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Future Dimming for House Transportation Bill
We recently wrote about the new transportation bill proposed in the House, and disagreed with the direction it contained for America's transportation future. The debate on the bill has been delayed in the House until next week, and in the meantime many others have voiced their opposition.
Smart Growth America, NRDC, Reconnecting America, and Transportation for America were among the sizable group of organizations that signed a letter opposing the bill. The environmental website Grist compiled a number of reactions to the bill, including an article in the New York Times that called the bill 'uniquely terrible.' Most notably, the White House has voiced its opposition to the bill, threatening to veto it should it make an unlikely journey through both chambers. Giving a clear and concise opinion of the executive branch's opinion was U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who called it the "the worst transportation bill I've ever seen during 35 years of public service."
There are many sticking points, including the provisions aimed at expediting approval for the Keystone XL pipeline and opening up drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps the biggest sticking point of all, however, is the proposed change in funding for public transit. Currently, transit funding has a secure position in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, which steers a small portion of the federal gas tax to transit. This makes good policy sense, due to public transit's role in congestion relief and energy efficient mobility, which is why the policy has been in place since the early 1980s.
The new transportation bill, however, proposes setting up an 'Alternative Transportation Account' and giving it a one-time infusion of $40 billion, taking away the secure funding home for transit, and leaving its future uncomfortably uncertain.
Taking away the current dedicated funding source for transit jeopardizes its position at exactly the wrong moment, and we need look no further than our own state for proof. Minnesota saw record transit ridership in 2011, and Metro Transit's Commuter Challenge was a big success too. According to Metro Transit, "customers boarded Metro Transit buses and trains nearly 81 million times in 2011 – an increase of 2.7 million rides (3.5%) over 2010." Additionally, Minnesotans who took the Commuter Challenge in 2011 tracked 195,000 trips totalling 2.45 million miles, and saving an estimated 114,000 gallons of fuel.
Transit deserves a committed and secure funding source, and both Minnesota and the nation as a whole deserve a better transportation bill than the one proposed in the House. A bipartisan bill is making its way through the Senate, so stay tuned for further analysis as it progresses.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Public Transportation Transportation Funding Federal Government
On Deregulation
Recently, Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) staff prepared an environmental assessment (EA) based on language in FAA Re-Authorization. MAC Environmental Manager, Roy Fuhrmann, reportedly said of the assessment; “…isn’t about the environment; it’s really about options for expanding MSP.”
The EA offers only two scenarios for expanding MSP, one of which is “no action.”
The first alternative is to add gates at the Humphrey Terminal, then move American, United, and other airlines there, then re-model the Lindbergh Terminal for exclusive use of the Delta Airlines hub.
The “no action” alternative is: Add gates at the Humphrey Terminal and re-model the Lindbergh Terminal for more use as the Delta Airlines hub. In this case, "no action" really means don't build more gates at Humphrey after the current capital improvements (which include two additional gates), are completed. Therefore, "no action" actually amounts to more use of MSP, including more use as the Delta Airlines hub.
Either proposal is based on the data of increasing numbers of flights. More flights will logically result in more noise. However, the Noise Oversight Committee has already determined that whichever alternative is chosen, the noise levels will be acceptable because of (projected) less-noisy aircraft and precision navigation systems. Which begs the questions: Would approval of the EA prevent airlines from flying noisier aircraft? Would approval of the EA require MSP and airlines to install, to possess, and use only aircraft equipped with precision navigation components? Will flight path changes made last year (after the near-mid-air collision of September 2010) that inundated Standish-Ericsson and adjacent neighborhoods be continued or revised? None of these concerns is addressed by the EA. Also missing from the report are the actual environmental impacts of more deicing and more taxiing, more high-pressure fuel lines and fueling stations, more runoff, and more vehicular traffic at MSP.
