Thrive MSP: Let Your Voice Be Heard on How the Region Should Grow

Public hearings April 10, 16. Public comment deadline April 28.

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

 

 

 

Where will the 820,000 additional residents expected in the region by 2040 live and work?  Will new homes and jobs be well served by transit and walking or will they be in locations served only by driving?  Will new jobs and housing help to revitalize areas that need redevelopment or will they be located at the region’s edge consuming farmland and open space?

The answers to these and other questions will be greatly influenced by the Metropolitan Council’s new regional development plan, called Thrive MSP, which will replace the Regional Framework plan adopted in 2004. A recently released draft of Thrive MSP is out for public comment through the end of April.

Transit for Livable Communities and our allies have been following the process to develop Thrive MSP for some time. During the public engagement process for development of the draft plan, TLC has emphasized that Thrive should:

1. Identify priority housing and job growth centers and establish zoning and density requirements for those centers, making them eligible for Council funding and services if they meet those requirements. (Seattle has modeled this approach.)
2. Target the majority of new development to areas well served by existing and planned transit and areas with infrastructure already in place. Specific language in the Thrive MSP plan should allow the Council, when necessary, to require local communities through their local comprehensive plans to align planning and investment with the new regional goals.
3. Identify very specific implementation strategies and performance measures.

We strongly support the plan’s intent to invest in and reduce the region’s racially concentrated areas of poverty. We disagree with the continued call for additional highway expansion. 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; more compact development and higher densities will maximize the full potential of transit and bike/ped connections. Overall, we feel the lack of specificity in the draft makes it difficult to imagine how the plan’s important goals of sustainability, equity, prosperity, stewardship, and livability will be achieved. As we have outlined previously, other regions have created plans that go much farther in defining regional centers and maximizing investments. As a regional body, the Metropolitan Council needs to act boldly.

Weigh in:

Here is a draft of the comment letter TLC will be submitting. We urge you to submit your own letter. You also have the opportunity to testify about the plan at one of two upcoming public hearings:

1. April 10, 5 PM, F.T. Heywood Office Building, Minneapolis
2. April 16, 5 PM, Met. Council Chambers, Saint Paul

Given the importance of the plan and how long it will likely be in effect, the time to weigh in is now.

Important numbers from Thrive:

• By 2040 the region is expected to add 824,000 new residents, increasing the region’s population to 3.67 million.
• Nearly 60 percent of the projected population increase by 2040 will be people over 65.
• The Council sets some development density expectations, but these are still very low (20 residential units per acre for the urban center, 5 for suburban).
• Per the draft plan, only half of expected growth will be in the urban center, urban cities, and inner suburban areas. The remainder is expected to be at densities of only 3-5 units per acre—in this context, moderate or high-frequency transit is not cost effective.
• Priority growth areas are not identified. The plan does identify 42 higher density centers.

 

For more on this topic, see our previous blogs in the Thrive MSP series:

• Thrive MSP: Good Policy Needed to Target Regional Growth
• This Spring: Influence Twin Cities Regional Development for the Next 30 Years
• Thrive MSP 2040: Why and How to Create a Shared Vision
• Top Ten Elements in Regional Plans: Our Peers Have Set a High Bar

 

Why we support raising the minimum wage—and more transportation options

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

 

A worker making today’s minimum wage can barely afford the cost of riding the bus to get to their job. (Photo credit: TLC)

Early this year, Transit for Livable Communities joined Raise the Wage—a growing coalition focused on increasing Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2015, and indexing future increases to inflation. You might wonder why a transportation organization supports this effort. Raising the minimum wage fits right in with TLC’s commitments to equity, to livable communities, and to helping households—especially low-income households—build wealth and a better life. 

 

We know that in many low-income families in our region, transportation costs as much or more as housing. Getting around consumes more than a quarter of their income—and in some households up to 40 percent. Affordable options are too often out of reach: in the Twin Cities metro only 10 percent of jobs and about 25 percent of households have convenient access to transit.

 

TLC is a lead member of the Move MN campaign at the legislature calling for increasing investment in transportation options—so families can rely more on transit, bicycling, and walking, and reduce their transportation costs.

