Suburban counties say Met Council plan ignores transportation needs By Elizabeth Mohr emohr@pioneerpress POSTED: 09/29/2014 12:01:00 AM CDT | UPDATED: A DAY AGO In a rare move, five suburban counties held a joint meeting Monday to air their concerns about the Metropolitan Councils latest regional planning document. The 2040 Transportation Policy Plan does not include enough input from suburban counties, it does not represent a fair regional vision, it focuses too much on urban-core transit instead of highway maintenance, and it does not adequately show funding gaps, county representatives said. We all want to roll in the same direction, but there seems to be a big disconnect in how we get there. Theres talk about the intent of regional balance -- were hearing the words -- but our concerns are that were not seeing it in the plan, Dakota County Commissioner Chris Gerlach said during Mondays meeting. It seems clear to us, this plan favors the core cities and very much ignores the other five counties. Those five counties -- Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Scott and Washington -- drafted a joint letter in response to the Metropolitan Councils draft TPP plan. The letter includes 17 points outlining the major areas of concern. The counties primary request is that the Met Council slow the approval process for the plan -- which guides which regional transportation and transit projects will get priority and funding -- and step back to consider and incorporate the counties input. This is a historic thing right here, to have the five suburban counties sitting here and asking you to take a look at this plan at a more in-depth level and to look at a vision for the entire area, Dakota County Commissioner Kathleen Gaylord said. The representatives for a lot of the regions land areas are saying, Wait a minute. We dont agree here. So I think you need to stop and take a look. The counties joint letter, which was approved by each of the five counties boards of commissioners in recent weeks, points to apparent flaws in the Met Councils planning process, in which planning documents that rely on each other werent completed sequentially, but concurrently. County representatives say that indicates predetermined plans and a lack of transparency. It also doesnt give counties adequate time to read, digest and respond to each substantial document, they said. Counties are concerned about the apparent lack of investment in suburban highways, which will need expansion and maintenance as suburban populations inevitably grow. Too much focus on inner-city transit -- where poverty is high, but access to jobs is also known to be high -- and not enough on suburban transportation needs actually creates pockets of deeper poverty and frustration, county officials said. These populations have real needs ... yet are being penalized because they are living in less urban areas, Washington County Commissioner Autumn Lehrke said. Suburban poverty is a real issue. People in the suburban areas dont have the access they need. In their letter to the Met Council, the counties point out that they work on poverty-relief issues every day and are experts in the needs and effective strategies in their areas. Funneling money into the core of Hennepin and Ramsey counties will not solve the regions poverty issues, they said. As counties, were in the business of fighting poverty and moving people to self-sufficiency every day, the letter said. (W)e know that a comprehensive set of conditions and supports need to be in place. And very little has to do with infrastructure investments. The Met Councils plan lacks vision and the process lacked enough engagement with local government agencies, the counties said. Met Council Chair Susan Haigh addressed the five-county panel on Monday, walking through the planning process and many of the statistics that drive decisions. The councils intent is that no part of the region is consistently favored or consistently ignored. I agree with you that regional equity is important and should continually be addressed in our plans, Haigh told the county representatives. She promised that their concerns would be taken into consideration and that the Met Council would respond to each of them. I think the real issue here, and I think the issue we will be addressing together, is the need for an increased funding scenario, Haigh said. There is nothing we will be able to do under the current Transportation Policy Plan with the current funding scenario. The reality is, as policymakers, the metro area is going to grow, issues will grow, and we need to be able to work together to come up with a plan that makes sense. You are going to be critical in that role -- everyone at this table. Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at 651-228-5162. Follow her at twitter/LizMohr. twincities/localnews/ci_26630315/suburban-counties-say-met-council-plan-ignores-transportation
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 00:51:38 +0000
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