The trial run of the area’s first on-street protected bike lane is coming to an end this weekend, the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council reported this week.
Source: Bike lane demo closes Sunday on Duluth’s Michigan Street | Duluth News Tribune
Almost $10 million of federal funding is being programmed for Duluth area transportation projects in 2019, and you have the opportunity to review and comment.
The programmed projects include:
Additional project details are described in a post from March 5th, when they were first proposed. As noted in that post, because federal funding is public money, the public has the right for their comments to be recorded and reported on these projects.
The MIC will be taking official public comment on all projects included in the 2016-2019 Duluth Area TIP – from July 12 to August 13th.
You may leave your comments in the section at the end of this blog post, and you are welcome to stop by the ARDC offices and speak with MIC staff directly during a couple of “Open House” days from 9am to 5pm on Thursday, August 12th and Friday, August 13th.
Look the projects over – do you have anything to say about them?<br></br>
The Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC) is updating its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) to provide policy guidance, goals and strategies for jurisdictions within the greater metropolitan area of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. It covers a twenty-five year planning horizon and is updated every four years.
The over-arching purpose of the LRTP is to provide a planning foundation for jurisdictions to work cooperatively to provide a well-maintained, integrated, accessible and multi-modal transportation system to safely and efficiently move people and freight for the next 25 years, within the constraints of funding the region can reasonably expect to receive.
The heart of the Plan is a listing of proposed federally-funded transportation projects, as well as transportation initiatives underway within the region, to be implemented from 2015-2040. You can view an interactive map of the projects here.
To learn more about demographic trends for this area, projections, transportation priorities and planned projects, you have three opportunities for input:
1. Attend a Public Meeting
Thurs. Sept 11, 2014
5:00-7:00pm
Community Action Duluth, 2424 W 5th Street, Duluth, MN 55806
Thurs. Sept 18, 2014
4:00-6:00pm
Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI 54880
Thurs. Sept 25, 2014
4:00-6:00pm
Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC)
221 W First Street, Duluth, MN 55802
Mon. Sept 29, 2014
4:00-7:00pm (drop-in)
214 West Superior Street
221 W First Street, Duluth, MN 55802
2. Visit our Connections 2040 web page at www.dsmic.org/lrtp for more information about the plan and to view the interactive map of proposed projects. You can use the “layers” tab in the upper right corner to toggle on and off views of information about environmentally sensitive areas, low-income and minority populations, etc.
3. Contact MIC Senior Planner James Gittemeier by phone at (218) 529-7556 or by email at jgittemeier@ardc.org.
An average of $86 million in federal transportation dollars is spent on transportation projects throughout the northeast region of Minnesota. 
How that money is allocated
These funds are allocated according to a federal formula and managed by the state. Most of this money (about $78 million) goes to MnDOT and is used to maintain the freeways, state highways and bridges in the region. Approximately $5 million goes towards county highways, local streets, and transit in the,the MIC area. A small allocation is also made for non-roadway projects, such as paved trails, through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
Separate processes are conducted for the Duluth metro and the rest of the Arrowhead region. The MIC administers the urban-area share of the funds and the Northeast Minnesota Area Transportation Partnership (NE MN ATP) is responsible for administering the rest.
Both the MIC and the NE MN ATP solicit, evaluate and select the specific roadway, transit and trail projects that will utilize the funds in those areas. These processes have been underway since the start of the year.
Programming those funds in the TIP
As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this area, we are now finalizing the roster of all transportation projects slated to receive federal funding in the MIC area for the next four years.
This list is called the “TIP” (Transportation Improvement Program) and it must include all federally-funded transportation projects in the Duluth metro for the coming four years. As projects in the current year get built, we add new ones to the outer year. This time around, the outer year is 2018.
MIC Projects
It is our job to work with local communities to determine how our (increasingly scarce share of) federal transportation dollars are spent.
In a selection process that began in January, we solicited applications from local jurisdictions. These potential projects were then published for public comment, evaluated and prioritized by the MIC’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and recommended by the MIC Policy Board, submitted for consideration to the NE MN ATP, and, in June, approved for inclusion in the draft version of the Duluth Area TIP 2015-2018.
The following Duluth-area projects are being proposed for 2018 funding by the MIC:
Decker Road Preservation
Resurfacing of Decker Road from Piedmont Avenue to Mall Drive. Repairs to storm water, curb and gutter and sidewalk systems. ADA improvements and bike lanes/shoulders.
