The Metropolitan Council’s new regional development plan, Thrive
MSP 2040, will set the framework for how the Twin Cities metro area will grow
over the next 30 years. It will
influence the footprint of the developed area, including how much land will be converted
from farmland and open space to housing and employment sites. It will set
targets for affordable housing and establish goals for parks and water quality.
And Thrive MSP will also influence our region’s future mix of transportation options:
Will we invest in more highway lanes and new interchanges? Or will our region
shift investments to additional public transit, bike routes, and sidewalks along
with the repair of existing roads?
You Have the
Power to Influence this Plan
This spring, the Metropolitan Council is seeking input on the plan.
We strongly encourage you to tell the Council what investments matter most to you,
and what kind of community you want to live in going forward. Your ideas
matter! Share
them online, or participate at an upcoming
Thrive MSP Roundtable Discussion near you.These roundtables will focus on four issue areas: 1) Regionally significant
economic places, 2) land use and transit, 3) affordable housing priority,
location and need, and 4) water supply and a thriving region.
With regard
to land use and transit,here are three key points to keep an eye on when
you comment on Thrive MSP:
** Affordability =
Opportunity. Thrive MSP should make sure the entire
region has convenient access to transit and safe, accessible bicycling and
walking options.
The Thrive MSP Transportation Goal should include the word
“affordably.” Today’s transportation system works pretty well for people who
can afford to drive a car, largely connecting motorists with destinations
safely and reliably. But it nearly requires owning a car—a huge cost to
families in the region. For young adults, the elderly, people with a
disability, or others without the means for car ownership, this burden limits
opportunity and makes home ownership, educational advancement, and personal
health harder to achieve. We can advance
Thrive MSP’s equity principle by prioritizing affordable transportation options.
For example, materials for the Thrive MSP Roundtable discussions ask, “How
could transit investment decisions enhance access to opportunity for low-income
and people of color. . . . ?” We think the best way to enhance access to opportunity
is to increase investment in transit, bicycling, and walking – affordable options.
** Connect the Dots to Climate
Change.Thrive MSP should help
achieve Minnesota’s goal to reduce climate change by setting and measuring
goals for the percent of trips by transit, bicycling, and walking in our
region.
If our region is to dramatically reduce emissions that contribute
to climate change, Thrive MSP needs to include a specific goal (as is already
in state statute) for the share of trips made by public transit, bicycling, and
walking that will help to achieve the state climate goals. To make progress
toward those goals, the Met Council needs to explicitly advocate for the
funding and policy change necessary to expand the availability of these
transportation options. Transit emits a
fraction of the pollution of driving alone, and bicycling and walking are
emissions free.
**
Transit-Supportive Land Use.Thrive MSP should encourage most new
development inside the I-494/I-694
beltway and along transitways or near high-frequency
transit.
As Thrive MSP Roundtable materials state, “Over the last 60 years, our rapidly expanding region built a network of
highways and grew outward around them. This new development provided jobs,
homes, schools, and recreation for the region’s residents. However, this
development pattern is not sustainable.”
We agree with the Metropolitan Council. Planning for the majority of
new growth (housing and employment sites) to occur where there is current
infrastructure (roads, utilities, schools, etc.) in place, along major bus
corridors and transitways, and inside the I-494/694 beltway where density
levels are favorable for providing efficient transit makes good economic and
environmental sense.
These
materials also ask, “How could local land-use decisions improve the future
viability of transit?” The Council can do this by ensuring that
Thrive MSP is more specific, with clear goals, identified growth areas, and by channeling
incentive funding into investments that help to achieve the plan’s goals.
Stay
Informed, Get Involved
The Metropolitan Council will be working on Thrive MSP through the
end of 2013, with adoption planned for February 2014. Because this plan will
provide a strategic vision for the Twin Cities for decades to come, we
encourage you to get involved, online
or in person, throughout the process.
For more on this topic, don’t miss our other recent blogs in the
Thrive MSP series:
Nearly
130 communities across the United States adopted Complete Streets policies in
2012, and Northfield, Minnesota, was one of the best.
