Metropolitan Council 2008 Annual Report Appendices
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Metropolitan Council Growing greener Annual Report 2008 1 table of Contents 3 ONE REGION GROWING GREENER 4 MORE COMMUTERS CHOOSE TRANSIT 8 WASTEWATER PLANTS CUT ENERGY USE 12 GREEN SPACES FOR RECREATION 16 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATES ARRIVE FOR REVIEW 18 COUNCIL HELPS MEET HOUSING NEEDS 20 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL MEMBERS 22 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL 2008 BUDGET Council Mission The mission of the Metropolitan Council is to develop, in cooperation with local communities, a comprehensive regional planning framework, focusing on transportation, wastewater, parks and aviation systems, that guides the effi cient growth of the metropolitan area. The Council operates transit and wastewater services, and administers housing and other grant programs. www.metrocouncil.org for regional information www.metrotransit.org for transit, rideshare, and employer program information 2 Contact Information One region, growing greener General Offi ces – Regional Administration 651-602-1000 Greenhouse gases, impaired waters, threats to vital natural areas – our region, state and nation TTY 651-291-0904 face many environmental challenges. At the Metropolitan Council, we are doing our best to Chair and Regional Administrator’s Offi ces address these challenges and safeguard our environment. 651-602-1390 Fax 651-602-1358 These eff orts include: Environmental Services • Adding 168 hybrid electric buses to Metro Transit’s fl eet by 2014 and using biodiesel fuel to 651-602-1005 power all of our standard buses. Metro Transit 612-349-7400 • Cutting the amount of phosphorus in our treated wastewater by more than half and pursuing aggressive eff orts to conserve energy in our treatment system. Metro Mobility Service Center 651-602-1111 • Conducting research with the University of Minnesota into the feasibility of growing algae TTY 651-221-9886 in wastewater to create a new, renewable fuel. Customer information for transit services for certifi ed riders with disabilities • Using our Livable Communities grants to fund projects that reclaim contaminated lands and promote transit-supportive developments – many of which have “green” features. Transit Information Center 612-373-3333 • Encouraging communities to integrate the protection of vital natural areas into every land-use decision. Metro Transit Rideshare 612-373-3333, Option 4 Commuting options, employer trip-planning and These and other eff orts aimed at “Growing Greener” are highlighted in our 2008 Annual Report. travel-demand management However, nothing we do will be more important than continuing to expand transit ridership and ride-sharing. Since I became chair of the Council in 2003, we have grown Metro Transit ridership by Metro HRA about 18% and increased the number of park-and-ride spaces in this region by more than 50%. 651-602-1428 Housing Choice vouchers for low-income families and individuals The benefi t for our environment? The average Twin Cities commuter who drives alone to work puts 2.6 tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year. Sharing a ride – even a few times a Regional Data Center week – can make a ton of diff erence! 651-602-1140 Maps, CD-ROMs, reports and publications Email: [email protected] Public Comment Line 651-602-1500 Peter Bell 24-hour voice mail for comments, ideas, suggestions Chair Metropolitan Council 390 North Robert Street St. Paul, MN 55101 3 More commuters choose transit When it comes to commuting, few alternatives are greener than transit – Growing especially with the leadership of Metro Transit in using alternative fuels and a growing fl eet of hybrid-electric buses and low-emission diesel buses. And greener with roller coaster gas prices and the frustrations of traffi c congestion, the number of people who chose bus and rail transit in 2008 put ridership on pace to reach its highest level in 27 years. AAG GREEN COMMUTE JILL HAMILTON COMMUTES TWO MILES FROM HOME Several major regional transit improvements made signifi cant progress in 2008: TO HER WORKPLACE IN DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS • Northstar commuter rail BY BICYCLE EACH DAY THROUGH THREE SEASONS. • Central Corridor light-rail transit (LRT) (A RECENT TRANSPLANT FROM OHIO, SHE’S NOT • Bus rapid transit (BRT) on Cedar Avenue and I-35W PROMISING TO BIKE IN HEAVY SNOW.) “I LIVE SO CLOSE • Southwest LRT and potential LRT or BRT in the Bottineau Corridor TO DOWNTOWN IT’S INEXCUSABLE FOR ME NOT TO WALK OR BIKE OR BUS,” SHE SAID. “AND WHEN IT’S TIME TO GO HOME, BIKING IS THE FASTEST OPTION.” TThe Minnesota Legislature approved a ttransportation funding package that allows BICYCLING IN MINNEAPOLIS GREW FROM 2.5% OF ALL ffor a quarter-cent metro area sales tax to help COMMUTING TRIPS IN 2006 TO 3.8% IN 2007. ffund transitway capital and operating costs. FFive counties voted to approve the sales tax. TThe Council works in partnership with the nnewly created County Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), which is responsible for allocating revenues from the tax. The increased resources make the future success of regional rail and bus transitways more secure. 