The Metropolitan Council recently approved six Livable Communities grants that will fund feasibility studies, site planning, and community engagement work as well as policy development in five cities. These grants are small relative to other Livable Communities funding, but help to ensure that adequate study, evaluation, and community involvement go into making developments as successful as possible. Read about the projects we funded.

Residents in North Minneapolis can now catch a ride when and where they need it using Metro Transit micro, the first public on-demand ridesharing service in the City of Minneapolis. The service will give more people opportunities to travel without relying on a personal vehicle, and improves access to the existing transit network. Learn more about Metro Transit micro.

Fats, oils, grease, and rags (paper towels, disposable wipes, tissues, napkins, and other textiles) that are washed or flushed down the drain disrupt the flow of wastewater through the sanitary sewer system. This disruption leads to costly maintenance and equipment repairs for cities and the Met Council’s Environmental Services division. We will be forming a task force to find solutions and educate the public about this problem.

Following the success of bus-only lanes in downtown and uptown, the METRO D Line will also receive the red-carpet treatment from 28^th Street to Lake Street along Chicago Avenue. This 24/7 bus lane will help provide reliable service on one of the most highly traveled corridors in the metro, which carried about 15,000 passengers each weekday pre-pandemic. The 18-mile BRT line will substantially replace Route 5 and connect Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington. The D Line opens on December 3, 2022.

The Met Council's Growing Shade tree canopy enhancement and preservation tool netted an Innovation in Planning Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association this month. The tool helps planners, foresters, advocacy and neighborhood groups, and regular people make decisions about where and how to preserve and enhance tree canopy. We developed the tool in partnership with the Nature Conservancy and Tree Trust. Growing Shade was also featured in a recent Star Tribune story about how planting frees fights racial inequity and climate change in Twin Cities' poorest neighborhoods.