That’s
according to the National Complete Streets Coalition, a Washington-based organization
dedicated to Complete Streets advocacy. On Monday the Coalition released its
list of Top 10 policies of 2012, and number 5 on the list was Northfield Policy
Resolution 2012-017.
“Northfield’s
policy should be a national standard,” said Stefanie Seskin, Deputy Director of
the National Complete Streets Coalition. “It takes a strong stand for everyone
who uses our streets, including people young and old, walking, driving, or
bicycling, riding a bus or out shopping.”
“This award is partly about recognizing Northfield’s leadership on this issue.
It’s also about showing other cities what a great Complete Streets policy looks
like. Northfield has done that extremely well,” Seskin said.
“Transit
for Livable Communities is a strong supporter of Complete Streets,” said Barb
Thoman, executive director. TLC participated in the MnDOT study of complete
streets in 2009 and was a member of the statewide Complete Streets Coalition
that worked for passage of the state Complete Streets policy in 2010. TLC staff
member Steve Clark currently serves on MnDOT’s Complete Streets Advisory Group.
Many of the projects funded through the federal program Bike Walk Twin Cities
that TLC administers are projects that work to make streets, segments of
streets, or intersections “complete.”
Complete
Streets policies help make sure everyone—regardless of age, ability, income, or
ethnicity, and no matter how they travel—can get around safely and
conveniently. In many cities that means changing how roads and sidewalks are
designed and built, to be “complete” streets.
See
the full list of this year’s Complete Streets policies and learn more about
what makes a great Complete Streets policy at www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-2012-analysis. Also of
local interest, Maplewood, Minnesota, a Twin Cities suburb with a population of
38,000, recently adopted a Living Streets policy, the culmination of an
extensive stakeholder process to establish a common vision for the community's
future.
This week, Governor Mark Dayton announced that Charlie Zelle
will take over in January as the head of the Minnesota Department of
Transportation. Zelle is the CEO of Jefferson Lines, an inter-city bus company.
He also is chair of the board of the Minneapolis area Chamber of Commerce.
"Charlie Zelle understands that transit is essential
to creating jobs in Minnesota and making sure people can get to work
affordably," said Barb Thoman, executive director of Transit for Livable
Communities. "As commissioner of MnDOT, Zelle will be working with a very
talented and dedicated staff. We hope he will ensure that MnDOT is a partner in
building out the transit system, accelerate the implementation of Complete
Streets policy throughout the state, and focus on keeping our roads in good repair.
He understands the links between urban, suburban and rural communities--and how
our economic health depends on being connected."
Editor’s Note: This blog is part of a series exploring Thrive MSP 2040,
the long-range regional plan being crafted by the Metropolitan Council. Because
Thrive MSP will provide a strategic vision for the Twin Cities for years to
come, we encourage you to stay informed about Thrive MSP throughout the
planning process. Even better: be involved! Tell the Met Council what investments
matter most to you, and what kind of community you really want to live in. Share
your ideas online. Here, Dave Van
Hattum explores the connection between Thrive MSP and your transportation and
housing options, decodes the planning process ahead, and shares primary principals
guiding the Met Council.
So why does a regional and local land use plan like Thrive MSP matter?
Think of THRIVE as Transportation and Housing, Regional Investments for Everyone. By encouraging more compact development, a mix of uses,
open space protection and strong connections between future development
(housing and commercial) and transportation systems, regional and local land
use plans can play a significant role in creating more affordable
transportation and housing options for all Twin Cities households.
Housing and transportation are the
two greatest costs for most households—and represent an even larger financial
burden for low income families. When households can live with fewer cars, have
more housing choices, and more practical options for getting around by transit,
biking, and walking, costs can be substantially reduced. And the savings can be
redirected to mortgage payments, education, health care costs, etc. Ultimately,
it’s about investing in choice, affordability, sustainability, and economic
opportunity.
How will the Met Council and Thrive MSP actually influence development
and transportation choices in the region?
