Update, June 19, 2018
The Metropolitan Council provided the Victory Neighborhood Association with the following update yesterday:
Thank you for the comments we received regarding Route 19 branch service in the Cleveland and Victory neighborhoods and eastern Robbinsdale. Your input was a valuable part of the decision-making process that ultimately lead Metro Transit to recommend Option A for future branch service on Route 19. We believe that Option A, traveling on Thomas Avenue between Lowry and Dowling avenues, best serves our existing riders while still maintaining service to Brooklyn Center.
During the one-month comment period we received 56 responses about the branch options from a mix of riders and residents. The vast majority of respondents requested that we retain service west of Penn Avenue (Options A or B). As mentioned, Metro Transit has reviewed this feedback and also supports Option A. While we initially proposed only hourly service during the weekday rush hours there is some flexibility in widening the span and frequency of trips along Thomas Avenue.
Again, we appreciate your feedback. Changes to branch service on Route 19 will coincide with the opening of the C Line, currently planned for spring 2019. More information about both C Line and Route 19 schedules will be available a few months prior to the changes.
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Recently, Metro Transit proposed significant reduction or elimination of Route 19’s branch service in 
preparation for the forthcoming C Line Bus Rapid Transit on Penn Avenue North. The branch lines, better known as Routes 19H and 19Y, bring bus riders to and from the interior of the Victory and Cleveland Neighborhoods and connects to the eastern boundary of Robbinsdale.
Reducing or eliminating Route 19’s branch service will considerably limit the transit options available to residents living and/or working in the northwest corner of Minneapolis. It is for this reason that the Victory Neighborhood Association (ViNA) advocates for the expansion, rather than the reduction, of branch service.
ViNA supports extending current Route 19 branch service into downtown Robbinsdale. The association believes both communities will benefit from increased business district shoppers, easier access to transit, and especially for Northsiders, more equitable access to the Blue Line Light Rail Extension once it is complete.
If you believe that Route 19’s branch service should not be reduced, please reach out to Metro Transit decision makers. Contact:
Council Member Gary Cunningham
Metropolitan Council
612-259-6568
gary.cunningham@metc.state.mn.us
and
Michael Mechtenberg, Senior Planner
Metro Transit Service Development
612-349-7793
michael.mechtenberg@metrotransit.org
Read ViNA’s official position on the proposed changes and learn more about the issue at this link.
The 19 route should be expanded to take riders to the transit station in Robbinsdale and to continue to head west on County Road 9 to 494. This expansion will give riders west of Minneapolis more transit options to get into the City and City residents more options to travel to Robbinsdale and western suburbs. A 4-mile drive from north Minneapolis to the YMCA in New Hope (on 42nd Ave N) is 13 minutes or a 39 minute bus ride. A 4-mile drive from south Minneapolis to the YMCA in Edina is 13 minutes or a 21-minute bus ride! Why the 18-minute difference? Could it be having to go to Brooklyn Center and transfer? WHY? We can and MUST do better!
With the BRT C-line and the RBT D-line bus, more bus connections would encourage and increase ridership from residents in the western suburbs plus give access to north Minneapolis residents to good and services in the suburbs.