Best Places for Commuters

According to last week’s Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal (free registration required), 40 Minnesota employers were honored as "Best Places for Commuters" by a coalition of business and consumer groups and the federal government.

The awardees, who include Best Buy Co. Inc. of Richfield, Minneapolis-based American Express Financial Advisors, Starkey Laboraties Inc. and Rochester's Mayo Clinic, were named because they offer incentives to encourage employees not to drive alone to work. Such incentives may include bike lockers and shower facilities, or encourage telecommuting. The goal of the program, which was launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Dept. of Transportation, is to raise the profile of commuting incentives and make those perks as common as retirement benefits.
For more information, visit www.bwc.gov.

MN’s Best Places for Commuters
Abbott Northwestern
American Express Financial Advisors
Anoka County Transportation Management Organization
Bemis Company, Inc.
Best Buy Co., Inc.
CenterPoint Energy
Ceridian Corporation
CRP Holdings, LLC
CSM Corporation
Disciplined Growth Investors, Inc.
Downtown Minneapolis TMO
Greene Espel, PLLP
Groups Meetings Incentives, Inc.
Guidant Corporation, CRM Division
Hargrove & Associates, Inc.
Hargrove & Associates, Inc.
Hennepin County
International Decision Systems
Landform Engineering Company
Manchester Companies, Inc.
Mayo Clinic
Meagher & Geer, PLLP
Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Meyer, Borgman & Johnson, Inc.
Minnesota Historical Society
Natural Resource Group, Inc.
Public Radio International
Quality Bicycle Products
Ramsey County
Schilling Travel
SPS Commerce, Inc.
Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
TCF Bank
United Properties
University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services
Utility Engineering
Verisae
Xerox Corporation

Send Mail

James B. Hovland: Perils of a promise

James B. Hovland
Published May 22, 2005 in the Star Tribune

Dear Gov. Pawlenty:

With all due respect, I do not believe that your veto of the transportation bill was in the best interests of the state.

The bill had enormously broad support in the business community and elsewhere. The Regional Council of Mayors, numerous local governments throughout the state and broad-based citizen groups supported the bill for what it would have done for roads, bridges and transit in both metropolitan and Greater Minnesota.

I know you worry about a promise you made some years ago. Recently, I saw a quote from Cicero that made me think of your situation: "Promises are not to be kept, if the keeping of them would prove harmful to those to whom you have made them."

I know you care about our economic vitality, our ability to compete nationally and globally. To succeed economically, a sound transportation infrastructure is critical; ours is slipping away. Our citizens are spending so much time in congestion that it is adversely affecting the quality of their lives.

I speak respectfully but frankly in saying that your transportation plan provides for too much borrowing and will not do the job. Its debt service would erode our ability to keep up with the system expansion required. There must be a blend of borrowing and "pay as you go."

You have said, "Don't ask for perfect, just good," on a transportation plan. The Legislature's plan fit that category. We cannot wait for a referendum on a gas tax increase. Last year we wasted 93 million gallons of fuel stuck in congestion in the metro area; the cost of congestion for the Twin Cities is approaching $1 billion annually and $1,000 per year per commuter.

In the next 20 years we will be adding another million people to the region. How are we going to deal with these issues unless we stop just admiring the problem and give it the full financial attention it deserves?

I don't presume to know how to deal with your personal political dilemma. I can tell you that I don't consider you to have made the "no new taxes" pledge to me but to a special interest group. I neither expected nor wanted such a promise when I supported you for governor and I trust most Minnesotans think the same.

What I hope for from you is effective leadership in difficult times. You are a man blessed with tremendous talent and I know you have the skills to provide such leadership. In your soul, I think you know what the Legislature proposed is good for the state and the best transportation plan we have seen in many years. Please remember this from Thomas Fuller: "Better to break your word than to do worse in keeping it."

James B. Hovland is mayor of Edina and chairman of the I-494 Corridor Commission.

Send Mail

The Spring of our Disconnect

Just coincidence, I suppose, that the Star Tribune released a poll this week claiming tepid support for a gas tax rise while the Texas Transportation Institute released its annual congestion report showing urban traffic conditions getting even worse.

Three things jump out at you about the Star Tribune poll. First, there’s the dog that didn’t bark, i.e., no question about whether people would pay more if we built a serious transit system as Denver is doing. In fact, the question asked was whether we would pay more “if” the money all went to roads, subtly suggesting that maybe it doesn’t today.

Second, almost the same proportion of people say that haven’t really changed their driving habits in response to higher fuel prices as say they wouldn’t support any increase in the fuel tax. In other words, I can afford the increase if it goes to the oil industry but not if it goes toward maintaining the road system. There’s more volatility in the price at the pump every week or so than any politician has proposed in a fuel tax increase.

Third, and this is the policy point: we’re headed down the road (sorry!) to join the 28 other states that now rely more on general taxes for transportation than anything resembling user fees. Minnesotans already pony up over a billion a year for roads – through local property taxes. The illusion persists that we can each get what we want and send the bill to someone else.


