From Lucy Galbraith, Director-Transit Oriented Development
By 2040, the Twin Cities region is expected to be home to more than 3.6 million people. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become harder to predict where people will choose to live and work and how they’ll get around.
We do know, however, that we must drive less to prevent a worsening of the climate crisis, and that we can address racial and economic disparities in part by concentrating housing and jobs near transit. Building near transit will also be key to rebuilding ridership as we recover from the pandemic.
To help achieve these goals, we must continue to support and celebrate Transit Oriented Development (TOD) throughout the region. As the leader of our TOD Office, I am proud to work with many staff and partners who are committed to doing just that.
Today, our office is working with communities across the metro to develop plans for the areas surrounding dozens of future light rail and bus rapid transit stations. We’ve identified several sites where publicly owned land can be used for TOD. And we continue to serve as a regional TOD resource by hosting events, promoting grant opportunities, and researching issues like sidewalk connections that shape whether and how people can access transit.
Our attention on TOD and the market forces that support it have already made an impression.
Between 2003 and 2019, more than a third of permitted development value occurred on the 3% of the region’s land area located near high-frequency transit. Forty percent of multifamily units built since 2009 have been located along high-frequency transit.
While the pandemic has created some uncertainty, I am confident these trends will continue.
The number of multifamily units planned along high-frequency transit is equal to all the units built since 2009, and TOD-friendly policies are setting the stage for even more activity.
Plans to reduce or eliminate the number of parking spaces required when new projects are built along transitways are being pursued in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Inner-ring suburbs, including those that will be served by the METRO Orange Line and METRO Gold Line, are updating their zoning laws to encourage walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods.
These actions and a steady stream of new projects are a reminder that, for all the disruption caused by the pandemic, our region will become increasingly welcoming to the growing number of people who want to meet their needs by walking, biking, and taking transit.
While this is a shared effort, TOD simply can’t happen without quality transit and a thoughtful expansion of our network.
On behalf of the TOD office, I want to thank everyone throughout the organization who is working so hard to provide a product we can be proud of. It is only because of your hard work that our region is a place where TOD will continue to thrive.
Learn more about the TOD Office
TOD is walkable urban development supported by high quality, frequent transit service. TOD includes a mix of housing, retail, employment, retail and recreational choices, allowing people to live and work in vibrant places with less dependence on a personal car. Learn more at metrotransit.org/tod.
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Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday announced a timeline to begin eliminating COVID-19 restrictions in the coming months.
Limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings are being relaxed today, and will be fully lifted on May 28. A state mask requirement will be lifted on July 1, or sooner if 70% of Minnesotans ages 16 and older become vaccinated before that date.
A federal mask requirement that applies to all forms of public transportation will remain in effect through September 13 regardless of the state's next steps.
Some staff who are currently working off-site may begin returning to the office in June and a broader return to work is expected to occur this fall. Questions can be directed to a manager or supervisor.
More information about Metro Transit’s response to Gov. Walz’s three-phase plan will be shared in next week’s Insights.
While COVID-19 restrictions are changing, please remember:
- On-site staff should continue to practice social distancing and wear masks whenever they are inside a facility or on transit.
- If you are displaying COVID-19 symptoms or believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, you should get tested, whether or not you have been vaccinated. Free tests can be scheduled through healthpartners.com or at one of the state's testing locations.
- Staff who need any assistance scheduling a vaccination appointment may contact vaccines@metrotransit.org.
Beginning at 2 a.m. on Saturday. May 1, a team of public facilities workers made their way down University Avenue scrubbing and power washing METRO Green Line stations, including the Westgate Station, above.
As temperatures have warmed up, crews have spent the last several weeks washing the street-facing sides of light rail stations and other busy boarding areas. In the coming weeks, water supplies will be turned on and attention will turn to platforms.
The crews work overnight while traffic is light and there are fewer trains in service.
Hiring managers will share information about current openings during a pair of upcoming interactive online sessions. Individuals from underutilized protected classes – women, people of color and people with disabilities – are encouraged to participate.
The sessions are being offered to increase awareness of the openings and help employees understand the pathways to those positions. Such sessions will be held on the third Tuesday and Thursday of each month going forward. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the Equity & Inclusion MetNet page.
For more information, contact Sarah Berres.
Schedule
Tuesday, May 18, 1-1:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 20, 1-1:30 p.m.
- Assistant Director-Bus Maintenance – Presented by Matt Dake, Director of Bus Maintenance
* Note: Not all of the above positions have been posted yet.
May is Asian/Pacific American Islander Heritage Month. To celebrate, employees are being invited to talk about customary dishes from their country of origin that they enjoy the most. Employees who would like to participate in the coming weeks are invited to email Sarah Berres.
Robert Rubianes, Electro Mechanical Technician
Tell us a little bit about your background and your role at Metro Transit.
My parents immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii in 1970. Like a lot of people from the Philippines who moved to the United States, they were looking for more opportunity. I was born and raised in Hawaii and joined the Navy after I graduated. I moved to Minnesota shortly after getting married in 2000 and worked as a printing press operator until I started working at Metro Transit in 2014.
What are some of the traditional foods you’d enjoy in an everyday setting?
The main Filipino dish I enjoyed growing up and still enjoy today is adobo, which is braised pork with soy sauce and vinegar. If there was a national dish in the Philippines this would be it. I also enjoy pancit, which is rice noodles with lots of vegetables and pork, chicken or shrimp.
Being from Hawaii, I also like kalua pig (pulled pork), lau lau, which is pork or fish steamed in a taro leaf, and poke, which is raw tuna or fish. And, unless you’ve had it from Hawaii, you’ve never really had shaved ice. It’s not chunks of ice but finely shaved ice that comes with ice cream and azuki beans at the bottom.
