My county seeks to avoid funding new bike/ped projects
August 11th, 2008,Yesterday my family and I came home from a week’s vacation in Wisconsin and, after a long day of travel, unpacking, and child care, I watched the Olympics on television. Flipping through the channels during the commercials, I landed on a local cable access channel and found the commissioners of my county - the elected officials that run Rice County, Minnesota - discussing transportation issues at a recent working session.
The county transportation engineer, Dennis Luebbe, proposed a policy that concerned me: banning county funding of facilities such as sidewalks and bike paths in future transportation capital improvement projects. The policy would immediately effect county funding of a recent local project that has been contentious: the Woodley Street/CSAH 28 project here in Northfield. Note also that the county receives funding from the state for transportation infrastructure; state funds, of course, come from our income tax, sales taxes, and other taxes and fees that we pay.
Mr. Luebbe said that bike/ped facilities might be considered in projects outside of the CIP, but that hardly seems satisfactory. I will await further comment until I locate the text of the policy and receive an answer from Mr. Luebbe regarding my questions:
1. Is the proposed policy available for viewing online? If not, would you send us a copy? If a rationale is not included in the text of the policy, we are interested in learning that also.
2. Do other counties have a similar policy? Which ones do you know of?
Here is the PDF of the policy, which was sent to me by Fran Windschitl at Rice County:
August 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I found a PDF of the agenda for the Aug. 12 county Board of Commissioners meeting.
The relevant agenda item seems to be:
“Approval of Revised Cost Participation Policy on Cooperative Roadway
Construction Projects ”
So it applies only to “cooperative” projects, where a city or township and the county participate, apparently, but is that any better? That would rule out the kinds of urban locations where bike/ped facilities are most needed.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I’ve added the PDF of the policy at the end of the main post. In fairness to the county’s position, some bike/ped facilities such as traffic signals could be funded. Presumably bike lanes in the existing right of way would be also, since they involve only striping. So my post headline might be considered exaggerated, but l still think it’s generally truthful.
August 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I emailed Steve Clark at Transit for Livable Communities (tlcminnesota.org) , who said he hadn’t heard of a county having such a policy. He said it seemed “backwards” at a time when other counties and cities are considering “complete streets” policies. He pointed to Ramsey, Hennepin, and Washington counties as offering a better example for Minnesota. He also suggested looking at the Rice Co. transportation plan.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I attended the Board of Commissioners meeting this morning. They voted to approve the new cost participation policy. I did not speak because there is no option for public input at commissioners’ meetings (with the exception of work sessions).
Galen Malecha, Northfield’s representative, was the only commissioner to vote against it. The others view sidewalks and paths as nonessential “amenities.”
Mr. Luebbe made a strong case for the significant financial pressures the county is under as it deals with huge increases in construction costs and lack of funding from all levels of government.
I shared with Galen and Mr. Luebbe an idea for a compromise: move paths and sidewalks to the “potential” category for county funding. That way if the funding environment improves, the county could help with sidewalks and paths and realize some of the benefits of moving county residents to walking and biking. That’s less ideal than the policy we had before, but it’s an improvement on the new policy.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Forgot to mention: Mr. Luebbe said that the county’s funding of sidewalks and paths in the Woodley St. project in Northfield will not be affected by the new policy; it was negotiated under the earlier policy.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
It’s all about how we can’t do this and can’t do that. Has anybody tried using creativity to solve problems, to break even, or to make money instead of lose it? I suppose I need to wake up now. Bill, don’t get discourages. You’re smart enough to know how politics work. Issues and leaders turn on a dime and things could change tomorrow.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Thanks for this post (and welcome back!), Bill. Though I’m glad that the Woodley project - which is finally underway, judging by the forest of survey flags and some big machinery out front today - is exempt from this new policy, I’m aghast at the idea. The rationale is hardly convincing, and only serves to highlight the real concern - making sure automobiles can zoom around every goddamn place they want. “Rice County to Walkers & Bikers: Drop Dead.”
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September 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
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