Council updates regional transportation policies

Open houses, public hearing on updated plan scheduled

Cover of TPP

Facing constrained transportation funding and continued congestion on the region’s highways, the Metropolitan Council is proposing a new regional transportation strategy that is realistic, innovative and focused on leveraging available dollars for the most benefit, according to Council Chair Peter Bell.

The strategy is laid out in the Council’s draft revised 2030 Transportation Policy Plan, which will be the subject of six open houses in September and October and a public hearing on October 22. Public comments on the plan will be taken from Sept. 15 to Nov. 6. Adoption of the final plan is scheduled for December.

The policy plan will guide the region’s investments in highways and transit over the next four years. The plan provides strategies for investments in highways, transit and other modes to maximize the use of the region’s transportation system.

Facing funding realities

A portion of chart showing MVST revenues; link to full chart in pdf format

Motor vehicles sales tax revenues have been declining since 2002 and consistently coming in below state forecasts. The chart shows forecasts from four different years; the red line, representing the February 2008 forecast, shows actual MVST receipts through fiscal year 2008. New forecasts will be made in November this year. SEE LARGER CHART (pdf)

The lack of adequate funding to support even modest highway and transit expansion programs has been a problem in past years and remains so, despite recent changes in state transportation financing, said Arlene McCarthy, director of Metropolitan Transportation Services for the Council. Two-thirds of revenues from the state motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) are currently dedicated to transportation, and the figure will rise to 100% by FY2012. But MVST revenues have been declining since 2002, and although an upturn is forecasted for FY2010, predictions of a turnaround since 2003 have not borne out.

In addition, until the passage of the transportation funding bill by the 2008 Minnesota Legislature, the state was looking at a funding deficit just to preserve the highway facilities it already has, McCarthy said. While the bill provides new funding for both preservation and some expansion of highway bridges, it doesn’t generate the revenues that would be needed to stop the growth in traffic congestion.

The new law provides a needed infusion of funds for transitway development (like light-rail transit and bus-rapid transit) in the form of the metro area sales tax, adopted by five counties, McCarthy said. But it does not permit the use of these funds to maintain or expand the regular-route bus system, which remains the backbone of the regional transit system.

A new vision for highways

Building enough highway lanes to eliminate congestion is not financially feasible. Under the Council’s new strategy, the plan recommends investments in low-cost/high-benefit highway projects that help mitigate congestion “choke points.” Investments also will be made to expand alternatives to congestion, such as high-occupancy toll lanes and bus-only shoulder lanes.

Under the new regional transportation strategy, the region will not invest in highway projects with a primary goal of eliminating congestion – which is not financially feasible, McCarthy said. Instead, a new vision for investing in the regional highway system will be developed in 2009 that identifies techniques and projects for making the most use of existing highway capacity, pavement and right-of-way.

Broadly, the primary highway investments will strive to preserve the system and keep it safe for travel. In addition, the region will invest in low-cost/high-benefit highway projects that help mitigate congestion “choke points” and provide alternatives to congestion. These projects will be identified and assessed in a study to be conducted in 2009 by the Council, working closely with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Strategic expansion projects to optimize the transportation system will also be evaluated, McCarthy said.

Projects that provide an alternative to congestion are a key component of the regional strategy. These include:

High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes
High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes
Bus-only shoulder lanes
Priced dynamic shoulder lanes, which would be available to single-occupant vehicles at different times of the day for a fee
Other transit advantages

By implementing congestion alternatives and fully using existing through-lanes and right-of-way, the mobility of needs of the region can be largely met. Travel will not be congestion-free, but the system will perform better, McCarthy said.

Expanding the transit system

Buses will remain the backbone of the region’s transit system for decades to come.

Transit is already a major contributor to regional mobility. Ridership has grown steadily since 2003, due to several factors: the opening of Hiawatha light-rail transit (LRT), increased park-and-ride spaces and express bus service, higher fuel and parking costs, and increasing congestion. On some stretches of highway, transit carries as many as 30% to 40% of the people moving inbound during the peak morning travel hour.

In the future, the plan states, transit will take on an even bigger role in moving people in the region. The plan’s goal is to double transit ridership from 2003 levels by 2030, and if recent growth rates continue, the region is on track to meet that goal.

A network of planned transitways will allow travel that avoids congested highways, connects regional employment centers, improves the reliability of riders’ trips and boosts the potential for transit-oriented development. Transitways can be commuter rail, light-rail transit, express buses using corridors with transit advantages, and bus rapid transit (also known as BRT, which can use dedicated busways, HOV/HOT lanes, dynamic shoulder lanes, bus-only shoulders and arterial-street bus lanes). Among the transitways under construction or being planned:

Northstar Commuter Rail
Central Corridor LRT
I-35W BRT south of Minneapolis to Lakeville
Cedar Avenue BRT
Southwest Transitway between Eden Prairie and downtown Minneapolis
Bottineau Boulevard, connecting the northwestern suburbs with downtown Minneapolis

Also being studied is the Rush Line, a corridor between Forest Lake and St. Paul.

2030 transitways map; link to larger image

The map shows existing and proposed transitways for the metro region. SEE LARGER MAP

The regular-route bus system will continue to carry the majority of riders. Dial-a-ride services, car and vanpooling, bicycling and walking will also continue to be important travel modes in the region.

The plan includes a section on land-use approaches that are supportive of transportation investments. It also covers regional transportation finance, freight and goods movement, air transportation and other topics.

The plan is available online for review. Comments may be submitted by email, phone or in writing. In addition to the public hearing on Oct. 22, the Council will hold six open houses on the plan in September and October. See the schedule and ways to comment on the plan. Final adoption of the plan is scheduled for December.