MET COUNCIL CHAIR, TED MONDALE SAYS "It's Time To Think Differently About Transportation"
QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS
THE TWIN CITIES REGIONAL GROWTH STRATEGY
By: Connie Kozlak, Metropolitan Council
The Twin Cities continues to be one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the northern part of the United States. Between 1970 and 1995, the region added 574,000 people and 611,000 jobs. During the next 25 years from 1995-2020, the region is expected to add 650,000 more people and 440,000 more jobs. In 1996 the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities adopted a regional growth management strategy called the Regional Blueprint. This strategy encourages most metropolitan growth to occur within the designated urban area of the region while preserving, agricultural land and open space in the rest of the seven county metro area. This Blueprint creates a 40-year "urban reserve" area where part of the growth is expected to occur. However, it also places a high priority on investment and redevelopment within the urban core of the region through increased housing densities and high-density development and job concentrations transportation corridors.
The transportation implications of this strategy are significant: to demonstrate, 650,000 new residents will generate an average of 4 trips each per day for a total of 2.6 million new trips every day. In the twenty five-year time frames from 1970 through 1995 we added 200 miles of metropolitan highways to the region. Between 1995 and 2020 we only plan to add 25 more miles. This could result in at least 100 more miles of congested roads by 2020.
To cope with all of this travel, developing a more balanced multi-modal transportation system is needed. Increased densities and mixes of different types of land uses can encourage more use of biking and walking. We need to strengthen the role of the transit system, and the connection between land use and transportation investment decisions. ITS, therefore, will have an important role in helping the region do so.
Our challenge is to develop a stronger and more efficient transit system. In order to double transit rider ship by 2020, we will rely on many ITS strategies. Already Metro Transit's information center is working with the Orion Project to provide better route and schedule information to potential transit travelers within just a few minutes, considerably shortening the average caller's wait time and allowing many more customers to be served. Ramp meter bypasses for busses give a travel time advantage over autos that will encourage more people to use transit. Automatic vehicle locators on the bus fleet will allow more effective supervision as well as the opportunity to provide passengers with real time bus arrival information. Imagine being able to check your computer before leaving the office to see if your bus is running on time. You could avoid a cold wait on a, dark street corner in January!
Equally important, the area’s first light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue will be able to take advantage of ITS technologies. Applications being considered include train to wayside adaptive signal control, which will allow trains to travel uninterrupted try red lights, enunciators on vehicles and stations to announce station arrivals, selected use of closed circuit TV and other security measures, and changeable message displays at stations. Furthermore, bus hubs providing timed transfers at some of the LRT stations could make use of AVL to better determine estimated bus arrival times
In addition to these transit applications, better management of the area's highways is critical since so few new roads will be built. Improved traveler information systems will businesses to better cope with congestion. Continued expansion of the freeway ramp metering will be necessary. As freeways become more congested, the increased traffic will necessitate the use of arterial streets, resulting in a greater need for adaptive signal control systems that can keep traffic flowing smoothly and more efficiently.
By and large, these important examples demonstrate how increased use of ITS strategies will he critical in assuring that a growing Twin Cities region continues to be a great place to live and do business. (Connie Kozlak is the Manager for Systems Planning and Programming in Transportation for the Development Department at the Metropolitan Council, as well as the Met Council representative on the ITS Minnesota board of directors.)
MET COUNCIL CHAIR, TED MONDALE SAYS Time To Think Differently About Transportation
By: Mike Sobolewski, Mn/DOT
Metropolitan Council Chair Ted Mondale says it's time to think differently about how the region grows and develops in order for it to remain economically competitive and attractive as a place to live and do business.
This is part of the message that Mondale will deliver at a joint luncheon meeting of ITS Minnesota, the North Central Institute of Transportation Engineers (NCITE) and the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) scheduled for Wednesday, September 8th, at the Sheraton Midway in St. Paul.
According to Mondale, "Key to preserving our high quality of life is investment in a good, efficient transit system - taking people where they want to go - when they want to get there; helping to reduce worsening congestion and preserve our prized mobility; putting a halt to expensive unrestrained growth into our rural and agricultural areas; and playing a role in redeveloping our central cities and older suburbs to make the best use of infrastructure and services already in place.