Jurisdiction: City of Duluth
Project Cost: $1,412,500
Federal funds: $ 900,000
Local funds: $ 512,500
Highway Ramp Reconstruction
Reconstruct US Hwy 2 / I-35 southbound freeway ramps
Jurisdiction: MnDOT
Project Cost: $495,670
Federal funds: $383,720
State funds: $ 95,930
Regular Route Bus Purchase
Purchase of three regular route vehicles to maintain existing fleet to safety, comfort, and efficiency standards.
Jurisdiction: Duluth Transit Authority
Bus Purchase Cost: $ 435,000
Federal funds: $ 250,000
Local funds $ 185,000
TAP Projects
In addition, the following Transportation Alternatives Program projects within the MIC have been forwarded for inclusion in the 2017 TIP projects list by the NE MN ATP:
Construct 2 miles of sidewalk along Rice Lake Road
From Central Entrance to Arrowhead Road
Jurisdiction: St. Louis County
Project Cost: $400,000
Federal funds: $320,000
Local funds: $ 80,000
Construct paved Lakewalk connection
Construct shared use path (Lakewalk) along Water St between 20th Ave East and 23rd Ave East
Jurisdiction: City of Duluth
Project Cost: $231,809
Federal funds: $185,447
Local funds: $ 46,362
We want to know what you think!
Transportation projects are public facilities and services funded with taxpayer dollars. Do you have any opinions about the importance of these proposed projects to our area?
Since they have been chosen for funding in 2018, is there anything you have to say about these specific projects?
Read the draft document
You can learn more details about these projects, as well as those lined up for years 2015, 2016 and 2017 from the draft TIP document, which is open for public comment from now until July 31.
Talk to us in person
Contact Senior Planner Robert Herling by phone at (218) 529-7573 or by email (INSERT EMAIL LINK), or…
Attend an Open House
You are invited to stop by in person to talk with us:
Wed, July 2, 7:00am – 1:00pm
Holiday Center (2nd floor skywalk level), 207 West Superior Street in downtown Duluth
Thurs, July 10, 8:00am – 5:00pm
MIC Office, 2nd floor skywalk level of the ARDC building, 221 W. First Street, Duluth.
Leave a comment at the end of this post
As we let you know on OpenMIC every year…there are three ways to have your say.
Public comments are being taken through Thursday, July 31, 2014.
We say it on OpenMIC every year…
“As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this area, it is our job to work with local communities to determine how the federal transportation dollars that come to our area get spent.”
We are now finalizing the roster of local transportation projects that are slated to receive federal funding. This list is called the “TIP” (Transportation Improvement Program) and it lines up projects for the coming four years. As projects in the current year get built, we add new ones to the outer year.
This time around, the outer year is 2017, and these projects are the projects we’re adding:
As you can see –due in large part to a decrease in the federal funds now available–only two roadway improvement projects and a few new buses to the DTA’s special-needs STRIDE fleet can be programmed for 2017.
These projects were evaluated and prioritized by the MIC’s Transportation Advisory Committee and recommended by the MIC Policy Board.
These decisions, however, also need to consider the public’s input, so we are asking you: are these the three projects you would have funded? Since they have been chosen for inclusion in the TIP, is there anything you might have to say about these specific projects?
You can learn more details about these projects, as well as those lined up for years 2014, 2015, and 2016 from the draft TIP document, which is available for public review from now until August 21st .
Or, you can ask us questions directly by calling (218-529-7573). You are also invited to stop by our office during one of the TIP open houses scheduled for 7am-5pm on Thursday, July 18th and Friday, July 19th. The place: 221 W First St., downtown Duluth, second floor.
Or, you can leave a comment at the end of this post. As we let you know on OpenMIC every year…
This plan identifies issues and makes recommendations to improve safety and connectivity for all modes of transportation in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota.
Complete document (75 MB)
Executive Summary (95 kb)
Document is presented here in sections (to reduce PDF size):
Part 1 (10 MB / 22 pp)
Summary / Table of Contents /
Introduction / Stakeholder Involvement
Part 2 (19 MB / 38 pp)
Land Uses / Demographics /
Growth Scenarios / Road Network
Part 3 (22 MB / 27 pp)
Freight Network / Transit System
Part 4 / (10 MB / 32 pp)
Active Transportation–Bicyclists and Pedestrians /
Multimodal Integration / Safety
Part 5 (18 MB / 29 pp)
Recommendations and Appendix
As the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for this area, it’s our job to work with local jurisdictions to identify, plan for and program how federal
transportation funds get used in the region. We’re already working to line up funding for construction projects that won’t begin until 2017.
