Supporters Are Surprised, Questioning Whether MnDOT is to Blame
The Friday before Christmas Eve, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) confirmed its plans to eliminate the two at-grade boulevard options from the Rethinking I-94 project despite those options scoring highest in the agency’s own community survey. Our Streets, the transportation organization advocating for this innovative option called Twin Cities Boulevard, noted the “conspicuous timing” just weeks before the USDOT announced federal funding as part of the Reconnecting Communities Program.
The program, which aims to reconnect communities that were cut off due to past transportation and infrastructure decisions, has received criticism for awarding funds to rebuild—and even expand—highways. It turns out the concerns of Our Streets were not unfounded, as the Twin Cities Boulevard project was not selected despite securing matching funds from both Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis.
“I have no doubt that MnDOT’s decision to rashly eliminate the two at-grade boulevard project options significantly undermined our application,” says José Antonio Zayas Cabán, executive director at Our Streets. “With the incoming presidential administration, this was our last opportunity to leverage these critical federal dollars. It’s incredibly disappointing to see Melissa Barnes and the rest of the Rethinking I-94 team completely disregard the community they serve and instead pursue the easy choice of status quo.”
While MnDOT intends to announce the project options the agency intends to further pursue next week, the decision is not final. There is mounting public pressure to restore the options, and many elected officials on the project’s Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) are not happy with the decision. Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota legislature oversee the agency and could also intervene.
“While this decision is disappointing, it doesn’t change my commitment to supporting the community vision for a boulevard that contributes to a clean and equitable future for Ward 2 and the city,” says Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley. Council Member Wonsley was part of the unanimous vote passing a resolution supporting the study of a boulevard conversion on the 7.5-mile stretch of Interstate 94 between downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul in September of last year.
The boulevard option gained traction when Our Streets and technical experts released a report on the feasibility of highway removal last year.
Our Streets has received federal funding from the Reconnecting Communities program in the past for the campaign to “Bring Back 6th”, which plans to convert Olson Memorial Highway into a boulevard and reclaim highway land back to the community.
About Our Streets:
Our Streets works to put people first by transforming transportation and infrastructure in Minnesota by making streets places where people can easily and comfortably walk, bike, roll, and use public transit.
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