HighLight Heading
March 2008
Metro project demonstrates equity aspects of public transit decisions
A U of M project examined the potential impact of bus rapid transit on a Minneapolis neighborhood.
New public transit projects affect people unevenly, particularly minorities and those with low incomes who may not have the option to drive. These groups historically are not active in the planning process for public transportation, although they often provide the most reliable ridership numbers and rely most heavily on public transportation.
A proposed transit project in the Twin Cities metro area demonstrates these equity issues, say Carrie Ann Fathman, a master’s candidate in landscape architecture, and Kristine F. Miller, associate professor in landscape architecture. They described their findings in an article in the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs fall 2007 CURA Reporter (188 KB PDF).
The Bottineau Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is a joint effort of Hennepin County, the seven municipalities along the boulevard, and Metro Transit. The primary goal is to connect northwest suburban communities to downtown Minneapolis. Although BRT offers clear benefits for commuters from these suburbs, the researchers write, there are questions about its effects on West Broadway, the main commercial corridor of North Minneapolis.
Their study, funded by a CURA Faculty Interactive Research Program grant, examined the potential impacts of the proposed Bottineau Boulevard BRT on the West Broadway neighborhood. The study was developed in collaboration with Juxtaposition Arts, a youth-focused, minority-directed, urban visual arts center based in the West Broadway neighborhood.
The article documents the researchers’ methods and findings, the potential positive and negative impacts of BRT, and the experiences of their community partner.
Key aspects of the BRT project were in flux during the course of the study, and the entire project is now uncertain. The biggest change happened when Hennepin County announced that the BRT project might be dropped so that a light-rail transit (LRT) project could be pursued. The LRT route would not run on West Broadway.
“Both BRT and LRT have implications for transportation equity in the metro area because the goal of both kinds of transit is to entice drivers to become riders rather than to increase transit options for existing riders or to increase transportation equity,” Fathman and Miller write. Regardless of whether or not BRT or LRT is built in the corridor, they believe the public participation process is essential. “Riders must be involved, information must be made available as changes occur, and community organizations that advocate for transit riders and for Northside residents must be included,” they say.
To read the article, go to www.cura.umn.edu.