Those funds, not surprisingly, have become a lot more scarce.
Last year, as part of developing the TIP, (Transportation Improvement Program), a document that allows Duluth Area communities to use federal transportation dollars, we were talking about divvying up about $7.5 million in federal highway transportation funds for local roadway projects throughout Northeast Minnesota.
This year, the funding allocation for the same area is about $5 million. Of that amount, $2.1 will go for projects to improve roads and transit services throughout Duluth, Hermantown and Proctor.
So, working within the “new normal” of funding restraints, it’s more important than ever to decide on projects that will fix critical maintenance needs. (Not to mention, new construction is pretty much off the table). These federal dollars do have strings attached: they need to be spent on projects that will meet performance goals, i.e., to improve safety and traffic flow, in measurable ways.
Every year, jurisdictions in the Duluth metro (the Cities of Duluth and Hermantown as well as St. Louis County) tell us which projects they’d like to use federal funds for and we work with our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Policy Board to decide which ones are the most important.
Transportation projects are public facilities and services funded with taxpayer dollars, and therefore local citizens have a right to weigh in on such decisions, along with the planners, engineers and elected officials.
This year, the following transportation projects are being proposed by the City of Duluth, St. Louis County and the Duluth Transit Authority for our area:
Talk to Us – Online, In Person or by Phone:
Although it’s only March 2013, NOW is the time to give us your input on these proposed projects before funding decisions are made for 2017.
This past week, after our first snowfall of the season, it’s been easy to spot the routes that people take when they travel on foot. 
Previously-invisible pedestrian pathways are revealed as the snow is packed down underfoot. Some are traversed only lightly while others are obviously heavily used. Some are tough going while others are (comparatively) easy to negotiate on foot.
The Lincoln Park Pedestrian Plan, one of our recent planning efforts, was dedicated to discovering that same information — what routes people (especially school-aged children) take as they make their way through the neighborhood and how “walkable” those pathways are.
During a walkability audit in the summer of 2011, an overgrown segment of Devonshire Street was identified as a significant barrier between the new Lincoln Park Middle School and the adjacent neighborhood. (Check out the “before” picture, below, which shows James Gittemeier, a Senior Planner with the MIC, pointing out where a new trail could be built).
Community Trail Project
Two weeks ago (aided by a fortunate fair-weather interlude), students and community members worked to bridge that gap by building a new trail connection to the school. By clearing brush, digging up roots and rocks and placing gravel, they created a footpath that links the existing sidewalks along Devonshire Street.
The result is a direct route between the school and the eastern section of the adjacent neighborhood as well as a pathway with a more gradual slope in a neighborhood perched on one of Duluth’s steepest hillsides. (In the “after” picture, at top of the page, you can see how there’s now a trail there, and that it’s being used even in the winter).
Community Planning Partners
The finished project may look like a simple little trail, but it’s a great example of how the MIC can leverage the resources and missions of mul
tiple community partners to achieve mutual goals.
The MIC, as the MPO for Duluth and Superior, has a primary, long-term goal of developing a safe, integrated, multimodal transportation network for this region.
Project partners in this effort, the Healthy Duluth Area Coalition, the St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) have a primary, long-term goal of encouraging active lifestyles for our kids.
The City of Duluth, through its Comprehensive Plan and Parks and Trails initiatives, has a primary, long-term goal of strengthening neighborhoods by creating and maintaining connectivity through its sidewalks, bikeways and trails.
Safe Routes to School Planning
The Devonshire trail was a small, manageable project that began with conversations the MIC has had within the neighborhood and accomplished with the help of community volunteers of all ages.
We are now undertaking a new planning Safe Routes to School initiative to build on this work and this neighborhood enthusiasm.
Stay tuned for more information as we work to involve the community in what we hope will be another successful “before” and “after” planning effort.
What is the MIC, Anyway, and What Do They Do?
Have you ever wondered how great trails such as the Lakewalk come about or what goes in to planning the major road construction projects you see around town? Well, this summer I gained some insight into this process through my internship with the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council, or the MIC.
With one year remaining in my Environment and Sustainability program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, I was able to gain valuable experience in the professional world of transportation and land use planning.
What I have gained most in my time at the MIC is a greater appreciation for the intricacies of the transportation network and a motivation for creating healthier and more sustainable ways for the people of the Twin Ports to move about their city.
