Transportation Policy

1. The "landscape is our unwitting autobiography, reflecting our tastes, or aspirations, and even our fears, in tangible, visible form.... All our cultural warts and blemishes are there, and our glories too; but above all, our ordinary day-to-day qualities are exhibited for anybody who wants to find them and knows how to look for them.” (Lewis 1979)

2. Transportation Policy

3. Minnesota Transportation Profile (US Bureau of Transportation Statistics) • Transportation Facts & Overview (MnDoT) • Transportation Around the State (MnDoT) • Transportation Links

4. Transport Mode (Wikipedia) • Air • Rail • Road • Water • Pipeline • Infrastructure – the fixed installations that allow a vehicle to operate • Vehicles – device used to move people and goods • Operation • Private transport subject to the owner of the vehicle • Public transport and freight transport, operations through corporations or by governments • Infrastructure and vehicles may be owned and operated by the same entity or they may be operated by different entities • Passenger transport, or travel, is divided into public and private transport • Containerization • Bulk transport • Air freight products of high value <1% by vol. >40% by value

5. Federal Policy • Statutory Law • 23 USC Transportation • 45 USC Railroads • 46 USC Shipping • 49 USC Transportation • Administrative Law • 23 CFR Highways • 33 CFR Navigation • 45 CFR Shipping • 49 CFR Transportation • U.S. Department of Transportation(1966) • Office of the Secretary of Transportation • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) • Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) • Federal Transit Administration (FTA) • Maritime Administration (MARAD) • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration • Office of Inspector General • Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration • Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) • Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation • Surface Transportation Board (STB)

6. Minnesota Policy • Statutory Law • Highways • Railroads • Aeronautics • Harbors and Ports • Public Transit • Administrative Law • Department of Transportation • Minnesota Department of Transportation • MNDoT Library • Center for Transportation Studies (UMn) • Metropolitan Council – Transit + Transportation

7. Minnesota Department of Transportation • Established in 1976 toassume • the activities of the Department of Aeronautics • the activities of the Department of Highways • the transportation – related activities of the State Planning Agency • the transportation – related activities of the Public Service Department • to develop and implement policies, plans and programs for highways, railroads, commercial waterways, aeronautics, public transit and motor carriers • About MnDoT • Brief History of MnDot

8. Highways – Cars, Trucks, Transit • The primary mode of transportation in Minnesota is highways • Minnesota has the fifth largest highway system in the United States • Mn/DOT is directly responsible for the 11,933 miles of the trunk highway system and its 20,107 bridges • The 11,933 miles of road make up ca 9% of the total statewide road system mileage but carry ca 61% of the annual vehicle miles of travel • Mn/DOT also has jurisdiction over all signs within trunk highway rights-of-way, all billboards along the trunk highways, and all ramp-metering devices in the metro area • 123,557 miles of road are under the  jurisdiction of local governments • Minnesota State Highways (Wikipedia) • Preserving the Quality of State Highways Will Be an Increasing Challenge (Legislative Auditor) • The Unofficial Highways Page (Steve Riner)

9. Transportation Planning • MnDOT Strategic Plan 2003 • It takes time The project development process • Minnesota Statewide Transportation Policy Plan 2009-2028 • MnDoT Office of Investment Management • How does MnDOT fund transportation projects? • Transportation Finances

10. Transportation Funding • Highways • SAFETEA-LU (Federal) • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act • Urban Partnership Agreement Program • State Aid for Local Transportation • Transportation Research Funding

11. Minnesota Highway Financing (House Research) • Highway Spending (Legislative Auditor, 1997) • Transportation Funding and Minnesota's Vehicle Registration Tax (Senate Transportation Committee) • Congestion Pricing (House Research) • Minnesota’s Highway Finances (Mn/DOT)

12. 2006 Constitutional Amendment Proposal • Voters in the 2006 general election will vote on a constitutional amendment to dedicate 100 percent of the revenue generated from the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax to highways and transit • Currently, MVST revenues are deposited in the state’s general fund. Approximately 54 percent is distributed by statute to highways and transit • The MVST dedication would provide $2.39 billion in new revenues for transportation through Fiscal Year 2017 including: • $941 million for transit • $856 million for state highways • $522 million for county and city roads • $72 million for the five percent fund • If the MVST constitutional amendment passes it will be phased in over five years

13. Commercial Vehicle Operations • Motor Carrier Services administers and enforces regulation governing the for-hire and private motor carrier industry. • Mn/DOT also regulates limousines, vehicles transporting the elderly and disabled, and building movers. • To ensure that Minnesota highways are safe for the motoring public, MN/DOT enforces motor carrier safety regulations • Truck Safety Regulation (Legislative Auditor, 1992)