The public should demand more of both FAA and MAC. It is long past time for elected officials to intervene. The South Metro Airport Action Council’s observation that noise and pollution can be reduced and safety increased by simply reducing peak hour rates could be correct, and that alternative should be in any legitimate EA and improvements plan--considering the other alternatives depend upon uncertainties.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Air Travel
Save our Streams, Lakes, and Rivers use Less Road Salt
One thing we all have to admit is this mild winter has made driving and walking easier. Along with mild weather we have less compacted snow and ice on our sidewalks and roadways, and less need for road salt and de-icer. The reduced use of road salt or de-icer is a good thing. Most of us do not give much thought to road salt unless we are having trouble stopping, starting, or just steering. We give little thought to the costs associated with road salt.
- Of buying and storing.
- Of dispersing on the roads and highways
- Of cleaning up the residues in the spring
- Of damage to our vehicles and landscape.
- Of the damage to our streams, rivers and lakes.
Today, let us just consider the damage to our streams, rivers and waterways, and long term, to our water supply. The primary ingredients in our de-icers are sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, or calcium chloride. Unfortunately, chlorides are dangerous to aquatic life and even non-aquatic life. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recommends chloride levels below 230mg/liter or about one teaspoon of salt to five gallons of water.
You may wonder how the salt on our roadways and sidewalks make it into our waterways. I think we realize that it is washed down from the melting snows and spring rains. In our cities the storm sewer system that protects us from local flooding carries these contaminants into the waterways. Roughly 70% of the road salt makes it into our waterways.
Most of us realize the damage that road salt causes. We have all seen dead grass along our roads and driveways, or the rust on our vehicles. At the same time, most of have had experiences of sliding on the ice when stopping, of spinning wheels as we try to start from a stop, or just trying to walk. At this time there is no comparable replacement for road salt, so the best we can do is work to reduce the usage. Between 1999 to 2009 winter road salt usage increased in Minnesota from 200,000 tons to about 900,000 tons. That is enough to contaminate 657 billion gallons of water.
We should all be aware of the impact. At home we should remove snow as soon as possible after it falls to prevent compaction and ice from melting and freezing. Limit salt usage to no more than one pound per 1000 square feet. After the ice is gone, sweep up the remaining salt and deposit it into the garbage. At temperatures below 15 degrees, salt becomes less effective. Below zero degrees, it is useless. Instead, when it is very cold use sand on those icy spots.
We have less control over road salt usage on highways, but if we drive carefully when roads are slippery there will be less pressure to overuse road salt. Contact local governments and MnDOT and encourage salt conservation techniques such as dispersing in liquid solution. If we all make an effort, we can reduce the chloride contamination of our waterways.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Lakes & Rivers MN/DOT Roads & Highways Road Safety
Smoother Transit, Just a Click Away
In a temporarily enthusiastic effort motivated by past New Year’s Resolutions gone awry, I recently set out to create a personal budget—an overzealously organized grid displaying exactly which needs, activities, and extras I allocate my income toward.
Therein lie the usual suspects like rent, bills, and food, but the most interesting for me to configure was my transportation budget. As a public transportation user, exactly how much had I been spending on the bus?
Not all that much, it turns out.
But had I been saving?
More than I realized, it turns out.
According to the most recent “Transit Savings Report,” a monthly feature released by the American Public Transportation Association, individuals who ride public transit could save, on average, $816 dollars this month, and $9,790 annually compared to the January 10, 2012 average national gas price ($3.34 per gallon, as reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate of $155.22.
In Minneapolis that number is even higher, as analysts estimate that local transit riders can save $864 per month and $10,365 annually. Although the city ranks in the nation’s top 20 in terms of transit ridership, why is the number of transit riders relatively low given these figures, the environmental and fiscal benefits to Minnesota, and the convenience of the transportation system?
Perhaps the last benefit isn’t as clear: Convenience. To non-bus-riders, the idea of a long commute intermittently interrupted by transferring buses in the sometimes bitter cold can probably seem like the least desirable way to spend a morning. Add to this the fear of getting lost or delayed, and people are less likely to ride transit, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The DOT is working on reducing these and other information-centric barriers to busing by working to make transit information more accessible—or a hand click away, literally, through smartphones. So far only 45 of 276 national transit agencies offer information about arrival and departure times on mobile devices, and only 15 of those 45 provide real-time information, a key piece of information that the DOT believes will help Americans access the bus with confidence and ease.
