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In this Issue
Metro Transit is coming off a busy summer,
with ridership numbers exceeding expectations led by growing ridership on the METRO
Green and Blue lines. Additionally, for the 12 days of the State Fair, we
provided rides to 600,000 visitors and saw our single highest single day
ridership – since free State Fair service ended – with 85,000 people taking Metro Transit
on Saturday, Sept. 1.
With the
return to school and routines that fall brings, this is the time of year when Metro Transit sees its highest
ridership. If you are looking to fit more transit into your life, check out the
improvements to the Metro Transit app, designed to help make riding our system easier.
Just as we face this increase in demand, we
are experiencing a bus operator shortage. With a growing economy and an
increasing demand for workers with commercial drivers licenses, Metro Transit
is working hard to recruit new drivers. We offer benefits to part-time drivers,
in addition to full-time drivers, and
recently announced an apprenticeship
program to
reduce employee turnover. This opportunity has been launched in partnership with the Amalgamated
Transit Union (ATU) and the Minnesota Departments
of Employment and Economic Development and Labor and Industry. Visit our website to learn about how people
can become bus operators.
Even as we continue to recruit new bus
operators, Metro Transit is working to improve existing service. Learn
about improvements we’re making to Route 2,
the initial pilot of an initiative to improve route speed and reliability,
which will go into service in early October.
As always, feel free to be in touch with
any issues or concerns!
Cara
cara.letofsky@metc.state.mn.us
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 While you may have heard news that the
housing market may be losing steam nationwide, we continue to face a shortage
of housing in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region. Our analysis shows that we continue to add more
households than housing units. That’s why the Met Council supports
affordable housing developments that add value to our communities and access
for residents to our transit system.
This month, I had the opportunity to
participate in a groundbreaking for Minnehaha Commons, an affordable housing project being
developed by Alliance Housing. The 44 units of housing for people age 55 and
older will not only be a great asset to the residents, but also the community
of East Lake Street. The Met Council awarded $250,000 in Local Housing Incentives Account grants, which are used to expand
affordable housing in the region.
In our area, local government partners also
broke ground on the Minnehaha Townhomes in May near the VA Medical center off the METRO
Blue Line. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority project will provide 16
units of new public housing for families and is supported with $400,000 in
grants from the Council.
In June, construction began on the Hook and Ladder
Apartments in Northeast. This
development will provide 118 units of housing that are affordable at or below
60% of the area median income. Our resources will support remediation of formerly
industrial land and green utility elements. The project was awarded $211,600 in
Tax Base Revitalization Account funds and $1.3 million in Livable Communities
Demonstration Account funds from the Council.
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Metropolitan Council Environmental Service staff have installed carbon air cleaning equipment to address odors at a facility near West River Parkway and Lake Street in Minneapolis, constructed about a year ago to address odors related to the regional wastewater conveyance system.
Downhill from this location, two large regional pipes merge and convey wastewater through one large pipe under the Mississippi River, en route to the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant in Saint Paul. We have tested this new carbon air cleaning equipment and it is doing a very good job of removing hydrogen sulfide – that rotten egg smell. However, the carbon was not designed to remove other odors detected and reported by the community this summer. We’re working to find a supplier with a carbon blend to address the other odors.
We apologize for any inconvenience and are working to correct the situation as soon as possible. If you have questions or for more information, please contact Tim O’Donnell, MCES liaison, at tim.odonnell@metc.state.mn.us or 651-602-1269.
Recently, the National Association of Clean
Water Agencies (NACWA) ranked the Twin Cities amongst the lowest in how much residents
are charged for their wastewater treatment. The Met Council’s Environmental
Services division runs our region’s wastewater treatment and this regional
approach has led to significant savings and efficiencies. At $274 per household
per year, our system charges about 40% less than the average of other large
systems nationwide.
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