14. Transit • More than 93 million trips are provided by 106 transit systems in the state • Transit service is made possible through a financial partnership that includes local, state, and federal participation • MN/DOT's Office of Transit provides both financial and technical assistance to public transit systems in 66 of 80 Greater Minnesota counties • The Office also maintains a statewide system plan for bicycle transportation and promotes non-travel alternatives such as telecommuting • Light rail transit line along Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis • Light rail will be part of a coordinated system that includes park and ride lots, bus service and commuter rail • Transit Services (Legislative Auditor, 1998) • Regional Transit Planning (Legislative Auditor, 1992) • Greater Minnesota Transit Plan

15. Bicycles in Minnesota • I 35 Bridge

17. Railroads • First railroad constructed in 1862 • Rail system peaked in 1930 at 9,362 miles • Today, many rail lines have been abandoned for other  transportation modes • Some rail beds have been converted to paved bike trails. • While continuing to encourage the use of freight rail, Mn/DOT working to bring commuter rail and high-speed rail to Minnesota • Railroad & Warehouse Commission • Minnesota Railroad Research Project • Minnesota from the Railroad (MHS) • Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad

19. 1888

20. Railway Age Magazine • Brief History of the U.S. Passenger Rail Industry (Duke University) • Burlington Northern Santa Fe • Coal Transportation (Energy Information Administration) • Great Northern Railway Historical Society

21. Ports and Waterways • Two principle commercial waterways • the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system • the Mississippi River (including its tributaries, the Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers) • Over 75% of the total grain shipments from the state travel by barge, laker, or ocean-going freighter • Mn/DOT is involved with the development of commercial navigation, policy and planning concerning water transportation, legislation and rehabilitation of commercial freight facilities • US Army Corps of Engineers - St Paul District

22. Aeronautics and Aviation • Minnesota Aviation System Plan has 135 publicly owned airports, 19 publicly owned seaplane bases and six privately owned/open to the public airports. • In conjunction with Piney, Manitoba, Canada, operates one facility in Pine Creek, Minnesota. • The Mn/DOT Office of Aeronautics provides technical and financial assistance to publicly owned airports for airport master planning and land acquisition • The office also works to enhance aviation safety - aviation flight safety seminars and flight schools, and aviation weather on public television • Airport Planning (Legislative Auditor, 1993) • Metropolitan Airports Commission • Metropolitan Airports Commission (Legislative Auditor, 2003)

23. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 360 • To further the public interest and aeronautical progress • by establishing uniform rules, consistent with federal regulations and those of other states, in order that those engaged in aeronautics of every character may so engage with the least possible restriction, consistent with the safety and the rights of others • by providing for cooperation with the federal authorities in the development of a national system of civil aviation and for coordination of the aeronautical activities of those authorities and the authorities of this state by assisting in accomplishing the purposes of federal legislation and eliminating costly and unnecessary duplication  of functions properly in the province of federal agencies

24. 360.018 Regulating aircraft, airmen, airports, instructors • The general public interest and safety, the safety of persons receiving instruction concerning or operating, using, or traveling in aircraft and of persons and property on the ground, and the interest of aeronautical progress requiring that aircraft operated within this state should be airworthy, that airmen and those engaged in air instruction should be properly qualified, and that airports, restricted landing areas, and air navigation facilities should be suitable for the purposes for which they are designed; … the advantages of uniform regulation making it desirable that aircraft operated within this state should conform with respect to design, construction, and airworthiness to the standards prescribed by the United States government with respect to civil aircraft subject to its jurisdiction and that persons engaging in aeronautics within this state should have the qualifications necessary for obtaining and holding appropriate airman certificates of the United States, the commissioner is authorized:

29. Metropolitan Council • Works with local governments to provide • bus and light rail systems • wastewater treatment • affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families • planning and funding to local governments acquiring land for a regional system of parks and trails

30. Metropolitan Council • Regional planning agency in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area • engages communities and the public in planning for future growth • provides forecasts of the region's population and household growth • provides a framework for making decisions and implementation for regional systems including aviation, transportation, parks and open space, water quality and water management

31. Regional Transportation • Commuter Services • Hiawatha Light Rail • Metro Mobility • Metro Transit/Bus • Northstar Commuter Rail • Transportation Planning

32. Ethanol • CRS Report for Congress. RL30369: Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues (2000) • CRS Report for Congress. 98-435E: Alcohol Fuels Tax Incentives (1999) • Minnesota Ethanol Program(Harvesting Clean Energy) • Fresh Energy <ethanol> • Institute for Local Self-Reliance