In a nutshell, Thrive MSP 2040
will forecast population and housing growth levels, allocate that growth to
different parts of the region, and provide the foundation for the Met Council’s
system plans for Transportation, Aviation, Parks and Open Space, and Water
Resources. These regional systems plans, in turn, set expectations for local
comprehensive land use plans in every city and county in the seven-county metro
area. It is critical that the new regional plan allocates growth based on a sustainable
vision that recognizes changing demographics, housing size, and transportation
costs.
The Met Council plays a
substantial role in the extent of transportation choices across the region. The
Council operates Metro Transit, collaborates with suburban transit providers, andallocates
a substantial pot of federal transportation funding to local and regional projects.
While less directly involved in
housing, the Council is undertaking a regional housing plan with major
implications for the provision of affordable housing in the seven-county
region.
What process can you expect and how can you voice your opinion?
Thrive MSP 2040 is moving forward
with two key interdependent processes: One, the creation of key principles and
goals by Met Council members; and two, a series of public listening
sessions in cities throughout the region. Identifying principles is a great first step
as it will provide basic elements of the emerging regional plan for the public
to react to. The listening sessions and a corresponding online forum are then providing
the first of several opportunities for the public to shape the vision,
principles, goals, and objectives of the Thrive MSP 2040 plan. Expect more opportunities to weigh in as
the plan takes shape over the next two years.
Six key principles and why they need your input
At a recent working session, Met Council
members recommended six provisional principles to guide all their work. Interestingly,
these principles are easily grouped under the three e’s (economy, environment,
and equity) of sustainability, along with a principle guiding the process of
creating and successfully implementing Thrive MSP 2040.
Economy
Principle 1: Prosperity,
Vitality, Livability
Principle 2: Economic
Opportunity
Equity
Principle 3: Equity
Environment
Principle 4: Stewardship
Principle 5: Sense
of Community, Sense of Region
Public Process
Principle 6: Partnerships/Collaboration
To get to a true regional vision, community
members and local governments need to bring greater definition to these broad
principles. For example, what does equity mean to your city, to you? What will
greater prosperity, vitality, and livability look like in communities and
families across the Twin Cities? Which transportation investments will lead us in
that direction? This conversation is already underway, and with significant
implications for the future. Join in now with your own sense of what our region
needs to thrive!
In July, President Obama signed a new transportation law: MAP-21. The new law ran 600-pages and is effective for 27-months (significantly less time than previous transportation laws). Transit for Livable Communities and advocates for transportation reform across the US were disappointed that many of the forward-thinking provisions in the Senate bill were traded away in conference committee.
We greatly appreciate the phone calls and letters from our members over the past two years which were key to defeating some terrible proposals advanced by the US House—proposals to make funding for transit less secure and to eliminate bicycle and pedestrian projects from funding eligibility.
The bill that emerged from the House and Senate conference committee did not include House demands for approval of the Canadian-backed oil pipeline (Keystone XL) or a prohibition of the regulation of toxic coal ash. But traded away were provisions to ensure a “state of good repair” on US roads and bridges, provisions to improve freight rail, a portion of the dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, and other elements key to improved safety, accountability, and expanded transportation options.
Click here for TLC’s statement on the new law and here for Transportation for America’s recap of the top 10 things to know about the new law. On behalf of Transit for Livable Communities and our members, I sit on the executive committee of Transportation for America (T4A), a national coalition working for a healthy transportation system that is ready for the rapidly changing economy of the 21st century.
As you read my statement and the T4A blog, here is some background to keep in mind about the role federal funding plays for transportation in Minnesota.
Minnesota, as with all states, receives federal transportation revenue in proportion to its estimated share of gas taxes paid, plus a subsidy from general revenues. Minnesota’s annual federal support is approximately $700 million.
The majority of federal transportation funding falls under the jurisdiction of state departments of transportation (DOT) but a portion is allocated directly to metro regions. In Minnesota, that includes the Metropolitan Council and seven planning areas in Greater Minnesota.