The folks at the MIC come to work each day with the goal of making the transportation system in the Twin Ports as friendly as possible for all of its users. They have the tough task of creating a network that balances the needs of all types of commuters, and connects our citizens in the most safe, efficient and sustainable ways possible.
The MIC also provided me with a good avenue to express my sustainable development concerns and promote alternative transportation options.
The summer months offer prime conditions for focusing on bicycle behavior and infrastructure. I assisted the MIC in conducting the first-ever count of bicycles and pedestrians in the East Hillside neighborhood, hosting a Bikeable Community Workshop, and finding ways to accommodate bicyclists in the new DTA Multimodal Transportation Center.
As I head back to school this fall and leave the MIC in a formal sense, I look forward to continuing to work on these same issues in the academic realm. I also am excited to see these projects come to fruition, particularly the upcoming bike/ped count this September and the development of the Multimodal Transportation Center.
Perhaps what I’ll miss most is my bicycle commute to the office by way of the Lakewalk each day as my destination is up the hill to campus now. But I’ll still be out there plenty, and looking forward to the future completion of the Cross City Trail, as well as the other great projects the folks at the MIC are tackling.
Last Tuesday night we presented information and took questions at a public meeting about our Central Entrance Transportation Plan. It was raining hard when the meeting wrapped up around 7 pm.
And it kept raining hard all night long.
By Wednesday morning, the City of Duluth had declared a state of emergency, due to the torrential downpour that caused widespread flooding and heavy damage to infrastructure. The cities of Superior, Hermantown and Proctor, all within the MIC’s planning area, followed suit shortly thereafter.
We received some good comments and questions at the Central Entrance meeting, which we had planned to address in this week’s blog.
But the transportation issues and priorities for this community have dramatically changed – literally overnight.
All of the area’s jurisdictions are currently in assessment mode and the extent of the damage is still being tallied. While the concerns expressed at the meeting, about traffic calming, walkability and access management, are all still valid—right now public safety and damage control initiatives take precedence.
The MIC has conducted numerous planning efforts up to this point, which may or may not be relevant to the damaged infrastructure.
We will be revisiting the recommendations from many of our past plans and studies to prepare for the coordinated work of rebuilding our transportation system for the enhancement of our communities.
Photos: Robert Herling and James Gittemeier
Editorial assistance: Robert Herling
As cities across the U.S. are battling it out for the distinction of “Most Bike-Friendly,” does Duluth stand a chance of being included some day in the Top-50 list?
You might think that our long winters and steep hills would prevent this. But think again: two of the top-ranked cities, Portland, Oregon (back to #1 this year) and Minneapolis (dropped to #2) are neither sunny nor warm places for much of the year-Portland is rainy , cool and hilly and we know all about the cold and snowy winters of Minnesota.
Consider also that two other cities – Boulder, Colorado (#3), which is comparable to Duluth in its total population and San Francisco, California (#8) – feature many or more of the same topographical obstacles we face here.
So what does it take to get on this list?
In addition to having a significant interest in cycling on the part of its residents, a city needs to be willing to be proactive and try new things.
In some ways Duluth has operated this way, to promote bicycling as a transportation option. For example,
These are highly visible bike-friendly amenities. However, what is missing is just as noticeable:
But we also have some opportunities in our near future for the Twin Ports community to be proactive in a couple of upcoming projects:
So, what do you think? What’s your experience with biking in Duluth? Do we have the commitment that’s necessary to bring our city up to the level of one of America’s most bike-friendly cities? What do you see as opportunities—or opportunities lost—for improving biking here?
Steep hills and long cold winters are a fact of life here in Duluth, MN – and pose a significant barrier to commuting by bike in this town.
But there’s also the Lakewalk and its planned extension across the length of the City, providing a safe and scenic off-street route; signed onstreet bike routes; a few miles of dedicated bike lanes; and ways to make it up that hill.
Not to mention, it’s summer. The cyclists are out in force and several of them stopped by our Lake Avenue bike station on Bike to Work day a couple of weeks ago.
As you’ll see from our video interviews, they come from every part of the city, feel that the advantages of biking far outweigh the disadvantages, and generally find biking to work a very viable option.
Check it out – and perhaps be persuaded that any day can be Bike to Work day.
Yup. Summer is finally once again upon us, and in the world of transportation planning that means two things: heeere comes construction season… and that “TIP” thing where we line up projects for the next four construction seasons.
TIP stands for Transportation Improvement Program. It’s an annually-updated document that allows Duluth Area communities to apply federal transportation funds to specific transportation projects.