“In America, we do big things. We solve problems. And if the transit community leverages the momentum we generated with last week's meeting (regarding developing apps to make real-time transit information more accessible via cell phone), I know we'll find solutions that expand transit use and get people where they're going more effectively,” states DOT.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Public Transportation Busing Technology
A New Direction for Transportation?
The law directing the nation's priorities for transportation and infrastructure expired in 2009, and instead of crafting a new one for the succeeding six years as per tradition, Congress extended the expired one continuously. On Tuesday, however, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's chair John Mica (R-FL) unveiled the "American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act" on which the committee will vote on February 2nd.
The cover art adorning the summary depicts a congested highway and a pipeline, which sets an unfriendly tone for advocates of alternative transportation and energy, and the bill's text confirms this tone. The benignly named Act would eliminate funding for the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program and the Safe Routes to School program (which provides resources to enable kids to safely walk & bicycle to school), with the argument that they are not in the national interest. Bike MN took a closer look at the Act and found a few more not-so-benign eliminations—including getting rid of bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state Departments of Transportation.
The bill's main focus is to give more autonomy to states in deciding their transportation priorities, and does so by eliminating federal funding designation requirements. In theory, this can provide more flexibility for states, but it can also provide opportunities for short-sighted ideology to take precedence over important policy—for example, funding highway expansion instead of fixing deficient bridges, as Smart Growth America points out.
We have talked about the smart policy behind a National Infrastructure Bank before, but this bill does not establish such a bank. Instead, it commits money to an existing loan program, and expands federal support for state Infrastructure Banks, which aren't currently common. The bill also aims to reduce the approval process for road projects, and points to the example Minnesota set in the speedy reconstruction of the I-35W bridge.
To Representative Mica's credit, the bill contains no earmarks, and it even gives states more power to toll Interstate and Non-Interstate Highways, though it is only new capacity on Interstate Highways that can be tolled. Tolls are an important tool for managing congestion and providing revenue for our transportation system. Notably, the bill doesn't tackle other substantial revenue issues like the gas tax.
This bill provides a familiar direction for America's transportation, in that it redirects from recent progress in alternative transportation, and instead turns priorities back to automobiles and highways. This is evidenced by its proposed elimination of nonmotorized funding, and its new limits on passenger rail, including a 25% cut to Amtrak's operating subsidy.
Improving alternative transportation and infrastructure may not be appealing for conservative ideologues, but it is most certainly in the national interest. Our fossil-fueled auto-dependence is proving harmful to our health, our environment, and our financial well-being. We need an actual new direction for transportation, not a return to the policies that created this dependence.
Photo credit: Enrico Fuente, creative commons
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Public Transportation Complete Streets Roads & Highways Transportation Funding Federal Government
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Progress on Our Doorstep: Looking Good, University Avenue
After spending a semester at graduate school in Washington, DC, I returned for the holidays to find a pleasant surprise in front of MN2020: Central Corridor light rail tracks in the ground, flanked by smoothly paved roads, attractive pedestrian-scale streetlights, and aesthetically pleasing bus stops. This stretch of University Avenue looks good, and I don't know if I ever expected to say that.
Central Corridor construction, which has served as the basis of this blog series as well as the center of many local debates, started in March of last year, and it is 36% completed, according to the project's website—which also notes that the project has over 2,300 workers. In front of MN2020's offices, however, the construction crews have moved on down the corridor, and the avenue is left in much better condition, including the newly installed audible crosswalk buttons complete with specially marked crosswalks.
University Avenue desperately needed reconstruction, and while the loss of on-street parking has inconvenienced some businesses, the additional foot traffic from light rail will more than make up for these spots—which, by the way, were constantly underused.
Current residents and current businesses on the corridor will benefit, of course, but new businesses and residents are quickly arriving. We recently wrote about the Metropolitan Council's tabs on current private development along the corridor, and noted others not included in their counts. This type of investment usually generates a positive cycle as well, with more businesses and liveliness of the avenue contributing to more of the same.
