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February 2007
Legislators attend transportation seminars
Legislators at January 10 seminar
Transportation promises to be an item of debate in the new legislative session. To lend University research and expertise to the debate, CTS offered two half-day seminars for legislators last month on the Minneapolis campus. The purpose of the seminars was to give legislators an overview of transportation trends and an opportunity to discuss policy implications with University and other experts.
“The seminars were a fact-based, non-partisan opportunity for legislators to engage in active learning,” said moderator Robert Johns, director of CTS. More than 25 legislators attended both sessions, including the full House Transportation Finance Division Committee, led by chair Bernie Lieder and vice chair Ron Erhardt.
The seminars were sponsored by CTS in cooperation with the Minnesota Senate and House Transportation Committees, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), and the Metropolitan Council. The seminars were a pilot effort, Johns said, and are open to format and other changes in the future.
The first portion of the January 10 seminar examined the historical development of funding formulas and described current sources and allocation of funds for roads, transit, and other uses. Presenters were John Williams, former legislative analyst with the House Research Department; Norman Foster, executive budget officer with the Minnesota Department of Finance; and Natalio Diaz, former director of transportation planning with the Met Council. The second session looked at future approaches for transportation finance: Lee Munnich, director of the State and Local Policy Program (SLPP) at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, reviewed financing in other states and countries, and Adeel Lari, director of innovative financing at SLPP, presented transportation financing options.
The January 16 seminar touched on two main themes: transportation and growth, and alternative modes and fuels. John Adams, geography professor and Humphrey Institute faculty member, presented societal changes affecting transportation, the impacts of congestion, pressures on the transportation system, the link to land development, and other trends. In the final session, Kevin Krizek, associate professor in the Humphrey Institute, reviewed non-auto travel and land use, accessibility to destinations, and innovations in transit-oriented development. David Kittelson, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, presented future fuel scenarios.
In addition to the instructors, a number of topic experts were on hand for questions: Ken Buckeye, program manager, Mn/DOT Office of Investment Management; Mark Fuhrmann, deputy general manager, Metro Transit; Connie Kozlak, manager of transportation systems planning, Metropolitan Council; Abigail McKenzie, director of statewide planning and analysis, Mn/DOT Office of Investment Management; Vince Pellegrin, chief operating officer, Metro Transit; Scott Peterson, director, Mn/DOT Office of Finance; Peggy Reichert, director of statewide planning and analysis, Mn/DOT Office of Investment Management; and Amy Vennewitz, deputy director of transportation services, Metropolitan Council.