Curt Johnson

Best Investment is More Transportation Choices

Lea Schuster, executive director of Transit for Livable Communities--a member of go Minnesota!, wrote an opinion article that ran in the Star Tribune on Saturday.

She endeds the article by asking:
"A half-cent regional sales tax would securely fund many of our region's transit needs. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has given his blessing for a local sales tax increase for a Twins stadium. Isn't a balanced transportation system that reduces congestion growth; keeps us economically competitive; increases access to work, school and services; and makes other government spending more efficient an even more strategic investment?"

To read the entire article, click here. To add your thoughts and voice to the discussion, send us your comments by clicking on the link below.

Reader Comments

The following are readers' comments that we have received in past couple of weeks. These are not necessarily the position of go Minnesota!

Reader Anonymous e-mailed us...
This is a big step in the right direction. It's good to see someone is thinking about the future. Not just 5yrs, but further.

Charles Schoff e-mailed us...
I live in Scott Co. To get across the MN river and back during rush hour is horrible on 35W. I take 169 usually – but that can occasionally be horrible too. Especially since the communities South of the River are building like crazy. So much of the new construction is high density houses like townhomes and condominiums. The communities are irresponsible is letting this happen while the traffic is bad enough now. We need mass transit. I heard there is a rail bed from Lakeville across the MN River but that Bloomington residents don’t want a passenger rail through their town. I think there must be someway to mitigate the problems the residents of Bloomington are concerned about and still get a much needed mass transit rail in place to 494 strip. I just heard today about projected record growth for the Twin Cities. Well, when people live in a large metro area they need to co-exist with mass transit infrastructure.

Buses would be my second choice on 169, and they should be a transition to the rail. I used to take a bus downtown and would take one at least 50% of the time to the Normandale Lakes office parks if there was a route from Savage/Prior Lake. A bus could go to Normandale Lakes and then maybe continue on to the Opus complex further North on 169.

Dave Warner of Olsson Associates, Inc. e-mailed us...
I think everyone now understands that there is a major problem with Minnesota's transportation system. Rep. Holberg's proposal demonstrates that understanding. However, 5 cents a gallon to be voted on 18 months from now is way too little and way too late. The system needs an major funding increase now, this session.

Washington State Passes $8 Billion Transportation Plan – Minnesota Struggles to Pass Anything

According to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, we’re 15 years behind in meeting our transportation needs in Minnesota. Highways are increasingly congested, traffic fatalities continue to be a problem and transit systems are woefully inadequate to get people where they need to be in a timely manner.

Year after year the legislature considers various proposals to increase investments in our transportation system that would improve and widen highways while providing expanded, high-quality transit options for people around the state. And year after year, the results are less than encouraging. Some one-time money or bonding dollars (which have to be paid back with interest) may be provided for highways. Some shifting of resources may be done to try to keep the transit service cuts to a minimum. But the legislature consistently fails to reach a consensus on how to fund our transportation system long-term.

While Minnesota fiddles, other states have moved ahead aggressively. Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas – to name a few – have passed multi-billion dollar transportation plans that will vastly improve safety and mobility for residents and businesses. They understand that their economic competitiveness is tied to the quality of their infrastructure. Businesses are not going to locate or remain in a state where transporting products is time consuming and costly.

This year, the Minnesota Legislature is once again debating the issue of how best to meet our transportation needs. Many groups including those representing business, labor, and local governments are advocating for increased investments in important highway and transit projects. So far, the House and Senate appear to be heading in different directions. It’s going to take real leadership to bring everyone together on a substantial, long-term plan that will begin to address the 15-year backlog we face.

The Legislature in the State of Washington just passed a 16-year transportation plan to make major infrastructure investments on critical highways as well as improving their public transportation system. Part of the $8 billion funding package includes an increase in the state’s 28-cent per gallon gas tax. The increase would be phased-in with the first 3-cent increase starting in July of this year. With this kind of funding level, the state will be able to meet the needs of the business community who led the charge in getting the legislation passed.

Minnesota’s 20-cent per gallon gas tax has not been increased since 1988. We’ve lost so much to inflation in the intervening years that our gas tax is now only worth 12.5 cents in purchasing power. With the same kind of leadership and agreement on the part of the business community, the Governor and the Legislature, we could also benefit from the investments that would be possible with a significant, long-term transportation funding package. Let’s hope the leaders in Minnesota take note of how Washington was able to move ahead successfully. This is the year for Minnesota to get serious about competing with other states and providing its businesses and residents with high-quality transportation systems.

-Margaret Donahoe

Rep. Holberg Proposes Gas Tax Increase as Constitutional Amendment

Yesterday, Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), Chairwoman of the Minnesota House Transportation Finance Committee, proposed to raise the state's gas tax by 5 cents a gallon -- as a constitutional amendment.

Get the Star Tribune's report on her proposal in Laurie Blake's article today.

Tell us what you think about her proposal. Please send in your comments by clicking on the link below.