The Great South-Metro Bus Boom (How It Started)

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For decades, Lakeville residents faced a major transit deficit: the city had virtually zero public transportation options. If you lived in Lakeville and wanted to take a bus into the Twin Cities, you had to drive north into Apple Valley or Burnsville, clogging up local lots and sparking political friction over property tax districts.

That changed overnight in September 2009. In a sudden burst of transit competition, two systems launched commuter options simultaneously. While Metro Transit targeted the west side of town with the large covered Kenrick Avenue Park & Ride along I-35W, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) established the Lakeville Cedar Park & Ride on the east side to capture commuters moving along the busy Cedar Avenue corridor. 

💼 The Commuter Experience Today

Unlike its massive, multi-level garage counterpart on Kenrick Avenue, the Cedar Avenue lot is a more intimate, outdoor suburban facility designed for pure efficiency. 

• The Setup: The station features 191 outdoor parking spaces and a critical winter amenity: a heated shelter to keep you warm during freezing Minnesota mornings. 
• The Route: It acts as the southern anchor for MVTA Route 477, an express route running northward up Cedar Avenue. The coach buses shuttle commuters straight to the Apple Valley Transit Station before shooting up I-35W to the I-35W & Lake Street Station and into Downtown Minneapolis. 
• The Routine: It is strictly a weekday commuter lifeline. Buses run northward during morning rush hours and head back south in the afternoon. There is no weekend service here. 

🚀 The Next Chapter: Bringing the Red Line South

The ultimate destiny of the Cedar Park & Ride isn't just to remain a local park-and-pool surface lot—it is slated to become a cornerstone of regional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). 

The long-term vision of the Metropolitan Council and MVTA involves extending the METRO Red Line. Currently, the Red Line BRT links the Mall of America to Apple Valley. Future phases of the transit plan detail a multi-million dollar extension that will push the high-frequency BRT line all the way south to County Road 70 in Lakeville. When this happens, the Cedar and 181st Street footprint is designated to convert into a full-scale Lakeville Cedar Station, creating transit-oriented development opportunities for local businesses and residential spaces before the area completely fills in.