4 Northstar service will open in 2009 The fi rst of fi ve locomotives for the region’s fi rst commuter-rail line, Northstar, was delivered in October, and construction of facilities for the line made substantial progress. The 40-mile line runs from downtown Minneapolis northwest to Big Lake. Construction on four suburban stations – Big Lake, Elk River, Anoka and Coon Rapids – was mostly complete at the end of the year, and good progress was being made at the Minneapolis station where Northstar will meet Hiawatha LRT at the new Twins ballpark. Site preparation was also under way for an additional station in Fridley, made possible by funding from the CTIB. Northstar service is expected to begin in late 2009. In 2010, its fi rst full year of operation, weekday ridership is estimated to be 4,100 trips. The total cost to build the project is $317 million. Central Corridor LRT takes big step After 19 months of intensive preliminary engineering Gov. Pawlenty and the Legislature approved $70 million for the and community outreach, the Metropolitan Council project in the 2008 bonding bill. The current timeline calls for submitted its application to the Federal Transit construction to begin in 2010, with service opening in 2014. Projected Administration in September for approval to enter weekday ridership in 2030 is 42,000. fi nal design on Central Corridor LRT. Two other transitways – Bottineau and Southwest – also made notable The 11-mile line, projected to cost $915 million, will run between downtown St. Paul progress in 2008. Hennepin County initiated a detailed alternatives and downtown Minneapolis on University and Washington avenues, through the analysis to determine if investing in LRT or BRT is feasible in the University of Minnesota campus. The project includes 15 new stations and 5 shared Bottineau Corridor, which runs northwest from Minneapolis parallel to stations with Hiawatha LRT. County Road 81. The County also produced a scoping document and began compiling a draft environmental impact statement for three primary LRT alternatives in the Southwest Corridor, which runs from Eden Prairie northeast into Minneapolis. 5 Transit ridership keeps climbing In the fi rst 11 months of 2008, Metro Transit provided 75 million rides, a 6.4% jump from the same period in 2007. Regional transit ridership overall – including suburban providers, contract routes and other services – was 87.7 million rides, an increase of 6.3%. Metro Mobility and its four contracted county providers were on pace to provide nearly 1.4 million rides to people certifi ed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The services maintained an on-time performance rate of 97%. Financial outlook is mixed for transit ToT help cope with rising fuel prices, the Council approved a general 225-cent fare increase for bus and rail service eff ective Oct. 1 – the third iincrease in just over fi ve years. HHowever, another major source of revenue for regional transit operations – the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) – has collapsed since 2002, when ffunding for transit operations switched from the property tax to MVST. WWhile a voter-approved Constitutional amendment gives a greater sshare of MVST revenues to transit (27.75% in fi scal year 2009, compared wwith 20.5% in FY03), regional transit’s actual MVST revenues in FY09 are projected at $112.5 million, down from $124.1 million in FY03. Meanwhile, ridership has grown 25%, about 19 million rides annually. In addition, the new quarter-cent sales tax revenues allocated by the CTIB cannot be used for regular bus operations, which currently constitute about 87% of regional ridership. As of December 2008, the regional transit system was facing a projected budget shortfall of $72 million through the 2010-11 biennium to maintain existing service and fund committed service expansions, such as startup of Northstar commuter rail. 6 Urban Partnership will bring major transit improvements A $133 million federal Urban Partnership Looking ahead to 2030 Agreement (UPA) grant – combined with a $50 million state match – is accelerating progress on both Cedar Avenue and I-35W In 2008, the Metropolitan Council drafted an update of its BRT, and on improvements in downtown 2030 Transportation Policy Plan. The plan is realistic, Minneapolis to make riding the bus much innovative and focused on leveraging available dollars for quicker and more convenient. the most benefi t. It provides strategies for investments in highways, transit and other modes to maximize the use of the region’s transportation system. Storefront-to-storefront reconstruction of Marquette and Second Avenues in downtown Minneapolis, including double bus lanes and new bus shelters, began in September. In addition to bridge and Other UPA-funded improvements under way or scheduled for 2009-10: roadway repair, highway • Three BRT stations with park-and-rides on Cedar Avenue and a special bus turn lane at resources Hwy.