We have enumerated the mobility, environmental, and economic benefits of light rail many times at MN2020, but as the progress moves to other doorsteps, we are looking at another good reason for Central Corridor: a reconstructed, aesthetically appealing avenue. One which just so happens, mind you, to now contain multimodal infrastructure, safer crosswalks, and better lighting. Now that's progress.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Public Transportation Central Corridor
Complete Streets Strengthen Lives
For decades, street design has focused almost solely on the automobile, with sidewalks and bike lanes often a mere afterthought. This auto-centric approach, however, discriminates against the non-driving 40% of Minnesota’s population. Seniors are among those hit the hardest.
In the past ten years, over 500 pedestrians and bikers have died and 20,000 have been injured after being hit by cars in Minnesota. Many of these victims include seniors who can no longer drive, like 86-year-old Jerome Meuwissen, killed in 2008 crossing a Chaska road on the way to church.
Without safe walking options to shopping centers, museums, sporting events, and friends’ homes, many move from their neighborhoods to retirement communities, sometimes leaving the state altogether. Those that do stay put often remain house-bound, dependent on relatives or community programs for access to food and health care.
Turning in your driver’s license should not mean losing your independence. Communities must provide safe mobility options for all ages—and that means more pedestrian-friendly routes between residential, commercial, and recreational areas; zoning changes to promote mixed-use districts; main streets and historic neighborhoods' preservation; and interconnected sidewalks that accommodate citizens with disabilities.
The Complete Streets movement advocates for that very change. In fact, several Minnesotan cities and counties have already initiated policies to promote multi-use roadways that benefit bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike. Albert Lea, for instance, as part of its 2009 Vitality Project to make the entire community more healthy, increased its walkability by adding sidewalks between retirement communities and the grocery store, plowing sidewalks at the city’s expense, and requiring all new subdivisions and major street reconstructions to provide alternatives to motorized transportation.
As a result, the city saw many more elderly take to the streets. They used walking as a means of transportation and to connect with friends and neighbors; nearly 700 people in the community joined walking groups. Moreover, some seniors chose to move back to Albert Lea from their out-of-state retirement homes.
Complete Streets not only connect the elderly population to the community and enhance their safety and independence, but also significantly improve their fitness. The American Heart Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota note numerous health benefits for seniors: by encouraging physical activity, Complete Streets increase vitality, bone density, and muscle strength and decrease the risk of falling, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. As a result, many participants in the Albert Lea Vitality Project enjoyed a rise in life expectancy.
Minnesota is on the right track; legislation passed in 2010 requires Mn/DOT to implement Complete Streets for the state highway system, and last month Clay and Ottertail counties joined the 26 communities with Complete Streets policies or resolutions. However, we cannot wait to increase the safety, independence, health, and quality of life of Minnesota’s seniors. More towns need to develop local plans to improve the equity of our transportation system.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Community Safety Complete Streets Road Safety Senior Issues
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A Moving Transportation Policy
This winter hasn’t earned hearty outdoor enthusiast any bragging rights. Other than a few sub-freezing nights, the weather has been awfully pleasant by Minnesota standards, providing kinder conditions for non-motorized transportation.
Bicycling through the Twin Cities, especially in Minneapolis, you’ve probably noticed a lot more signage, like double-dotted bicycle lanes, special green lanes, even bike boxes at intersections.
What do they all mean?
As a bicyclist or motorist you could link to the City of Minneapolis’s new page dedicated to non-motorized transportation for descriptions.
In a time when conservative policy seeks to strip cities’ services to bare minimums—police, fire and little else—this bicycle program shows the need and payback for broader investment in our communities.
When public policy aims to fund at minimums, we remain average at best. As a top 20 metro area, with location working against us, Minnesota communities must work smarter and harder to maximize on our assets. Minneapolis’s approach to becoming a more bicycle-friendly city is a prime example.
