State Fair's New Transit Hub Praised

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We all have our favorite ways of getting to the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Terri Reinartz and her family are among the one third of fairgoers who choose mass transit.

"We've done it [the] last several years, probably the last half dozen years," Reinartz said.

And this year's ride in brought them to a new destination. The State Fair's new Transit Hub on the west end of the grounds will be the drop-off and pick-up point for 80 percent of the bus traffic.

"We love it. It's quicker, it's faster. We come in a lot quicker coming off the bus expressway from the highway," she said. "Don't have to sit in the traffic at all, so it was really slick, came right in."

There's also an 80-percent reduction in the congestion along Como Avenue. By midday there was a fair first -- a normal flow of traffic.

But the new bus stop also brings a parking change. Some visitors who use the west end public parking lots will find fewer spaces, though Como lots are gaining spots that used to be blocked off by buses.

And for fairgoers like Lisa Coleman, the biggest perk to the new drop off is the shorter walk to her favorite food booth.

"The Mexican Hat, which is right as we walk out," Coleman said.

Another big change at the Transit Hub is the signage, which makes it much easier to figure out what bus you need to take home.

This new location leaves no room for confusion, with huge marked signs which show where to catch your bus.