Finding a Green Way to Govern

The amendment to the City's recreational fire ordinance I authored passed the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Health committee this afternoon, and I expect it to pass the full Council next week.  When it goes into effect, the City will prohibit recreational fires during "Air Quality Alert" days for particulate matter.  Air Quality Alerts are called by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) when the Air Quality Index is in the range that is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups." This ordinance change was recommended by the City's Community Environmental Advisory Committee (CEAC) and Public Health Advisory Committee late last year.  I consider it a compromise between folks who have concerns about recreational fires and those who enjoy having them. At today's committee meeting, I asked our Fire Department and Health Department staff for more information about their plans to inform the public of these changes, let folks know when we're...

Representative Davnie has responded to my initial blog post on the Transit bill, and has made clear why he doesn't support increasing the sales tax to fund much-needed transit improvements.  While the changes between the initial legislation and what has passed are complex, there is a simple way to understand the problems with the House bill that Rep. Davnie supports. Here are the transit improvements proposed by the Governor that are funded by the Senate bill, but   not   funded by the House bill: Operation of the planned Southwest LRT Line The Bottineau LRT Line, which will extend the Hiawatha line north into Brooklyn Park Arterial Bus Rapid Transit on Chicago Ave, Lake Street, and 10 other high-transit-use corridors Bus Rapid Transit on I-35W  and up to 5 other highway BRT lines Annual improvements to standard bus service, meaning more routes , longer hours , and more frequent service And in addition to all of this, the Senate bill would create th...

Elyse Stern, a 28-year-old woman with strong ties to Second Ward businesses the Seward Cafe and Bedlam Theater, was struck and killed by a drunk driver on her bicycle at Cedar Ave S and Lake Street on March 30th. The driver, Juan Ricardo Hernandez-Campoceco, has been charged with felony hit-and-run and driving while intoxicated.  He has not been charged with criminal vehicular homicide. I know that Elyse's friends and communities are collecting donations to create an education and outreach campaign to help bicyclists get access to lights and helmets.  On Wednesday, the Bicycle Advisory Committee passed a resolution calling on the Minneapolis Police Department to participate in this campaign. The idea is that Elyse's memorial fund will purchase lights and/or helmets for MPD officers to hand out to bicyclists riding without lights and/or helmets. The BAC also asked that MPD officers get training on the rules of the road, and that MPD spokespeople be careful in the afterma...

A very important transit bill is in jeopardy at the Legislature, and I’m hoping that you will take action to convince your State Representative to support it.   If it passes, this bill will make it possible for our metropolitan region to make long-term investments in transit, including: Increasing bus service by 4%  Ensuring that we can build 3 new Light Rail lines Putting Bus Rapid Transit on 4 highway corridors Creating 12 higher-amenity “Enhanced Bus” routes, likely including Route 21 Providing $50 million per year for metro-area cities and counties to address local needs, including accessibility enhancements, safer sidewalks, and bicycle routes. This bill is supported by over 50 organizations, including Transit for Livable Communities  and the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee.   Quite simply, the Twin Cities metro region is falling behind on transit. A metro-wide sales tax is the way that nearly all US regions fund transit – and it’s one of ...

I strongly support the “Transit for a Stronger Economy” bill, and I'm disappointed to see that it seems to be in trouble at the legislature. Still, there is hope that a bill with funding to increase bus service, support new Light Rail lines, Bus Rapid Transit and help create higher-amenity “Enhanced Bus” routes is possible.  The bill is supported by over 50 organizations, including Transit for Livable Communities and the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee.  It would use a small sales tax increase, like nearly all US regions, to fund transit.  I urge you to contact your State Legislators and encourage them to support this incredible opportunity to provide stable, adequate funding for transit in Minneapolis.  You can take action here .