TP FACTS

Transportation Planning Facts
Planning to ensure a mobile region
The Metropolitan Council is charged under state and federal law with overall planning for the seven-county
metro region’s transportation system, including highways, transit, aviation, bicycles and pedestrians.
Because moving people and goods efficiently supports a healthy economy, a well-functioning transportation
system is essential to a prosperous regional future.
The Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan details regional transportation goals, plans and investment
priorities to ensure a robust, efficient transportation system as the region’s population grows. The plan is updated periodically to take into account new studies, funding realities and other data; the most recent update
was approved in November 2010.
The plan is developed by the Council’s Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS) division. It is implemented
by MnDOT and regional transit providers, including Metro Transit, suburban transit authorities, and counties
and their regional railroad authorities.
Planning and programming involves local elected officials
Federal law and regulations require that all communities with more than 50,000 residents have a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to coordinate transportation planning in order to receive federal transportation funding. The Council is the designated MPO for the seven-county Twin Cities area.
The Minnesota Legislature established the 33-member Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) in 1974 to fulfill
federal requirements that the MPO include local elected officials and significant transportation providers in
the continuing, cooperative and comprehensive regional transportation planning and funding processes. The
TAB provides formal review of regional and state transportation plans; solicits, evaluates and selects projects
to receive federal transportation funds; and conducts public hearings and adopts the region’s Transportation
Improvement Program.
Highway strategy targets active management, focus improvements
Forecasts show that most of the region’s highway system will experience congestion during peak hours by
2030, and constrained financial resources will prevent building many new lane miles. To address this congestion, the Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan focuses on the people-moving capacity of the highway
system, combined with strategies to minimize future demand on the system. Key strategies include:
• Use active traffic management system-wide to reduce the impact of congestion and incidents on the
highway system.
• Construct lower-cost, high-benefit highway improvements to improve traffic flow while addressing
safety hazards.
• Develop a system of managed lanes (and priced MnPASS lanes) to provide congestion-free travel options for transit riders, car and van pools and solo drivers willing to pay.
• Implement capacity expansion in strategic locations, specifically for land continuity or unfinished segments of the highway system.
The Council’s 2030
Transportation Policy Plan
details regional transportation goals, plans and
investment priorities to
ensure a robust, efficient
transportation system.
The plan focuses on the
people-moving capacity
of the highway system,
combined with strategies
to minimize future demand
on the system.

• Improve non-freeway trunk highways, with special emphasis on applying active traffic  management,
and making preservation and safety investments.
The Council assists local units of government to acquire and preserve right-of-way for future metropolitan
highways. In 1982, the Legislature authorized the Council to levy a regional property tax to provide funds to
make interest-free loans to counties, towns and cities to purchase property within certain future highway
corridors. Before construction begins, MnDOT buys the property from the local partners, who then repay the
Council for the loans. The Council, with regional stakeholders, is evaluating this program. Recommendations
are anticipated in 2012.
Transit vision calls for big growth in transit ridership
Transit is already a major contributor to regional mobility, providing 91 million rides in 2010. The Council’s
vision for transit is to grow overall regional ridership to 147 million by 2030.
Planning to expand the regional transitway network is critical to achieving the vision. Transitways – like light
rail (LRT), commuter rail, bus rapid transit (BRT) and express buses – connect regional employment centers
and attract new riders because service is faster, more reliable and has more amenities.
The Council’s transportation policy plan identifies 7 transitways in operation, under construction or in
engineering; 8 corridors under study for dedicated LRT, BRT or commuter rail; 9 corridors for arterial BRT on
existing roads; and 12 express bus corridors with transit advantages. The Council partners with county transit
planners and railroad authorities to plan and implement these corridors.
Planning for aviation and other transportation modes
The transportation policy plan, which includes the first major update of the aviation system plan since 1996,
addresses impacts and opportunities facing the industry, such as the economic and security issues that have
emerged since 2001. The plan incorporates new long-term comprehensive plans for the Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport and six of its reliever airports.
The Council provides planning guidance on issues related to bikeways and walkways, and with the TAB allocates federal funds to bicycle and pedestrian projects. The policy plan continues to support and coordinate
efforts to strengthen these modes.1
The plan also acknowledges the multimodal freight movement system that connects the region to the rest
of the nation and the world. The Council’s plan proposes to continue to monitor the issues confronting the
freight industry, working closely with MnDOT to support the economic vitality of the region.