For those of you who are policy-people or transportation wonks, the TIP document describes all the policies and processes involved.
But for those of you who are just interested in what local and regional projects are being planned for 2013 through 2016 (the big ones that use federal funds), they’re summarized by year in the project tables starting on page 8 of the draft TIP document.
But here’s just a few that might interest you:
And if anything prompts you to ask questions, or causes a desire to comment, please do!
Tuesday, May 29th will be the start of an official public comment period that will last until Wednesday, June 27th. The Duluth-Superior MIC encourages anyone interested in providing their input on the TIP or its projects to comment here or to contact us.
The MIC also plans to hold two “TIP Open House” hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 28th and Friday, June 29th. This is a great opportunity to come visit us, look over some maps, and talk to staff in person about transportation projects in the area.
Normally, every five or six years our elected representatives in D.C. put aside their political differences to reauthorize the nation’s transportation program — including the fuel tax, for construction of roads, bridges, transit and bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and safety programs.
This is because our economy relies on transportation, and bridges and highways are not Republican or Democrat. Everybody needs them.
The process has broken down
On March 30, Congress managed to avoid a shutdown of the nation’s transportation system by passing an eleventh hour extension of the current SAFETEA-LU legislation. This means that thousands of highway and infrastructure projects, here and across the nation, won’t stall out this construction season. Until June 30th, anyway.
Funding our transportation infrastructure via nine “temporary” extensions – one stopgap measure after another, since the original SAFETEA-LU expired in September 2009- is not the way to move forward. The process has broken down.
The reason is simple: money
The major problem is the growing inadequacy of the federal gas tax, which hasn’t been raised since 1993. Not only are we attempting to build 21st-century infrastructure with 20th-century dollars, but also, as cars become more efficient, people need less fuel and pay less into the Highway Trust Fund.
With Congress bitterly divided, lawmakers can’t agree on where the additional funding should come from, although a number of ideas are being floated.
Legislative stalemate
For the past several months, the House attempted to gain enough support to pass a 5-year, $260 billion bill (the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act) that has new revenue incorporated into it via leasing and production fees from new oil-drilling rights on federal lands and coastal waters. This funding mechanism, although favored by nearly two-thirds of Americans (according to a poll by the United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection), failed to gain bipartisan support.
Another provision of the bill, which would have terminated guaranteed funding for public transit, failed to gain even Republican support in the House and as a result, the bill was doomed from the start.
The Senate alternative (MAP-21), a two-year program with a price tag of $109 billion — had bipartisan support but was not taken up by the House and is unlikely to move forward even though the clock is again ticking.
Reforms to control spending
And before asking taxpayers to pay more for roads, rail, bridges, and infrastructure, we must ensure existing funds are not wasted. Both bills include significant reforms to control federal highway spending.
Both of the Senate and House bills include provisions to make the project delivery process more efficient and both consolidate existing transportation programs by nearly two-thirds.
And many lawmakers rightly argue that states should be given more flexibility in how they can find creative ways to use federal dollars. Congress should give more encouragement to innovative approaches, including public-private partnerships that leverage private investment with public dollars.
Gas taxes or user fees are not on the table – but need to be
In the current political climate, no one in Washington is going to suggest an increase in the gas tax. Yet more revenue from that source – or from a mileage-based user fee – is an essential part of a solution.
Every transportation policymaker understands the potential long-term solutions to these near-term problems, but few are willing to push them forward because they involve difficult choices about how to raise more money for federal transportation programs.
Election-year politics
“We’ve just been caught up partially in election-year politics and partially in this whole battle that seems to trump and override our issue, which is the budget battle,” said Pete Ruane, president and CEO of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. “That’s going to be part of this debate every single time until they finally make some tough decisions about how to fund these programs.”
Congress has now bought itself until just before the July 4 recess to come up with a final agreement on a transportation bill — or enact another extension.
Hopefully, over the next 90 days Congress will work something out and maybe by the end of the year we’ll have a long-term bill. But it’s also likely the issue won’t be settled until after the general election in November.
Everyone agrees on the broader goals of transportation policy and spending, which are economic growth and personal mobility. A long-term solution needs to be developed in a bipartisan fashion — and spearheaded by the administration — regardless of who is in power.
Co-writing credit: Rondi Watson
It’s no secret that we Americans are in love with our cars.
They demonstrate our status and standing in society.
The way we’ve invested in roads and highways and the way we’ve developed our cities pretty much mandates that you need to own a car to be able to access jobs, food, education and recreation.