Over the past two years, it’s doubled on-street bikeway miles, according to its website, improving mobility while cutting traffic congestion and pollution, and ultimately making the city more livable and attractive for people looking to relocate.
It might not have the same draw as good schools and low crime rates, but a healthy, bike-friendly city is definitely in the quality of life mix companies like to push when attracting talented workers.
While Minneapolis’s new non-motorized infrastructure is a great step forward, what highlights one of Minnesota’s best public policy attributes is the major public awareness and education campaign around these improvements. The city’s “Bicycling in Minneapolis” site isn’t just a listing of road signs. It’s full of biking maps, safety tips, links to connect with other cyclers, and other helpful information and networking opportunities.
It literally shows Minnesota moves forward, when we move together.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Minneapolis / St Paul Complete Streets Bicycles Infrastructure Road Safety
Bank Cards and Bike-Sharing
As Minnesotans continue to debate whether to restrict voting to citizens with government-issued photo identification, the lack of another kind of plastic card already denies many people access to services most of us take for granted. We're talking about credit or debit cards required for bicycle- and car-sharing programs.
A significant minority of Americans, most at the low end of the economic ladder, remain "unbanked," conducting all their financial transactions with cash or money orders. Many could benefit from short-term bicycle and auto rentals if a bank card weren't needed to track users and prevent theft. Even some young or low-income cardholders are blocked by steep security deposits that can exceed a card's limit.
This is particularly vexing for the bicycle-sharing programs springing up across the country, often with public subsidies that should come with a guarantee of equal access. Nice Ride Minnesota, the first modern bike-share network in a major U.S. city, is aware of the problem and looking for solutions, especially since its 2011 expansion into low-income neighborhoods like north Minneapolis and St. Paul's Frogtown.
"The electronic financial access issue is much bigger than bike share and becoming more important with every technological advance," noted Bill Dossett, Nice Ride's executive director.
He said Nice Ride has consulted with Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., over "Bank on DC," a pioneering collaboration with a bank and a credit union that offers no-fee accounts along with discounted bicycle-rental membership. In San Francisco and Ithaca, N.Y., car-sharing programs have partnered with credit unions to promote access to both autos and financial services.
"We do not yet have a similar organization here," said Dossett. "Nice Ride is definitely supportive of efforts to create one ... We do expect to continue collaborating with partners in north Minneapolis, Phillips, Cedar-Riverside and Frogtown for years to come to introduce people to active transportation, often one new rider at a time."
Regular biking can reduce high rates of obesity and heart disease in low-income areas, he added. Here's hoping we can find a way to marry the health and mobility benefits of bicycle-sharing with increased connections to the broad financial network.
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Public Transportation Transportation Funding Bicycles Personal Finance Poverty
Union Depot: Where the Action Is
Retail stores count on steady foot traffic to keep the cash registers ka-chinging. Now there's a unique opportunity to set up shop in a St. Paul travel hub expected to draw at least 4 million annual potential customers in the coming years.
The Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority is looking for a private partner to lease, develop and operate a bicycle sales, service and secure storage center at the restored Union Depot when it opens in early 2013. Deadlines for response to the authority's request for proposals are approaching, beginning with a conference and site tour on January 10. Proposals are due by February 21.
Plans call for a 3,300-square foot ground-level bike center fronting on Sibley Street with lockers, restrooms, showers and possibly bicycle rentals and food-beverage offerings. A million annual travelers are projected to pass through the depot by 2014, when the Central Corridor light rail line begins operations. Traffic will grow further over the following decade with intercity and local buses, Amtrak trains and commuter rail lines converging on the historic depot, which is undergoing a $243 million renovation.
A separate request for proposal seeks a day-to-day property manager for the entire 290,000-square foot Lowertown landmark.
"This beautiful station surrounded by homes, offices, eating and shopping will build upon the vibrant arts and cultural programming that already blossoms in the neighborhood," said Jim McDonough, the rail authority chairman. "Public-private partnerships will help us achieve our vision of making the Union Depot one of America's great public buildings and transit hubs for the 21st century."
Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Bicycles Central Corridor
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