Federal funding is particularly important in Minnesota because the majority of state revenue for transportation—approximately $1.7 billion annually—is dedicated in Minnesota’s constitution to “highway purposes.” Federal transportation funding supports a wider range of transportation projects for Minnesotans, from road and bridge construction and maintenance to new rail projects, bus operations and maintenance, bicycle and pedestrian projects and safety efforts.
Federal funding facilitates a wide range of transportation projects in Minnesota.
In 2012, federal transportation revenue is contributing to the construction of nearly 100 separate projects in the metro area (plus at least 100 projects in Greater Minnesota), including Central Corridor LRT, the Mississippi River Regional Trail in Spring Lake Park and Rosemount, the widening of Highway 10 in Anoka County, and replacement of the Lafayette Bridge over the Mississippi River in Saint Paul.
At TLC, with your help, we will continue to build the movement to support multimodal transportation investments, in our state and at the federal level. Given that MAP-21 is only a 27-month law, the work begins now for a better transportation law next time. Join us!
From Betsy Christensen, MPH Candidate, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and TLC intern
Improving public transit and creating more walkable neighborhoods can be one of the most cost effective ways to achieve public health objectives.
Before we get into details, there are a few things you should know about me. I live in Saint Paul yet do venture across the river into Minneapolis quite regularly and I do not have a car. Saint Paul is a great place to live; 95% of my friends, however, haven’t been enlightened, which means I head across the river to enter my social network. Since I have no vehicle and have a streak of stubborn independence (read: I will never ask for a ride, ever.), I have become a regular transit rider and city biking enthusiast.
Marshall Avenue, near Mississippi River bridge
Take a moment to think about all of the places you travel to in a day – go the gym for a morning workout, take your kids and/or yourself to school, work across the city, visit that favorite café for lunch to catch up with friends, stop at the grocery store, etc. Now, think about how you travel to all of your daily destinations – do you have the option of walking, biking, driving, riding the bus, riding the light rail? Do you choose your mode of transportation or does our current transportation system frequently make it seem like a car is your only option?
Transportation is a major part of our lives. Not everyone drives, not everyone bikes, and not everyone rides the bus. A balanced transportation system that accommodates all modes, all users, and all abilities benefits everybody.Forty percent of Minnesotans do not drive for various reasons – age, disability, or financial costs (source: MN Complete Streets Toolkit). Nationwide, 60% of Americans would rather drive less and walk more, yet 73% reported they feel they currently have no choice but drive to destinations (source: Surface Transportation Policy Partnership).
Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
Quality public transit and transit-oriented development reduce traffic crashes, improve air quality, increase daily physical activity, boost social well being, and improve access to healthcare services and healthy food options. These public health benefits are increasingly recognized as central to economically-vibrant metropolitan regions. A shift towards less driving and more transit use improves our health, but in order to make this shift we need to support policies and systems that promote the design and development of healthy, more livable communities.
Quality public transit reduces traffic crashes and improves safety Much has been done to improve the safety of automobiles and highways, yet the desire for speed continues to have implications for our safety and health care costs. Approximately 2.5 million people are injured on our roads every year (source: NHTSA). Communities with high-quality transit experience 75% less per capita traffic fatality rates than those experienced by sprawling, auto-oriented communities (source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute).
Stillwater Boulevard, Maplewood
Quality public transit improves air quality Breathing clean air should be a right and not a privilege based on where on lives. Thirty-five million people live within 300 feet of a major roadway, increasing their risk for respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, heart disease, and death related to air pollution from traffic (source: APHA). In Minneapolis-Saint Paul, these air pollution health impacts are disproportionately located in low-income neighborhoods.
Cartoon by Andy Singer
Quality public transit increases physical activity Most transit trips begin with a walk or bike ride. Public transit users walk about 19 minutes per day compared to only 6 minutes per day for non-transit users (source: Werner & Evans, 2007). Community design is key – walkable, mixed use communities support healthier residents and visitors. People with safe places to walk near home are twice as likely to meet physical activity targets (source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute). It’s much easier to be active and reach the goal of 22 minutes each day (or 150 minutes each week), when it fits easily into your daily schedule. I look forward to my commute every single day – I love hopping on my bike or walking to the bus stop.