Driving a car has become the default mode of travel for almost all people for every trip of any distance.
And here in Duluth, perched on a steep hill with prominent winters, it makes sense that people want to drive.
So why would a person choose not to?
Carless in Duluth, a video documentary about people who walk, bike, or take the bus instead of driving, will premiere on:
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
6:00 pm
Teatro Zuccone
222 East Superior Street, downtown Duluth
Following the video, there will be a panel discussion with engineers, planners, and other experts in the area. Afterward, an informational tabling session will be held in the atrium where food and drinks will also be available.
The event, hosted by the Healthy Duluth Area Coalition, follows a series of public meetings that were hosted throughout Duluth about one month ago. At each meeting, residents were given the opportunity to learn about ongoing and upcoming bicycle and pedestrian projects happening all over the city, including the Cross-City Trail, the Duluth Citywide Sidewalk Study, and the Duluth Traverse Mountain Bike Trail, and gave their feedback about their interest in these projects as well as other potential ideas. Over 50 residents participated in these meetings.
The Carless in Duluth premiere and transportation forum on March 20th will conclude this series of public outreach events. Organizations including the Duluth Transit Authority, the Metropolitan Interstate Council, City of Duluth Engineering, and the Bike Cave Collective have already confirmed their participation in this event, with pending confirmation from the Northern Lights Express, COGGS, and the UMD Cycling Club.
Check it out – it’s free and open to the public.
Multimodal.Safe, efficient transportation depends on infrastructure that supports multiple ways of traveling from point A to point B. Not just by road, but by air, water, rail, bus, bicycle and on foot.
Locally, there’s a forward-looking, multimodal project that the MIC has been a partner in developing for many years.
Duluth Multimodal Transportation CenterPublic taxpayer investments, more than ever before, are being called upon to serve multiple goals. The proposed Duluth Multimodal Transportation Center does just this. It will provide a centrally located transportation hub that serves the City, the northeast region, and the state.
The state of the art facility will serve passengers of the Duluth Transit Authority’s local bus service as well as passengers of inter-city bus services. Both Jefferson Lines and Indianhead Transit as well as local providers LCS (private) and Arrowhead Transit (public) will be using the facility. It will add parking for commuters and provide space for rental cars and taxi operations, as well as secure bike parking. Pedestrian and bicyclists will be connected to the downtown area, convention center, and waterfront trails via replaced skywalks and concourses. The transit area will take advantage of all the DTA’s state-of-the-art technology and provide riders with real-time information and other amenities in a safe and secure area.
It’s being developed in response to documented needs. The existing DTA transit center on Superior Street requires improvements to increase safety and security, to improve the effectiveness of the current and future transportation demand, and to provide connectivity to the overall transportation system.
Public-Private PartnershipsThe project includes upgrading portions of the aged Northwest Passage Skywalk with an improved design, easier connections, and potential retail commercial potential.
Working with non-profit, private owners, community partners, current and future tenants of the facility will strengthen the value of the facility. The DTA will work with a private partner on this project and will use the design/build concept of construction to rapidly complete the project.
This project is being put forward as part of Minnesota’s proposed 2012 bonding bill, to appropriate $6,000,000 to create jobs and invest in the multimodal transportation needs of tomorrow.
Interconnected, multimodal transportation options encourage economic growth, reduce congestion and environmental impacts, and improve mobility and access to transportation for both people and goods.
For these reasons, there’s lots of support for this project at the local and federal levels. Let’s make sure we support our state lawmakers to see this bonding bill through and see these benefits happen here in Duluth.
“A committee that actually gets work done”The HTAC is a working group for addressing challenges and opportunities in the Duluth-Superior harbor, while promoting the port’s economic and environmental importance to both communities.
It is one of three advisory committees to the Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC), the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Duluth-Superior urbanized area.
And it is unique–the only stakeholder group of its kind in the country.
More important, it is, in the words of former Duluth Seaway Port Authority Director Adolf Ojard, “a committee that actually gets work done.”
Port-centered issues are usually complex, often controversial and sometimes downright contentious: dredged material management; marine safety; port security; land and recreational uses; economic development proposals; accelerated corrosion of maritime infrastructure; ballast water and invasive species management; legacy environmental degradation and habitat restoration initiatives –to name a few.
None of these problems affects one group alone, and none can be addressed except through the coordinated action of many diverse organizations and individuals. The HTAC has emerged as a national model for doing just that, through planning, collaboration, information sharing and long-term institutional involvement.
