Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/06/2014

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is time to strike a new balance between being good stewards of the infrastructure we have and building more. As a result, the Council is pivoting from an emphasis on expanding our systems —especially wastewater and highways —to maintaining the infrastructure we have and maximizing the impact of limited dollars. The Council's effective planning, combined with slowed population growth and reduced per capita water use over the last decade, has created a regional wastewater treatment system with adequate capacity and service coverage planned through at least 2040. Prudent planning and system improvements at the regional and local levels have helped maintain and extend the capacity and life of the existing wastewater treatment system. Working with local governments, the Council has planned out the region's wastewater system through 2030, and forecasted population growth to 2040 suggests minimal need to expand the wastewater system's geographic footprint. As a result, the Council's attention will increasingly turn from managing the edge of the system to ensuring adequate maintenance and capacity in the redeveloping areas of the region in order to efficiently use existing wastewater investments. Our region's highway investment strategy exemplifies the need and the opportunity for thoughtful and strategic stewardship of resources. While some gaps remain, the region's highway network is essentially complete and must now be rebuilt. The highway preservation and maintenance needs are increasing as federal, state, and local resources for roads and bridges continue to decline. For example, gas tax revenues are declining due to improved fuel efficiency, changing travel patterns, and lost purchasing power as costs rise over time. The 2013 Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan shows that the region will have only $52 million available annually from 2014 to 2022 for highway mobility improvements, a reduction from 2030 Transportation Policy Plan projections and meeting one-fourth of the anticipated need. From 2023 onward, all state highway funding will be devoted to preservation of the existing system. While the region must operate, maintain, and rebuild the existing highway system, these investments alone cannot accommodate the growing region. Regional roadway congestion is a sign of economic activity and occurs primarily during peak commuting hours. As a result, moving more people during these times requires different solutions than just addressing the congestion. With limited fiscal resources, smart highway capacity investments across the region must take a system -wide approach and create alternatives to driving alone in congestion, rather than project -by -project expansions that often simply move the congestion "down the road". Managed and priced lanes optimize overall highway capacity both for those who use the lanes and those who do not. Strategic capacity improvements, such as converting signaled intersections into interchanges and providing Interstate lane continuity, produce a smoother overall traffic flow from the existing system. The Council's policies will emphasize preserving existing highway assets and optimizing capacity through strategic investments that will be further defined in the 2040 Transportation Policy Plan: • Preserve, manage, and optimize the capacity of the existing highway system to move more people and vehicles; • Construct lower-cost/high-benefit safety and capacity improvement projects on highways across the region; • Leverage preservation projects with lower-cost/high-benefit investments, such as the 1- 35E Cayuga bridge replacement project which is also adding capacity for managed lanes; • Expand the regional system of managed lanes to provide a congestion -free option for those using transit, sharing rides, or willing to pay; DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Last revised: February 21, 2014 11