Walking to shop and reach other destinations
Quality public transit improves mental and social well being More than half of all trips nationwide are less than 3 miles in distance, yet 72% of these trips are made by car (source: Federal Highway Administration). Biking to the café, taking a 15 minute stroll, or riding transit all result in more time in one’s neighborhood, increasing interactions between neighbors and building community cohesion (source: APHA). Increased walkability is also associated with reduced symptoms of depression (source: Berke, Gottlieb & Larson, 2007). A high-quality public transit system increases access to basic needs including healthcare services, employment, educational opportunities, and healthy food options.
Festival of Fathers, North Minneapolis, summer 2011
Conclusion
As a public health student and a regular bicyclist, walker and bus rider, I am aware of both the societal benefits and the personal benefits of not being wedded to a car. As an intern at Transit for Livable Communities, I have learned about the importance of advocating for a transportation system that gets everyone where they need to go in a convenient, sustainable and healthy fashion. I hope you will join the growing movement of Twin Cities residents who feel the same.
During September and October, new bicycle routes funded through Bike Walk Twin Cities will open in Minneapolis. These projects, and others that opened last year as well as some due for 2012, are expanding the network for cycling, especially on-street cycling. The new projects include three bicycle boulevards, advisory bike lanes, and the state's first bicycle stop light. Some of the project openings will be celebrated as part of October Bike Walk Week October 3-9.
Please mark your calendars for these openings. More details will be shared as plans become complete.
Bryant Avenue Bicycle Boulevard- Grand Opening Thursday, September 22
This is the longest of the new bike routes in Minneapolis, providing a north-south route from West 58th Street to downtown Minneapolis, via the bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Lyndale Avenue and the bike path to Loring Park. The route includes new medians at Franklin Avenue to make crossing easier for bicycles and people walking. There also will be easier access for bicycles to the Minnehaha Parkway bicycle trail. The route runs roughly parallel to Lyndale Avenue.
University of Minnesota Bike Center-Grand Opening week of September 27
The new bike center in the Oak Street ramp will include retail sales and repair from the Hub Bicycle Coop, and (with membership) 24-7 key-card access to showers, changing rooms, and secure bike parking. The Center also offers classes and meeting space. With 70,000 students and faculty at the Twin Cities campus, there is great opportunity to get around more smoothly by riding bicycles (including Nice Ride bicycle-sharing), walking, and using transit.The University Bike Center will also offer the option to sign up for RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to track bicycle usage and be eligible for prizes.
New routes in Downtown Minneapolis-Grand Opening Wednesday, October 5 (tentative)
Getting into downtown Minneapolis on bicycle is now easier due to two new projects. Cyclists have long waited for a better connection into from the Hiawatha LRT trail (which ends at 11th Avenue South). A new bike path now exists adjacent to the Valspar parking lot, connecting to westbound bicycle lanes on 3rd Street South and eastbound lanes on 4th Street South. Another new project, on East 14th, 15th, and 16th Streets, brings "Advisory Bike Lanes" to the United States for the first time (though Portland, Ore., also has plans for them: http://bikeportland.org/2009/10/21/bikeway-design-focus-advisory-bike-lanes-24880) Advisory bike lane streets are low-traffic narrow streets with bike lanes in each direction and one center lane for autos. If no bikes are present, cars can drive on top of the bike lanes (this is not legal for other bike lanes). If cyclists are present, cars use the center lane (wide enough for cars) to pass.