Its diverse members all hold a stake in the continued success and health of the harbor. Participation on the HTAC encourages representatives from industry, government, academic, environmental, regulatory and citizen groups on both sides of the bridge to recognize that although they have distinct missions they also have shared goals.
HTAC members, in other words, are genuine stakeholders who have, over its 20-year history, learned the value of playing nice and working hard together.
One recent example of the HTAC’s successful, collaborative planning process is what’s happening at Erie Pier. It might seem a little hard to get excited about this “hidden in plain sight” facility on the Duluth waterfront—but it represents an entirely new paradigm for dredge material handling.
Thanks to the efforts of many HTAC members who undertook an intensive multi-year planning process, and to the US Army Corps of Engineers which subsequently agreed to make a significant investment in redesigning and re-engineering the facility, a major physical restructuring of the full-to-capacity Contained Disposal Facility at Erie Pier was undertaken to convert it to a Recycle-Reuse Facility. It utilizes hydraulic sorting to separate out the clean, uncontaminated sand and silt that’s dredged from the shipping channels for reuse in large-scale projects such as road construction and landfill cover.
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority now manages Erie Pier dredge materials as a valuable, re-usable resource instead of a waste product. By creating a cost effective and environmentally sound alternative to standard dredge material disposal practices, it will save local taxpayers the millions of dollars it would have cost to develop a new CDF.
It also has the potential to change the way other Great Lakes ports manage their dredging operations. Erie Pier has recently gained the attention of the Canadian federal government, which is looking at the Erie Pier facility as a model for a new hydraulic sorting procedure at one or more of their dredging sites.
Most port communities face similar challenges. For this reason, we’ve been invited to present the HTAC model at many national-level planning and port conferences in recent years.
You can follow or participate in this notable initiative that’s happening right here in Duluth-Superior. For more information or to get on our meeting mailing list, check out the HTAC page on the MIC website at dsmic.org/htac.
Writing credit: Andy McDonald contributed to this article.
Photo credits:
Duluth-Superior Harbor aerial view – Gary Lidholm, USDA Forest Service, Superior National Forest
Erie Pier aerial view – Google Earth 2010
Did you know that it’s estimated that up to 40% of the U.S. population does not drive? This includes children, of course, but also people who are disabled, elderly or choose not to drive. Sidewalks, not roads, are the main transportation facility for a big chunk of our community.
We’ve all seen people walking in the roads, but it’s not hard to see that sidewalks provide a preferable space for pedestrian travel than using the street. Take a close look at the picture for this post – it’s one that we took several years ago of an elderly couple making a perilous winter journey (presumably out of necessity) along the shoulder of Central Entrance near Miller Hill Mall, Duluth’s main commercial district.
Besides providing a safe passageway for all to use, investing in sidewalks—infrastructure that promotes walking—has many benefits spread widely across the community.
It’s not news that an increasing portion of the population, including many children, lack regular physical exercise. And walking is one of the most practical ways to increase physical activity among a broad population.
Health experts believe that more balanced transportation systems can contribute to improved personal and community health not only because they accommodate and encourage active transportation, but also because they provide opportunities for increased social interaction and, with more “eyes on the street” can reduce crime.
A good sidewalk network, by providing “walkable” infrastructure, is strongly linked to a community’s economic vitality. According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, “walkable neighborhoods typically have active streets that promote commercial exchange, while providing safe and efficient ways for residents to travel on foot.”
Sidewalks can also promote less reliance on automobiles, when walking is an option for shorter trips.
Walking tends to be particularly important for elderly, disabled and lower-income people who have few opportunities to participate in sports or formal exercise programs and more limited transportation options.
And most trips that anyone makes have a walking component, whether it is between a parking spot and a final destination or to and from a transit stop.
The MIC has been working with the City of Duluth and area stakeholders on a two-phase study of Duluth sidewalks. In today’s financial climate, resources for sidewalk maintenance and development are limited. Good information is needed to utilize those scare resources efficiently. A number of citizen groups in the Duluth area, as well as city administration, have requested that sidewalk information be developed to assist with making targeted decisions about sidewalk improvements. The results of this analysis will be used to determine future capital improvements for sidewalk development, preservation, snow removal and maintenance.
The first phase—the sidewalk inventory—has been underway since last spring to develop an accurate inventory of where sidewalks are located and what condition they are in. When it’s complete, this information will be presented as a searchable GIS tool.
The second phase of the study—priority pedestrian modeling¬ will identify which sidewalks are the most heavily used, based on pedestrian generators such as schools, retail areas and transit stops. Other information considered in the model includes population density, poverty rates and transit ridership.
