Ribbon-cutting for Rochester’s first city-owned park-and-ride facility

(ABC 6 News) – The city of Rochester Transit & Parking Dept. held a ribbon-cutting event to commemorate the first city-owned park-and-ride facility.

Beginning on Mon., June 3, the 75th Street Park & Ride will expand transportation options for those looking to get transit service to Saint Marys Hospital and downtown Rochester.

The facility is located near the intersection of Highway 52 and 75th St. NW and will have free parking available to commuters. Inside the 478-stall building, there is also heated shelters, safety lighting and security cameras.

The $3.25 million dollar project was funded through $2.52 million in Federal grants and $730,000 in local matching funds, according to a press release.

There will be express service on the new Route 450X via Rochester Public Transit, with weekday trips leaving every 20 minutes starting at 5:30 through 8:30 a.m. Trips will then department from downtown every 20 minutes from 3 to 6 p.m. and continue at 30-minute intervals until 8:40 p.m.

The new RPT schedule will go into effect on June 2 along with other changes to park-and-ride neighborhood routes.

Routes that will be affected by the changes include 101, 250X, and 560X. The complete changes, including updated route maps and schedules are available at rptride.com.

“Park-and-rides and express routes are the workhorses of our transit system, responsible for half of all passenger trips,” said Ia Xion, the Interim Dir. of Transit. “With the new 75th Street Park & Ride and the expanded service on Route 101, RPT is making public transit accessible and appealing to more potential customers.”