We are asking state legislators to support a feasibility study to evaluate a highway-to-boulevard conversion of I-94 in between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Take action by sending an email and sharing your support!
Now is a critical time to study the Twin Cities Boulevard to ensure that it receives fair consideration as future planning for the I-94 corridor, via MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 project, moves forward. Initial project alternatives (a.k.a the designs that will be studied) will be unveiled this year. The Rethinking I-94 project will determine the future of the highway for the next half century.
While MnDOT has said that they will consider a boulevard conversion as part of the Rethinking I-94 project’s alternatives analysis, that is insufficient. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process limits what can be studied and fails to fully consider the intersectional impacts of highways. MnDOT’s process also uses biased assumptions that prioritize car and truck traffic, minimize community and environmental impacts, and do not account for induced demand or traffic evaporation.
A feasibility study would help the public and decision makers better understand how a future without the freeway could work and the expected impacts on:
- Transportation access, traffic, and freight movement
- Greenhouse gas emissions, air & noise pollution, environmental justice and racial equity
- Economic opportunity and housing access
- Tax revenue and regional land use
- Traffic safety and public health
Similar studies are commonly funded by legislature, often focused on evaluating highway expansion or suburban transit projects. This is an important opportunity to further explore a solution for repairing I-94’s harms and investing in reparative justice for surrounding communities.
How to take action:
There are two ways that you can take action to support an I-94 boulevard feasibility study.
1. Schedule a meeting with your legislators.
One way to share your support is by join us at the Capitol on Wednesday, February 8 for an lobby day about the future of I-94! We will be at the Capitol from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM with legislator meetings scheduled throughout the day. Click here to sign-up and receive additional information!
If you cannot attend this Wednesday but are interested in meeting with your legislators, you can schedule a virtual or in-person meeting for a future date. Click here to find your legislators and how to contact them. Feel free to reach out to advocacy@ourstreetsmpls.org for assistance with setting up a meeting and help with talking points!
2. Send an email.
The fastest way to take action is by sending an email. This email action step will be automatically sent to your specific state legislators as well as Governor Walz.
Next Steps
We hope to share an update in the coming days about a specific bill number, authors and language for the boulevard conversion feasibility study. Stay tuned!