MnLRT...Moving Minnesoootans Into the Next Century
The Big Picture
Why LRT for Minnesota & the Twin
Cities?
We Must Act Now
Minnesotans need to make an investment in our transportation and our future. While
Minnesota has long been recognized as a center of innovation, we have not maintained our
track record in the area of transit. Light Rail Transit (LRT) is an opportunity to invest
in a transportation system that will serve as the foundation for a strong, economically
viable metropolitan area for many years to come.
Minnesota is already far behind other states and countries that have built and expanded LRT systems to meet the transportation, economic, environmental and social needs of their residents. Today, the Twin Cities is the largest metropolitan area in the United States without rail transit.
Why build LRT?
LRT will help Minnesotans save money on transportation expenditures in the long-run,
conserve energy, preserve our environment, and revitalize the public transit system of the
Twin Cities. LRT runs on electricity and causes less air pollution than cars. Consider the
experience of Portland, Oregon, where air pollution violated federal standards 170 days of
the year until the city built a light rail line and limited downtown parking.
LRT is efficient and will, over time, reduce congestion by moving more people than either cars or buses. One 3-car LRT train can move up to 500 people, taking 350-400 cars off the road, while helping reduce congestion, air pollution and traffic delays. Furthermore, building LRT will help us maintain the stability of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. San Diego, CA, Buffalo, NY, St. Louis, MO, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to name only a few communities, credit LRT with enhancing their image. The city of Seattle, Washington just approved a $3.9 billion bonding referendum to begin construction of a comprehensive LRT and transit system for Seattle. In Portland, OR, the appeal of LRT and supportive zoning have helped attract more than $1 billion in development along the rail lines.
Can LRT Work in Minnesota?
Cities such as Portland, OR, St. Louis, MO and San Diego, CA, all with similar
population sizes and suburban population density patterns as the Twin Cities, have found
that LRT has helped reduce air pollution, alleviate congestion and decrease travel times.
LRT has proven to be reliable in all types of weather, including snow, rain and sleet. Of the major metropolitan areas that currently have LRT, several, such as Boston, MA, Buffalo, NY, and Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary, Canada, have weather similar to ours.
Do Twin Cities Residents Want LRT?
Twin Cities residents are ready for LRT today. Several polls show overwhelming public
support for Light Rail in the Twin Cities. For example a recent Star Tribune/WCCO-TV
Minnesota Poll show that 81% of residents in the metropolitan area think it is a good idea
to have light rail transit. 73% of people statewide support a LRT system for the
metropolitan area. In addition, recent public feedback on the Met Council's Twin Cities'
growth options debate again shows overwhelming support for public transportation and LRT.
Who Will Light Rail Transit Serve?
LRT will provide Twin Cities' residents with a comprehensive transit system that
serves the entire metropolitan area. Our bus systems, existing highway systems, and, in
the future, improved communter bicycle routes, will complement a newly developed LRT
network and provide better transportation service for residents travelling throughout the
Twin Cities.
LRT routes, as shown below by the proposed Twin Cities LRT service map, will serve densely populated areas, freeing additional buses to transport people to the LRT system. Available buses can then be rerouted to serve neighborhoods with limited access to public transportation.
Twin Cities LRT Routes (proposed)
Can Minnesota afford Light Rail
Transit?
Minnesota Receives $74 Million for LRT!
That's right. Minnesota annually receives $74 million in U.S. Department of Transportation
monies eligible for the design and construction of LRT. Instead, the Minnesota Department
of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Metropolitan Council (currently appointed by Arne
Carlson, Governor of Minnesota) "elect" to spend it on more and expanded
highways. This money is primarily contained in the Surface Transportation Program (STP)
and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding programs which allow for the
state to "flex" their transportation dollars to either highways or transit. Last
year Minnesota flexed a paltry $1.8 million of these funds towards transit.
Yes, Minnesota can afford LRT. While the population of the Twin Cities metropolitan area has increased by 15% in the last 10 years, the number of car trips we make daily is up 40%. The demands on our highway systems will only continue to grow. In fact, by the time the 394 extension from Minneapolis through Minnetonka was completed, 394 was at or exceding its carrying capacity.
We are running out of available land in the metropolitan area, and highway construction is extremely expensive. Minnesota annually spends around $2.1 billion of taxpayer money on road construction. In fact, road construction is expected to cost Minnesota taxpayers a total of $50 billion over the next 20 years. We cannot build or spend our way out of congestion.
1993 statistics from the American Automobile Association (AAA) show that Minnesotans pay approximately $7,000 annually to operate one full-size automobile, excluding highway and road construction costs, accident costs, and costs of lost time in traffic. This works out to 57 cents for every mile we drive.
Light Rail Transit is a practical and economical investment. Construction costs for the first Twin Cities metro LRT line can be raised with less than a one cent increase in the state's gasoline tax. Federal funding for LRT development is available. And, certainly, the Minnesota legislature should be able to use some of MnDOT's $2.1 billion outlay to invest in a sustainable transit system like LRT.
Current Light Rail Situation in Minnesota
The decision to begin development on a LRT system for the Twin Cities rests mainly in
the hands of the Minnesota State Legislature and the Governor of Minnesota, Arne Carlson.
However, by law, the Metropolitan Council, a regional government body appointed by the
Governor, is responsible for setting transportation policies for the Twin Cities Metro
Area. The Met Council then reports its recommendations to the Legislature, which, along
with the Governor, have final decisions on specific funding of projects.
The battle for better and more efficient public transportation in Minnesota, including LRT, has been a long one. In the 1950's, the Twin Cities had one of the best streetcar systems in North America. This system was systematically destroyed by a number of private organizations. Throughout the 1960's, 70's and 80's various attempts have been made to bring back real rapid public transportation to the Twin Cities, without much success.
Currently, the Met Council is making more recommendations on regional growth and transportation (the Regional Blueprint), among other items, to the Legislature. Thus far, the Met Council has been wholly unsupportive of LRT and public transportation in general. In its most recent response to public feedback on the Regional Blueprint, the Met Council stated, "The Council believes in an incremental approach to transitway implementation, beginning with busways, is the most reasonable, responsible way to enhance and re-invigorate the regional transit system at this time. Evolution of busways into rail (LRT) corridors is entirely possible, but the Council, cannot at this point, make a full-fledged commitment to rail given the realities of operational and capital funding constraints on transit. No changes (to the Blueprint) recommended."
Likewise, Governor Arne Carlson has thus far been equally as unsupportive of LRT as the Met Council. In the very near future we will report in great detail on specific support for LRT from the Governor, the Transportation Committees of the Minnesota Legislature, and key members of the Minnesota Legislature.
LRT is not and end in itself. It is a proven, economical rapid transit system, ideally suited for the Twin Cities, and is cost effective tool that can help our region become economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.