What is a favorite food you enjoy at a special celebration?
Lechon, which is whole roasted pig that is cooked rotisserie-style with lemongrass, garlic and lots of spices. Other Asian ethnicities have something similar, and this is the Filipino version. I’ve been to a few weddings where this was the centerpiece, and you’ll also find it at graduations and special birthdays.
Where can you find Filipino food locally?
In Saint Paul, there’s Pinoy Fusion, inside Phil Oriental, and Manila Sizzling Wok, which are both on University Avenue. In Minneapolis, there’s Ono Hawaiian Plates in the North Loop Gallery. And, if you can find it, MinneSnowii is a shaved ice truck that offers something close to what you find in Hawaii that goes to some of the county fairs.
For Mother’s Day, Train Operator Latina Laramee can celebrate herself this year.
A single mother, Laramee landed a bus operator job with Metro Transit in 2011. The change allowed her to have one job instead of three, while still supporting herself and her son, Tahjer Winston, who will soon graduate from Osseo Senior High School.
Mom is a graduate, too. She recently earned an associate’s degree in entrepreneurship and will soon finish a second associate’s degree in business administration.
Winston is applying for apprenticeships to become an electrician, and Laramee hopes he will someday join her at Metro Transit, servicing the Green Line trains she’s operated since 2014. Laramee would like to become a transit supervisor or an assistant transportation manager.
It’s a future Laramee couldn’t have imagined when she dropped out of high school at 16 to start working and became pregnant at 18. She drove school buses for seven years while working two other jobs, including operating buses for a private bus company.
"I was getting burned out. I never saw my son,’’ Laramee said.
After earning her GED, Laramee applied and was hired at Metro Transit. She drove out of the Heywood and Ruter garages until 2014, when opportunity knocked again.
"When I first came in, they were telling us about light rail. I signed up right away. I was really excited to be able to operate a train,’’ Laramee said
Still, she continued to work a second job until she reached the top pay scale at Metro Transit. "It is tough when you don’t have a support system as a single parent. But it’s possible if you put your mind to it,’’ she said. ``I think my son appreciates that he has a mother who works hard.’’
Free classes available to new and expectant parents
New and expecting parents can access free classes through the Council’s wellness program, Fit For Life. The classes are offered by Amma Parenting. Learn more at ammaparenting.com.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, and one in 20 live with a mental health condition like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or persistent anxiety. Unfortunately, many people who could benefit from treatment do not seek help because they are worried about stigma, prejudice, or discrimination.
To raise awareness and encourage people to seek resources, people are invited to talk openly about mental health during Mental Health Awareness Month, which is recognized annually in May. Among those who are sharing their stories is Equity & Inclusion Specialist Sarah Berres, who shared her perspective on what it means to support someone with a mental illness.
Twelve years ago I met my (now) husband just two weeks before he was deployed to Iraq with the Army National Guard. The impact of that experience resulted in a diagnoses of PTSD carrying symptoms that compounded the severe anxiety he experienced as a child.
What that has meant for us has included emergency room visits during suicidal episodes, taking time off work to be present with him to keep him safe, minimizing triggers in daily settings like large crowds, rooms with too many doors, or other large flashing events or simply spending extra quality time together after his recurring nightmares pop up.
Supporting someone with mental health concerns requires a deep recognition of the role you each play. It requires thoughtful, honest, patient and humble communication. We have had to work hard to develop trust in each other – trust that he can share when he’s at a low and I will respond with support. Trust that I know he will tell me when he’s in a low so I can activate our own relationship emergency response.
I have often felt alone in my work to support him and wish I had known about resources or support networks earlier in our relationship. However, I have grown to appreciate what I've learned from the impact of his mental health on our relationship. I no longer hide the emotional toll supporting him through a phase takes on me, and I seek out the personal time and support I need until he's moved through that particular event.
Sometimes the safe space we hold for others is more valuable than we’ll ever know. If you’d like to learn more about how I create a safe space for my husband and others, I’m happy to share more with you.
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East Metro Operator Vernon Hutchinson recently impressed a Route 61 customer who appreciated his communication skills.
This bus driver is awesome. It's my first time taking his route and I truly feel safe and comfortable. He's communicating even though there's only three of us on his bus. I appreciate him and I hope to cross paths with him later.
Olson Whisper
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Buses replacing Blue Line trains May 7 to May 9: Buses will replace METRO Blue Line trains between the 46th Street and Fort Snelling stations from 7 p.m. Friday, May 7, through 4 a.m. Sunday, May 9, to allow for scheduled maintenance in the corridor, including track repair. During the disruptions, customers can board replacement buses near each affected station.
Summer Student Pass sales begin May 10: Summer Student Passes that allow high schoolers to ride for a discount during the summer months will be made available to eligible schools in May. Students will not be able to purchase the passes directly from Metro Transit. Students who obtain a Summer Student Pass through their school may use them to take unlimited rides from June 1 through September 7. For more information, contact Lisa Anderson.
Earn $40 by completing health assessment by May 31: Eligible employees can earn a $40 gift card by completing an online health assessment by May 31. The assessment poses questions about nutrition, exercise, emotional health, life satisfaction, and sleep, and generates customized recommendations based on your results. Responses to the assessment are confidential and are only shared back with the Met Council as combined data for the organization. All employees who have HealthPartners medical or dental coverage through the Met Council are invited to participate in the assessment and will receive a $40 gift card for completing it before May 31. To complete the assessment and access HealthPartners programs, visit healthpartners.com/wellbeing and log in with your HealthPartners account. For assistance, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052.
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