 

Even so, a worker making today’s minimum wage can barely afford the cost of riding the bus to get to their job.

 

So, we need to raise the wage and we need to expand transportation options to make getting around more affordable.

 

It’s true that the Move MN funding proposal calls for increasing taxes to pay for transit, bicycling, and walking options, as well as safer roads and bridges. We believe the benefits far outweigh those costs. Increasing the metro-area sales tax will greatly expand access to transit, including increased local bus, as well as bike/walking options. (See a map of planned Twin Cities projects.) People who have these options can save as much as $4,000 per year on transportation costs. (See the Transportation Options infographic.)

 

Raising the minimum wage is just and fair and it will help workers cover more of their essential household costs—food, housing, and transportation. Expanding transportation funding will lower those costs—and stretch every hard-earned dollar.  

 

Click here to take action in support of raising Minnesota’s minimum wage.

 

See TLC’s full legislative agenda here.

 

 

Decision time has arrived for Southwest light rail

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

Update: On April 2, the Southwest Corridor Management Committee voted in favor of the project scope and budget for Southwest light rail. Anoka County Commissioner Matt Look and Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges voted no. Mayor Hodges called the approved plan for Southwest “a fundamental failure of fairness” for her constituents. TLC believes there are multiple benefits for Minneapolis and the entire region from this project, including affordable access to jobs for communities of color and low-income workers. As Congressman Keith Ellison and State Sen. Bobby Joe Champion stated in a recent op-ed, "To achieve our vision of a vibrant, equitable region we must extend our metro transit system and build the Southwest rail line."

 

 Photo credit: Metropolitan Council

 

Transit for Livable Communities has been a long-standing supporter of Southwest light rail. After years of study and debate, the Southwest LRT Corridor Management Committee will vote on the project’s scope and budget this Wednesday, April 2, and the Metropolitan Council votes on April 9. After that, the municipalities through which the line passes will also vote.

While it is unlikely that any outcome will please all involved, the entire metro has much to gain from this line. Southwest light rail will greatly expand access to job opportunities and education centers, reduce the high cost of transportation for many families, and reduce traffic noise and emissions in our neighborhoods. It will connect riders to key destinations from downtown Saint Paul to downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, extending the reach of the Blue Line, Green Line, and local bus routes.

We understand the frustration of Minneapolis officials who long believed the freight rail line would be relocated out of the Kenilworth Corridor. After much study, that solution appears not to be possible. Southwest LRT has priority for federal funding (which will pay 50 percent of the cost) but further delay puts that prospect at risk. With the inability to reroute freight from the Kenilworth Corridor, we support the plans that call for tunneling light rail trains and the preservation of bicycle routes through the corridor as the best option for moving forward.

But, we also need to keep an eye on costs. Tunnels and additional stations, such as Mitchell Road, also push project costs higher and could affect funding for this and other projects. This region has a lot of transit system yet to build and a higher cost for this project would delay the implementation of 11 Rapid Bus lines, expanded bus service, and other transitway projects across the metro.

Southwest is one line in a system that needs to move forward. More transit options are integral to a thriving Twin Cities metro area.  We share an interest in better serving Uptown and the Lake Street Corridor with transit, which is why we also support plans for rail in the Midtown Corridor and improved bus service on Lake Street. We also believe better connections from North Minneapolis to Southwest LRT will be needed. We are happy to hear that the City of Minneapolis is preparing an application for federal funds for the Nicollet-Central streetcar line.

We can’t afford any more delay. Losing momentum on this next key line risks losing momentum for a transit system that will better connect our entire metro. There will be opportunities for public testimony at both the April 2 Corridor Management Committee Meeting (8:30-11:30 AM, Beth El Synagogue, St. Louis Park) and the April 9 Metropolitan Council meeting (4 PM, Council Chambers, Saint Paul). TLC plans to testify in strong support of Southwest LRT and a shallow tunnel in the Kenilworth Corridor. We encourage you to do the same!

 

Move MN Makes Progress at the Capitol

A Rally, A Vote in House Committee, on to the Senate!

