway.

Johnson said the reversal comes after the city of Minneapolis had heard from neighbors living adjacent to the parkway who opposed usage of the road. Residents were concerned about increased traffic and safety, as well as destruction of the general ambience of the parkway.

"It was clear that the [previous] service that existed for 30 years or more was a really well-used service, so that change was really hard on people," Johnson said. "Getting it back to the original status was really what people were seeking."

The 19R would stop running Dec. 1, the next time routes would be changed.

A joint powers board meeting date had not yet been set when this issue of the Sun-Post went to press.

The Minneapolis City Council will consider formally reversing its support of the new route at a later meeting, Johnson said.

Metro Transit will review other options for the 19R, but Gibbons said he was "not confident" an alternative route exists.

Gibbons and Robbinsdale City Councilmember Dan Rogan, whose ward the bus travels in, expressed disappointment about the recent developments.

"Our objective is to connect people to destinations," Gibbons said.

Ending the route abruptly at 42nd and York avenues was never the ideal option. Bringing it from downtown Minneapolis to downtown Robbinsdale fit Metro Transit's goals and riders' needs, he said. About 60 people use the expanded route daily.

Rogan has advocated for the extension because it provides more transit options for people living at or traveling to or from the east side of Robbinsdale.

"The use of the parkway was not a perfect solution but it was better than what was proposed, such as eliminating the route in the city altogether or keeping it York," he said. "I'm disappointed we didn't even get to try it out."

Michael Schmidt, the general manager for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board operations, said parkways are different from regular streets.

Using parkways for buses statutorily requires approval from a joint board. Furthermore, a request to use a parkway for a permanent route is "highly unusual," Schmidt said. In his 15 years as manager, this had been the first time a joint powers board had to be convened to consider such a request.

Bus rider Simone Hall got off the 19R at the Robbinsdale Transit Center on Hubbard Avenue one recent weekday afternoon.

"This is more efficient and quicker," she said of the route, which she catches from Minneapolis. The only other direct route between the two downtowns is Bus 14.

"It would do a world of harm if they stopped it," Hall said.

Another rider, Martha Hoffman, has been walking a block to catch the bus on its new route since service began May 31.

She used to have to walk to the 42nd and York stop but starts work early in the morning and never felt safe walking the longer distance when it was dark out.

"It's literally been a God-send that the bus now stops one block from my house," said Hoffman, who saves about $200 a month taking the bus rather than driving and parking at her job in downtown Minneapolis.

"I think it is very short-sighted to stop this bus into Robbinsdale because of a few people on the parkway being against the bus," she said.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.

The Minneapolis City Council will consider formally reversing its support of the new route at a later meeting, Johnson said.

Metro Transit will review other options for the 19R, but Gibbons said he was "not confident" an alternative route exists.

Gibbons and Robbinsdale City Councilmember Dan Rogan, whose ward the bus travels in, expressed disappointment about the recent developments.

"Our objective is to connect people to destinations," Gibbons said.

Ending the route abruptly at 42nd and York avenues was never the ideal option. Bringing it from downtown Minneapolis to downtown Robbinsdale fit Metro Transit's goals and riders' needs, he said. About 60 people use the expanded route daily.

Rogan has advocated for the extension because it provides more transit options for people living at or traveling to or from the east side of Robbinsdale.

"The use of the parkway was not a perfect solution but it was better than what was proposed, such as eliminating the route in the city altogether or keeping it York," he said. "I'm disappointed we didn't even get to try it out."

Michael Schmidt, the general manager for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board operations, said parkways are different from regular streets.

Using parkways for buses statutorily requires approval from a joint board. Furthermore, a request to use a parkway for a permanent route is "highly unusual," Schmidt said. In his 15 years as manager, this had been the first time a joint powers board had to be convened to consider such a request.

Bus rider Simone Hall got off the 19R at the Robbinsdale Transit Center on Hubbard Avenue one recent weekday afternoon.

"This is more efficient and quicker," she said of the route, which she catches from Minneapolis. The only other direct route between the two downtowns is Bus 14.

"It would do a world of harm if they stopped it," Hall said.

Another rider, Martha Hoffman, has been walking a block to catch the bus on its new route since service began May 31.

She used to have to walk to the 42nd and York stop but starts work early in the morning and never felt safe walking the longer distance when it was dark out.

"It's literally been a God-send that the bus now stops one block from my house," said Hoffman, who saves about $200 a month taking the bus rather than driving and parking at her job in downtown Minneapolis.

"I think it is very short-sighted to stop this bus into Robbinsdale because of a few people on the parkway being against the bus," she said.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.