Negotiations on the new federal transportation bill may eliminate funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure and dedicate it to the construction of roads and bridges only. Are sidewalks part of your personal transportation network? What ones around town do you use, or present obstacles?
Co-writing credit: Rondi Watson
Political gridlock in Washington has resulted in years of legislative limbo in dealing with our nation’s aging infrastructure. But something needs to happen by March 31, when the eighth (!) extension of the SAFETEA-LU federal surface transportation bill expires.
In a possible sign of progress, both the House and Senate have pledged to take action on the reauthorization process, which sets the laws, priorities and spending levels for federally-funded transportation projects and programs for the next several years. And indeed there has been a lot of Congressional activity this past month and even this past week.
But reaching agreement on what exactly will be included in the new transportation bill—and how to pay for it—is a convoluted process. Enacting a bill by the end of March will require that both the House and the Senate negotiate no fewer than ten procedural hurdles and more significantly, overcome deep political and philosophical differences. And from what we’ve seen just this week, there are plenty of differences to reconcile.
The House released its version on January 31st, a five-year, $260 billion, 800-page surface transportation bill known as the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.”
From our perspective, the proposed legislation contains some good news in that it is favorable to existing MPOs such as the MIC so that we can continue our work to plan, prioritize and coordinate federally-funded transportation projects with local input.
Of concern to us, however, is that funding for the Safe Routes to School program is eliminated, along with the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program and “complete streets” projects that make infrastructure improvements for bikers and pedestrians in addition to cars.
Certainly important to all MPOs, these funding categories would be turned over to the discretion of state DOTs to decide if and how they are continued. Essentially, states would have the option of spending money on these types of projects, but would no longer be required to. As the League of American Bicyclists commented, “it basically eliminates the status and standing <of the bicycling community> in the planning and design of our transportation system—a massive step backwards…to a 1950s highway- and auto-only program.”
Then, also troubling, the House Ways and Means Committee weighed in with a proposal to eliminate gas tax funding for bus transit and other mass transportation systems. Transit, Air Quality Improvement, Congestion Mitigation and other programs would be placed into a renamed Alternative Transportation Account and would need to be funded annually through the general fund and annual appropriations process.
Non-auto oriented transportation programs, however, do have a measure of bipartisan support, which up until recently has been how our country has made its important transportation infrastructure investments. Several House Republicans, led by Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) with backing from Democrats, attempted to amend the draft bill to restore funding for bike and pedestrian projects and Safe Routes to School.
And the Senate has so far managed to reach bipartisan agreement on their version of the bill. A two-year, $109 billion reauthorization, called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21, passed the Environment and Public Works Committee last month. The transit component of that bill was released by the Senate Banking Committee with unanimous bipartisan support for public transportation programs at current funding levels and includes some reforms — such as allowing federal funds to be spent on operations — that transit advocates have been pushing for.
You may have heard by now that the House’s bill, in addition to cutting some transportation programs to pay for the reauthorization, proposes a new source of revenue in the form of royalties from new oil and gas drilling leases on public lands and federal waters. This, however, is a contentious issue and may or may not make it into the final bill during the step when the House and Senate reconcile their two versions into a final bill.
It also extends the federal gas tax at the 1993 level of 18.3 cents-per-gallon (as well as the 24.4 cents-per-gallon diesel tax and the .001 cents-per-gallon leaking underground storage tank tax) for the next five years.
Much of the pressure to pay for the problem of the nation’s aging bridges, highways, and transit systems will fall to the states. Most—like Minnesota and Wisconsin—are refocusing their priorities on preserving and maintaining the existing system rather than constructing new roads.
Although states may consider raising their portion of the gas tax, or automatically increasing the existing rate for inflation, finding new ways to fund transportation will require innovation, new technologies, and smarter management practices to ensure their scarce resources address the key problem areas.
MnDOT is conducting studies on new user-fee mechanisms that assess fees based on how many miles you drive on the roads rather than how much gas you put in your tank. Other states are considering expanded use of tolling and state infrastructure banks.
And many of these new options may be downright unpopular. As we noted previously, it’s not just our politicians who will need to make some attitude adjustments.
No matter how long it takes for Congress to hammer out a new transportation bill, and despite the cuts it will make or efficiencies it will impose, all of us, as beneficiaries of the transportation network, will need to be willing to make a shift in how we think about paying our way.
Photo credit: http://www.cyberlearning-world.com