HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 04-21 Ten suburban mayors: A growing prosperous Twin Cities area needs transit STAR TRIBUNE �StarTribune
Ten suburban mayors:A growing,
prosperous Twin Cities area needs transit
Article by:Multiple authors
April 21,2015-8:51 AM
Editor's note:This commentary was signed by 10 mayors of Twin Cities-area suburbs.They are listed below.
As suburban mayors,we aspire to see our ciiies thrive.We know that hard work and careful investment are essential to
realizing those goals.
Through a challenging recession,public and private partnerships began to help our region prosper.Thanks to comprehensive
planning and to the success of individual Minnesotans,our metropolitan area came roaring out of the Great Recession and is
now touted as having one of the most successful regional economies in the country.
As our economy improves,our population continues to expand.By 2040,our state is projected to add more than 1 million
residents,with 600,000 of those new arnvals living in the metro area.To accommodate this growth and reach our full
potential,we need to make smart public investments to ensure continued private-sector success.We must invest in a first-
rate education system,in research and development to help companies succeed and,just as important,in a worid-class
transportation system.
Effective transit operations in the metro area are critical to the state's economic success.Transit moves our metro workforce;
at present,nearly 40 percent of people who work in downtown Minneapolis or St.Paul depend on it to get to work.The
number of people using transit is growing;between 2000 and 201Q transit trips increased by 25 percent as a percentage of
all trips in the Twin Cities region,and use of park-and-nde facilities grew by more than 6 percent from 2012 to 2013 alone.
This trend is expected to continue,and by 2040 we expect that our transit system will need to provide approximately 180
million rides per year to keep up with demand.
Transit is important to employees,but it is equally important to the businesses that employ them and to the communities in
which they live and work.Growing businesses in suburban communities have an increasing need to access a workforce
beyond the borders of their cities,and transit provides a way to bring more employees into the suburbs without substantialiy
increasing road traffc.Transit is critical to ensuring that suburban communities are viable locations for attracting economic
development and to providing employment opportunities for job-seekers across the region.
Transit does not just move our workforce;it moves goods,services and people more efficienpy.While transit carnes 20 to 35
percent of the people traveling on local roads,it represents only 1 ro 5 percent of the vehicles using our roadways.Transit
reduces congestion and allows workers ro get to work on time,regardiess of their chosen mode.
Right now,two very different transportation plans are being considered at the Legislature.Gov.Mark Dayton and the Senate
have proposed similar plans that would invest$6 billion over the next 10 years in 2,200 miles of roads and more than 400
bndges statewide.That investment would aiso create 20 new dedicated rapid-trensit ways,which would increase ridership by
80 percent.This transportation bitl anticipates appropriately the needs of our system caused by future population growth.
In contrast,the House proposal addresses some of the need for investment in roads and bridges,but its funding ideas fall
short of the levels needed for transiL Under this proposal,metro-area transit operations would be cut by 25 percent in the
next fve years,and new transit development would be nearly impossible,at the same time our population is growing.
If we choose to make smart investments in transit,the retum could be economically staggering.Transit has shown that it can
yield economic benefits;more than 15,000 housing units have been built along the Blue Line since 2004,and more than$2.8
billion in development has been generated along the Green Line between Minneapolis and SL Paul.
We have a chance this year to invest in a transportation infrastructure that would propel us into a prosperous economic
future.In order to do this,we need a comprehensive strategy that emphasizes all modes of transportation,including transit.If
we do this nght,transportation investments now will help set the stage for prosperity in Minnesota for years to come.
This article was signed by the following mayors:Jim Hovland of Edina Nora Slawik of Maplewood,Nancy Tyra-Lukens of
Eden Prairie,Terry Schneide�of Minnetonka,Scott Lund of Fridley,Sandy Marfin of Shoreview,Brad Tabke of Shakopee,
Debbie Goettel of Richfield,Mike Maguire o/Eagan and Gene Winstead of Bloomington.
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