The Regional Active Transportation Plan got one last look over before it goes to a final vote later this month.
The plan, which is a vision to build and integrate bicycle and pedestrian networks into the Regional Transportation Plan, was presented to the Metro Council for review at a June 26 work session.
Lake McTighe, the Metro planner and project manager for the Regional Active Transportation Plan presented nine recommendations to the council, including a plan to complete the trail network by filling gaps between trails. Another recommendation is increasing safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The recommendation that was most discussed was a call to create dedicated funding for active transportation and to develop a prioritized list of active transportation projects. The council discussed how to plan for these projects when the funding is uncertain.
Metro Council President Tom Hughes described the funding issue as a circular dilemma.
"It’s a bit of a chicken and egg in that… it is harder for us to go out and get funding if there isn't a pipeline of projects, and it's harder to create a pipeline of projects without funding," Hughes said.
In an interview after the work session, McTighe said dedicated funding is important because active transportation is underfunded, with little certainty about its funding streams. Committed funding and a pipeline of projects would give active transportation projects a reliable budget.
"The more stable dedicated funding there is, the better people can plan and be a little bit bolder with what they are going to do and maybe implement bigger projects or more complicated projects," McTighe said.
McTighe said at the current level of investment, it would take 150 years to complete the active transportation network.
"We don't want to do it in 150 years - we'd like to do it by 2040," McTighe said. "The level of investment has been so low compared to other transportation investments that at this level of investment, it will take that long to do."
The council also discussed the concerns of some of the region's mayors, who, in an August 2013 letter to Hughes, expressed concern the plan would become a mandate.
Councilor Craig Dirksen said some mayors were worried the active transportation plan would make funding decisions for them.
"What I heard from mayors, particularly in Washington County, is their major concern is would there be something in this process that would require prioritizing active transportation projects at the cost of other choices," Dirksen said. "My assurance to them is that would not be the case."
Since the 2013 mayors' letter, the Metro Council dedicated more money to fully vet the plan and set up a regional work group with the mayors to get their input and make changes.
In these meetings, the regional mayors were asked about their active transportation plans, and those ideas were incorporated into the plan.
After the work session, Hughes said this workgroup changed the tension between the mayors and Metro. Instead of thinking the plan was a top-down order, it became focused on projects the regional mayors were anxious to bring into play.
Hughes said the mayors' concerns about the plan have been resolved and the next challenge is funding.
"I think we have reached an understanding on how to implement the active transportation plan in a way that everyone is happy," Hughes said. "Now we have to figure out how to fund it."