By Dave Van Hattum, Senior Policy Advocate

Update: On April 2, the Senate Transportation Finance Committee voted 10-7 to approve the comprehensive transportation funding bill supported by TLC and the Move MN coalition! Thanks to Chair Dibble and Senators Carlson, Champion, Franzen, Jensen, Kent, Reinert, Rest, Tomassoni, and Wiger for voting Yes. The committee also gave a strong signal for active transportation when they voted down an amendment proposed by Senator Pratt that would have eliminated dedicated bike/ped funding in the metro. The bill (SF 2107) passed with an author's amendment that makes it almost identical to the companion bill recently approved in the House. This exciting legislation, which provides new funding for transit, bicycling, walking, roads, and bridges statewide, now advances to the Senate Finance Committee. 

  Transit and bike/ped advocates rallied at the Capitol on March 13. (Photo credit: TLC)

 

The Rally

Finally, it was a warm, sunny spring day. The energy outside the State Capitol on March 13 was matched by energy inside from supporters of the Move MN campaign who gathered to rally for transportation funding.

  The Move MN rally for transportation funding. (Photo credit: Eamon Flynn, TLC)

The afternoon of the rally, Transit for Livable Communities and the Sierra Club hosted a transit and bike/ped advocate workshop. Participants learned more about the transportation funding bill championed by the Move MN coalition (SF 2107/HF 2395), heard directly from bill author and House Transportation Finance Committee Chair Frank Hornstein, and brought their knowledge and passion to meetings with their own representatives and senators at the Capitol. Many legislators heard from their constituents and agreed to keep this critical issue moving forward.

Rep. Hornstein spoke at the advocate workshop hosted by TLC and the Sierra Club. (Photo credit: TLC)

At 4 PM, transit and bike/ped advocates joined with road, bridge, and other transportation supporters to pack the Capitol Rotunda for the Move MN rally. I was struck by the unified message. Local chambers, farm union members, county commissioners, advocates from the disability community, and many more all came together to convey the urgency of acting on transportation in 2014. The spontaneous chant was “Fix it now!”—a call applicable to expanded transit options, safe and convenient bicycling and walking connections, pothole repair, and better roads and bridges to get products and people to market.

The Move MN rally for transportation funding. (Photo credit: TLC)

Transportation Chairs Dibble and Hornstein reminded the audience that we have the power to fix transportation this session. But we have to keep working daily to build the support for action. 

Sen. Dibble and Rep. Hornstein energized Move MN supporters at the March rally. (Photo credit: Val Escher, TLC member)

 

The Vote

A packed room for the House Transportation Finance Committee bill hearing. (Photo credit: TLC)

 

One week later, the House Transportation Finance Committee voted 9-6 to pass the comprehensive transportation funding bill we support! As Chair Hornstein had reminded our advocates, similar legislation did not make it through the House committee in 2013. This bill (HF 2395) provides substantial new funding for transit, bicycling, and walking, as well as roads and bridges, across the state. Transit for Livable Communities has pushed for specific funding for the metro: a ¾-cent increase in the regional sales tax for transit, with a first-ever dedicated percentage for bike/ped projects. We also have worked hard with allies to identify funding sources for Greater Minnesota transit and bike/ped investments.  

 

We've cleared the first hurdle. On to the Senate!  

The Senate Transportation Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the companion bill (SF 2107) on Wednesday, April 2, 3-5 PM, in Room 15 at the State Capitol. After the recent win in the House, we want to maintain momentum with a packed Senate hearing room! We will meet TLC members at 2:30 PM in the Rathskeller cafeteria (State Capitol, basement level) before the hearing begins to share signs, buttons, and a quick update. Join us for the full event or as much as you can!

Make sure your legislators get the message: it's time to invest in transportation options! (Photo credit: TLC)

Meanwhile, we encourage you to thank Chair Hornstein and the members of the House Transportation Finance committee who voted Yes: Reps. Connie Bernardy, Raymond Dehn, Ron Erhardt, Alice Hausman, Clark Johnson, Tim Mahoney, Jason Metsa, and Mike Sundin. We are grateful for their leadership on this important issue. (Click here to find their contact information.)

Please continue to urge your legislators to pass transportation funding (SF 2107/HF 2395) this session. You have an opportunity to help us make history—and secure the funding to build a transportation system that works for all Minnesotans.