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February 26, 2008
Important Provisions in the Transportation Bill
The veto override of the transportation finance bill (HF2800) included several provisions that advance the Citizens League policy agenda on transportation.
Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA): The Citizens League was instrumental in starting the discussions last year that led to Minnesota's successful application for a UPA grant from the federal government. House File 2800 included $25 million of the required $55 million in state matching funds necessary to receive $133 million in federal funding to reduce congestion in the I-35W corridor from Downtown Minneapolis to Lakeville. Most of the federal funding is directed to constructing bus rapid transit (BRT) on I-35W. The UPA is the top transportation policy priority for the Citizens League this year.
Value Capture Study: House File 2800 includes $325,000 for the Center for Transportation Studies to perform a study on funding roads and transit with value capture. This is one of the transparent funding mechanisms that the Citizens League called for in the 2005 report Driving Blind.
Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) Outreach Grant: The Hubert H. Humphrey Institute will receive $200,000 to assist MnDOT and the Met Council provide outreach on the implementation of the UPA. The Humphrey Institute was an important part of the successful outreach to establish MNPASS on I-394.
Posted by Bob DeBoer at February 26, 2008 2:12 PM