|
In this Issue
Water is an important feature of our district, our city (the
City of Lakes), Minnesota (the land of 10,000 lakes) and has always been a big
part of the Met Council’s mission. Handling the region’s wastewater was one of
the first jobs we were given in the late 1960s. We operate eight wastewater
treatment plants, which process an average of 250 million gallons of wastewater
every day from more than 2.7 million residents. We have more than 600 miles of
large sewer pipes collecting wastewater from 108 communities. And yet, the cost of
wastewater treatment in the Twin Cities region is 40% below our peer
regions.
We are facing many challenges in our region in the 21st
century including balancing ground water recharge with increased demand on ground water due to our growing population. They include reduced groundwater recharge and increased groundwater
demand due to continued population growth. Pair that with anticipated and yet unknown
climate change impacts. We also need to renew renewal of aging infrastructure made in the face
of public expectations for continued excellent service at a low cost.
Gov.
Dayton has declared 2017 to be the "Year of Water Action". As part of this, a
“25x25” initiative was created to engage citizens, local governments,
businesses, farmers, and others in a discussion around the goal of improving
water quality by 25% by 2025. Without additional action, the quality of
Minnesota’s waters is expected to improve only 6% to 8% by 2034.
Ten Town Hall meetings were scheduled across the state. The
last three meetings were held in the metro area in Minneapolis,
Burnsville, and Stillwater. Citizens and civic organizations were also
called on to organize their own “community water meetings” to provide feedback
and ideas. I attended a community water meeting in Minneapolis in mid-September
at the Nokomis Community Center. The panelists included Jeffrey Broberg, a
professional geologist and co-chair of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on
Minnesota Resources and experts from Friends of the Mississippi River and the
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
We are working with partners to conserve and utilize the
region’s groundwater to support growth, development and maintain the
environment. We also want to ensure that we have the workforce and
infrastructure to continue meeting the region’s needs for wastewater treatment
and water supply planning.
Learn
more about the governor’s 25x25 initiative.
If
you would like to talk with me about water or other areas where the Met Council
may be involved, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Cara Letofsky
Metropolitan Council Member for District 8 (Northeast
Minneapolis, Southeast Minneapolis, parts of South Minneapolis, and St. Anthony
Village)
Every day,
Metro Transit helps people get to where they need to go, and we pride ourselves
on providing a service that is safe, punctual and convenient. So when safety concerns
are raised by users and the communities in which we operate, we take it
seriously.
Earlier
this spring, the area around the Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street intersection, near the
Lake Street/Midtown Station on the METRO Blue Line LRT, experienced an increase in situations that made some community members feel unsafe when passing through.
In collaboration with the Minneapolis Police Department, property owners and other neighborhood stakeholders, Metro Transit has been working to improve the safety of the area. Safety improvements
include an increase in both Metro Transit Police and Minneapolis Police presence
at the station during busier travel times of the day; installing more exterior lighting
and TV cameras at the entrances; and making specific station improvements.
Additionally, area property owners have made improvements that support the concepts of crime prevention through environmental design. Examples include strategically located gates, barriers that inhibit sitting and loitering on the planted ledges, and assuring portable public restrooms are in visible locations. Also, Minneapolis will soon be
kicking off the second phase of the "Humanize Hi-Lake" work to identify some
short-term improvements to the biking and pedestrian experience, and
identifying long-term adjustments to how cars travel through the
intersection.
Metro
Transit’s Community Engagement team is also working to bring together area
stakeholders for a meeting about these concerns.
We
will continue to work with area partners to make sure our riders – indeed
everyone in the community – feel safe in and around our bus and LRT stations.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with your concerns and ideas for
improvement.
Metro Transit is planning the D
Line on Chicago Avenue. The D Line will be a new rapid bus service that
provides fast, frequent service between Brooklyn Center and the Mall of America
via Downtown Minneapolis. It will mostly replace the existing Route 5. The new
service will have improved stations with enhanced customer amenities.
Station locations between 46th
Street and 56th Street on Chicago Avenue have not been determined
and community input can help influence decision-making. Riders can expect one
or two stations in this stretch. The workshop will be an opportunity to share
your voice, learn about the project and meet Metro Transit planners. Stop in
for a few minutes or stay the entire time!
Thursday, October 19th
from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Pearl Recreation Center- 414 E
Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis, MN 55419
Regular-route transit fares increased by 25 cents on Oct. 1. Regular-route service includes METRO bus and rail, Northstar rail, Metro Transit bus, A Line bus, Metropolitan Council bus, Maple Grove Transit bus, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority bus, Plymouth MetroLink bus, and SouthWest Transit bus.
Riders may pay for regular-route bus and rail fares using cash, Go-To Card stored value, or any regional transit pass. Customers will no longer get a stored value bonus with purchases, but any value currently on a customer’s card will continue to be valid.
Customers may also be eligible for a new Transit Assistance Program that allows qualifying low-income customers to use regular-route transit for $1 per ride.
Metro Mobility fares will increase by 50 cents. Metro Mobility non-ADA rides (those outside the federally mandated service area) longer than 15 miles are subject to a 75-cent surcharge. And Transit Link customers pay the same fares as Metro Mobility customers, including a surcharge for trips longer than 15 miles.
Riders on Metro Mobility and Transit Link may pay fares with cash and Go-To Card stored value.
Learn more at www.metrotransit.org/fare-increase
People from a wide variety of communities, and many ages and abilities, will see themselves reflected in the Council’s newly updated Regional Parks Map.
With more than two dozen photos, the colorful publication celebrates the diversity of people who visit the parks and trails, and the four seasons of park activities. Woven into the patchwork of photos are short phrases in a variety of languages that welcome visitors from around the world. Words and phrases for “family,” “connection,” celebrate,” “relax” and more are printed in Arabic, Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and English.
“We wanted residents to see themselves in the parks—whether alone, in small groups or large groups—and show park amenities as open, fun, inviting and compelling places to visit, right here in our own communities,” said Emmett Mullin, manager of the Council’s Regional Parks & Natural Resources unit.
The folding map and guide helps people locate regional parks and shows what activities are available in each one, using icons that are understood in any language.
The updated map is an outgrowth of the Council’s research that showed some communities of color and immigrants do not use the parks in proportion to their share of the region’s overall population. The Council embarked on an extensive community engagement effort to identify barriers to participation and is working with communities and park agencies to overcome these.
See an online version of the map.
Rail~volution. One of my favorite
things about being on the Metropolitan Council is the chance to attend the
annual Rail~volution conference and learn from other regions about how they are
building their communities through investments in transit. This
year the conference was held in Denver. I attended sessions on transforming
transportation systems designed solely for cars in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s into
multi-modal systems, and on neighborhood stabilization when transportation
investments create development pressures. I also presented on the Midtown
Greenway as part of a session on Creative Place-Making and Rail Trail Station
Activation.
Millworks Lofts Grand Opening. I
was honored to speak at the grand opening of Millworks Lofts,
located at 4041 Hiawatha Avenue. Dominium Apartments redeveloped the former
millworks factory into 78 affordable (featuring one, two, and three bedroom units) that will be home to
more than 100 people near transit and a great neighborhood!
Metro Mobility Fall Conversation. On Friday October 6, Council Member Barber and I attended the fall edition of this semi-annual
event was held at the Creekside Community Center in Bloomington.
Mini-presentations were made by Nick Thompson and Christine Kuennen, then there
were many lively table conversations. I appreciated hearing directly from the Metro Mobility customers about their experiences.
|
|
