Rush hour commute times from suburbs to downtown Mpls (Minneapolis: houses, live in)

[LordBluffington]

My wife and I are looking at houses in the Maple Grove/Plymouth and Eagan/Apple Valley areas and wanted to get a sense of commuting times to downtown Minneapolis and the U (east bank) during rush hour.

We would just test the drive ourselves but I'm concerned COVID traffic will severely underestimate the commute a year from now.

For those of you that live in those areas and work in the downtown area, how's the commute?

[Citykid3785]

Commuted from both eagan and apple valley to both downtown and the U (all pre Covid).

I'd say 35-50 minutes was a good average depending on where in those cities you lived. Similar time to the U. Maybe a 38 minute average?

Outside of rush hour, it's more like 20-30 minutes. But there is great bussing options to both these locations, I would seriously suggest the bus. They are clean, cheap, mostly on time, and there are several nice park and rides. The busses in the twin cities can ride the shoulder to pass traffic and have many right of way advantages that keeps them consistent (moreso than a car!)

[WoodburyWoody]

Until '10, I commuted from Eagan (near Yankee Doodle and Pilot Knob) to the East Bank for five years and a year before in 2001-02. My experience when the weather was good and no accidents was 40-50 minutes for morning rush and add another 10-15 to the afternoon rush.



From Eagan, you have to cross a river somewhere and the bridges are obvious pinch points. Going in, I went either 35, 55 or 55-to-5 and found that going 55-to-5 and then winding up through Highland Park on surface streets was about the same time as 35 or 55 and a more enjoyable drive along the Mississippi River Road than stop-and-go in multi-lane traffic on an interstate. The 35 route got much better when they reopened Ayd Mill Road, but it was still about the same drive time.


And, yeah, as Citykid points out, outside of rush hour it is a quick drive into the East Bank. If time-shifting is an option, try for it. Or some WFH options - there will be more of that at the U post-Covid, just like most places.



Parking on the East Bank is pricy. There are waiting lists for all surface lots within the East Bank ($75/month) and ramps are $105/month and garages are $135/month (https://www.pts.umn.edu/park/contract/staffcontracts). I have heard that there are discussions about accommodating staff/faculty post-covid as more people will be WFH and not have the need for five-day-a-week campus parking, but no idea what that would be or if it will happen. But it has been mentioned in various meetings.



When I was hired there 20 years ago and there was a TON of daily parking available (the football stadium area was all daily parking lots), in the employee orientation the guy from Parking and Transportation bluntly led with something like, "Don't drive here. We don't want more cars parking here and it is only going to get worse." And he was right, in terms of parking cost, parking availability and the commute times in and out of the East and West Banks.



For staff/faculty, if it works for you, the Metropass is unlimited bus/train for $83/month (https://www.pts.umn.edu/bus/metropassstafffaculty). Students get a deep discount with the UPass at $114/semester (https://www.pts.umn.edu/bus/upass).

[SeriesOfTubes]

Originally Posted by LordBluffington

My wife and I are looking at houses in the Maple Grove/Plymouth and Eagan/Apple Valley areas and wanted to get a sense of commuting times to downtown Minneapolis and the U (east bank) during rush hour.

We would just test the drive ourselves but I'm concerned COVID traffic will severely underestimate the commute a year from now.

For those of you that live in those areas and work in the downtown area, how's the commute?

CityKid is right, about 35-50 depending on weather and traffic. Just be aware that as the Twin Cities grows in size, more people will be on the road in 5, 10 years so your commute time may increase.