The truth is, we simply cannot afford to continue to pursue road expansion policies. It's neither fiscally responsible nor fair," states Mondale. Calling it the only economically sensible thing to do, Mondale says that the region has to think smarter about how it can go about improving transit and providing more transportation choices, together with thoughtful incentives that encourage communities to develop more efficiently.
As chair of the Metropolitan Council, Mondale leads what is recognized as a nationally unique governmental body in the seven county Twin Cities metropolitan area. The Council operates the region's bus system, collects and cleans wastewater, is a housing and redevelopment agency, and plans as well as funds our parks and trails. The Council also prepares long-range plans for the development of vital regional services, namely, aviation, transportation, parks, and open space, water quality and water management, while developing a comprehensive plan on how the region should grow in the future.
The Transportation Division is one of three Metropolitan Council Divisions. It is organized into two units: Transportation and Transit Development and Metro Transit. Vital activities include redesigning parts of the transit system, implementing the Transportation Development Guide/Policy Plan, maintaining travel forecast models, participating in transportation corridor studies, planning for major airport and aviation systems, implementing air quality planning, and evaluating while executing transit programs.
Ted Mondale has spent six years in public office as a State Senator. Similarly, he has been active in national politics for the past twenty years. In addition to chairing for the Metropolitan Council, Ted Mondale is a consultant and former Senior Vice President at the Petters Companies. He practiced law at Larkin, Hoffman, Daly and Lingren, Ltd., until his election to the State Senate in 1991. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota and his JD degree from the William Mitchell College of Law.
On September 9, 1999 at 10 a-m., the Orion Model Deployment Program will launch its Mass Transit Project with the help of its public and private partners, Mn/DOT, Metro Transit, Lockheed Martin Corporation, 3M Corporation and Mantech. The Mass Transit Project will make improvements in the areas of fleet management, operational efficiency and customer service. The event will be held at the Metro Transit headquarters (Fred Heywood garage), located at 560 6th Avenue North, in Minneapolis. Tentative keynote speakers will he Commissioner Tinklenberg, Art Leahy, Metro Transit's General Manager, and Carey Smith, President Lockheed Martin Canada.
IMAGE SENSING SYSTEMS, INC. TO PROVIDE AUTOSCOPE TECHNOLOGY AT HONG KONG'S AIRPORT TUNNEL
On June 14, 1999 ISS was awarded a contract to supply 15 Autoscope™ 2004 Systems in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Autoscope wide area Video, Vehicle Detection System will be implemented as part of a comprehensive Traffic Control and Surveillance System in the Hong Kong Airport Tunnel.
IMAGE SENSING SYSTEMS, INC., ACQUIRES MAJORITY SHARE OWNERSHIP OF FLOW TRAFFIC LTD. OF HONG KONG
ISS acquired a majority ownership of the Hong Kong based company Flow Traffic, Ltd. on April 22, 1999. Flow Traffic is a distributor of traffic control products manufactured by international traffic companies and has considerable experience working within the Asian markets. Bill Russell, ISS President and CEO, commented, "We have entered into this opportunity in order to localize our presence in this major growth environment where infrastructure spending for traffic control systems continues at a healthy rate despite the economic slow down in some Asian countries."
ITS HANDBOOK 2000 TO BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER
After a three-year international collaboration, the World Road Association (PIARC) ITS Committee has put together a comprehensive ITS Handbook 2000, which will be published by Artech House Books on behalf of PIARC this September. The ITS Handbook 2000, contains up-to-date information and anecdotes from the pioneers of tomorrow's intelligent transportation systems. In addition, the handbook contains practical data via 12 case studies and 21 country profiles in order to increase international understanding, ideas and solutions to common transportation problems of congestion, traffic accidents, planning for and funding of infrastructure improvements and changes, and the environmental impact of surface transport. The cost of the handbook is $83 (inside the Americas) and $91 (outside the Americas).