Franklin Avenue station (Metro Transit)

Franklin Avenue
Franklin Avenue station platform
General information
Location1808 Franklin Avenue East
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates44°57′45″N 93°14′50″W / 44.9626°N 93.2471°W / 44.9626; -93.2471
Owned byMetro Transit
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Metro Transit: 2, 9, 22, 67
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJune 26, 2004 (2004-06-26)
Passengers
20231,238 daily[1]Increase 11.2%
Rank18 out of 37
Services
Preceding station Metro Following station
Cedar–Riverside Blue Line Lake Street/Midtown
Location
Map

Franklin Avenue station is a light rail station on the Blue Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This station is a bridge above Franklin Avenue along Minnesota State Highway 55, in Minneapolis. This is a center-platform station. Along with the Lake Street station, Franklin Avenue is one of the two above-grade stations on the Blue Line. The station is home to the marquee of the New Franklin theater, located nearby. Service began at this station when the Blue Line opened on June 26, 2004.

The maintenance base of the line is just to the north, between this stop and Cedar-Riverside. When train operators begin and end their shifts, they used to make an extra stop there to take on the new driver. The driver now boards and departs the train at Franklin Avenue station.

A transit-oriented development master plan for the station and Cedar-Riverside was released in 2002.[2]

In September 2022, unarmed private security hired by the Metropolitan Council began patrolling the station. The station was chosen because of high police activity and because it is a location where train operators get on and off trains.[3] Allied Universal was hired in March 2023 to patrol the station 24 hours a day, seven days a week.[4] Franklin Avenue is one of four stations that Metro Transit is analyzing in a several million dollar study to determine if turnstiles can improve fare payment compliance and safety.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Transit Stops Boardings and Alightings - Minnesota Geospatial Commons". gisdata.mn.gov. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ SRF Consulting (January 2002). "Franklin-Cedar/Riverside - Transit Oriented Development Master Plan" (PDF). City of Minneapolis. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  3. ^ Nelson, Tim; Elder, Alanna (March 15, 2023). "Met Council to vote on security guards at Metro Transit stations". MPR News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  4. ^ Pan, H. Jiahong (March 23, 2023). "Metro Transit hires security contractor for six of its transit stations". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  5. ^ Knudsen, Cory (November 2, 2023). "Metro Transit to study use of turnstiles on 4 light rail platforms". KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Moore, Janet (January 16, 2024). "MN: Metro Transit's fare enforcement yielding results". Star Tribune via Mass Transit. Retrieved March 11, 2024.