New routes in Northeast Minneapolis-Grand Opening Thursday, October 6 (tentative)
Northeast Minneapolis has had few routes for a growing population, but that is about to change with three new routes (and a fourth in 2012). The new 5th Street Bicycle Boulevard, featuring the state's first bicycle stop light and bicycle signal detection, runs from Dinkytown through the Nordeast shopping area and up to 26th Avenue North. (Much of the route runs parallel to University Avenue.) Two new east-west bike ways intersect it-the 22nd Avenue bike way and a new off-road bike path on 18th Avenue (not funded by BWTC). In 2012, the Presidents Bicycle Boulevard will provide another north-south route on Fillmore and 6th Avenues.
New Bike Lanes in North Minneapolis-Grand Opening, Saturday, October 8-A Bike Walk Week October Event
The new bike lanes on Emerson & Fremont Avenues provide a great north-south route, connecting many great destinations, from North Regional Library (at the intersection of Lowry and Fremont) to the businesses along West Broadway (The Cookie Cart and Avenue Eatery are just down the block from Emerson) to Plymouth Avenue not far from UROC and the Urban League. The Emerson/Fremont lanes connect to bike lanes along 7th Street North and 10th Avenue North , making it easier to connect to downtown and Northeast Minneapolis.
1st and Blaisdell Bike Lanes-Grand Opening, Sunday October 9-A Bike Walk Week October Event
These new bike lanes connect downtown Minneapolis (via LaSalle heading southbound and Marquette heading north) to the RiverLake Greenway at 40th Street in South Minneapolis. The route features buffered bike lanes along 1st Avenue (between 40th and 33rd) and bike lanes on Blaisdell, with green paint at the high-traffic intersection at Lake Street to make bicyclists and motorists aware of each other.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School is now accepting applications for 25 mini-grants of $1,000 each. These mini-grants support the goal of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs, which is to enable and encourage children to safely walk and bicycle to school. Mini-grants may fund activities ranging from the nuts and bolts that help start or sustain a safe walking and bicycling program to new ideas that explore the range of benefits of safe walking and bicycling.
Crossing the street in Greater Minnesota can be more deadly than on the busier streets of the Twin Cities. Transportation for America’s new report, Dangerous By Design says the pedestrian death rate was above the national average in Cass, Becker and Itasca counties between 2000-2009. The report also includes an interactive map that allows you to find where pedestrian deaths are occurring near any town in the US.
Pam Kramer, Executive Director Duluth Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) points out that for more than 50 years, roads have been engineered for optimum motor vehicle safety, while safety for others using the roads has been overlooked.
“The things we need to do to make our streets safer are so basic -- crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes -- that they are always a good idea. But now that more and more people are getting active and as gas prices rise, this becomes critically important,” says Kramer.
A number of state and federal transportation programs are working to make streets safer for all users: Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Complete Streets.
Over the last decade, 415 Minnesotan pedestrians have died in traffic crashes. But as the national transportation bill is being written in Washington, federal funding for pedestrian facilities is under attack. Nationwide, state departments of transportation allocate only 1.5 percent of available federal funds to projects that retrofit dangerous roads or create safe alternatives.
“We’re spending the tiniest sliver of federal transportation funding on pedestrian safety, even though they account for 12 percent of all traffic deaths,” said Andrea Kiepe, Field Organizer for Transportation for America. “Our tax money should be used to build streets, roads and highways that are safe for all users.”
Meghan Bown, Get Fit Itasca Community Health Coordinator, is working at the local level on this issue. Her rural county has a pedestrian death rate above the national average.
“Although we have strived to make improvements for pedestrians and will continue to do so, the City of Grand Rapids is not immune to these type of crashes. Last year on US Highway 169, a pedestrian was killed by a truck. Currently the US Highway has a speed limit of 30 mph, set-back businesses, and four lanes. The accident happened approximately four blocks from the nearest controlled crossing,” says Bown.
Especially when combined with unsafe street and road design, vehicle speed presents a deadly threat to pedestrians. Nationwide, nearly 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities from 2000 to 2009 occurred on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or greater. Pedestrians have only a 15 percent chance of surviving a collision with a car traveling 40 mph.
“Roadway design factors affect traffic speeds. Drivers slow down where the road feels ‘hemmed-in’ or there is noticeable street activity, and they speed up where the road feels ‘wide open’ or street activity is less noticeable,” says Bown.
Ethan Fawley, Transportation Policy Director for Fresh Energy, says more funding is needed to make roads safer for everyone, by adding sidewalks, crosswalks and trails. On the national level, the Safe and Complete Streets bill is being considered; it would make money available to states for these types of projects. Minnesota already has a Complete Streets policy at the state level, though it is less than a year old.
“Mn/DOT and seventeen local Minnesota communities have already stepped up with Complete Streets policies to make their roads safer for everyone, including pedestrians. But there is still much work to be done to improve safety for people walking and we need the federal government as a strong leader and partner for that effort. This report drives home that need and offers concrete steps that deserve action,” says Fawley.
Another federally funded approach is seen with the Safe Routes to Schools program. It encourages kids to walk, bicycle, skateboard, or ride scooters to class for exercise.
Rochester Mayor Ardell F. Brede, says there is public support for improving pedestrian safety. “Safe and complete streets make sense at any time, but when gas prices rise we seem to pay more attention to our mobility choices. Streets that are complete and safer allow and encourage walking and cycling –important factors to a society that is focusing more on healthy living.”
“Human health is a major contributor to all aspects of life including job performance, productivity, and personnel costs. Big business has long since realized that healthy employees do more for their companies. As a country we need to follow the lead of the business community. This includes improving transportation infrastructure. We need to continue to put money into making our communities more accessible for walking and biking. This will decrease our oil consumption, decrease our health care costs, increase our productivity, and boost our economy, says Bown.
From Dave Van Hattum, Policy & Advocacy Program Manger
City Trek 2011 Participants
Many credit young people for changing attitudes and habits around recycling and re-use. As we collectively try to create communities where people have real transportation choices, perhaps young people can once again lead the way.
City Trek 2011, a partnership of TLC and EcoEducation, was a day-long exploration of the environmental and equity impacts of the Twin Cities current (and future) transportation system. On May 3rd, 25 teachers and youth leaders spent the day experiencing and discussing our regional transportation system. Recognizing the value of learning by doing, participants walked, biked (thanks to Nice Ride), rode the Hiawatha light rail, and local and express buses (thanks to Metro Transit).
The diversity of the group, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul teachers who teach a range of subjects and students of varying ages, led to stimulating dialogue. Participants were encouraged to arrive at our downtown Minneapolis base without driving and the vast majority took the challenge.
The morning discussion focused on three strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of transportation: 1) public transit, 2) biking, and 3) more compact communities. The topic of equity came up in all the discussions, exploring ways to expand convenient and affordable transportation choices for those with low-incomes and from diverse communities.
The morning session included an overview of the Twin Cities transportation system and breakout sessions with experts on bicycling, walking, and transit. The afternoon session highlighted the equity issues of building new light rail lines, in particular the Central Corridor. Presenters Carol Swenson (District Council Collaborative), Metric Giles (Community Revitalization Project) and Christina Morrison (Saint Paul planner) got the conversation going with unique perspectives on planning for the light rail line and planning for changes to neighborhoods adjacent to the rail.
For many decades, mainstream assessments of our urban transportation systems assumed they were equitable because they were primarily financed by a user fee – the gas tax. Yet, this assessment completely ignored those unable to afford cars and fill-ups. TLC believes that building out a robust transit system will generally lead to greater equity. But, as participants in City Trek 2011 learned, more transit is a necessary, but insufficient, step to a more equitable transportation system. Where we locate transit stops, who builds the trains and highways, and how communities retain existing residents and businesses when new housing and commercial development cluster around light rail stops are key equity concerns going forward.
One critical step to more equitable outcomes is to make sure more community, and non-traditional, voices are heard in the planning (rail and development) process. I can’t say exactly how the teachers and youth who made City Trek 2011 such an inspiring and thought-providing day will carry forward the dialogue and ideas into lesson plans. But I trust that most of them will engage their students in pondering and imagining how best to get people where they need to go --an intellectual trek worth taking!
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