Spring into a new you with commuting to work by bicycle or walking. Join your friends and co-workers to team up and encourage people to see how simple biking to work can be. The official Minneapolis Bike Walk Week will be June 9 – 15, 2013. Let Commuter Connection help your company plan an event that promotes this healthy and fun commuting option and be part of the fanfare for 2013.

In years past, Bike Walk Week has created a buzz in the media and community by throwing immense block parties packed with activities and entertainment. Business sponsored activities such as the yoga on Lyndale Avenue pictured left drew many to celebrate fitness, enjoy our beautiful city, and do it all with driving in a car.

Need ideas for how your business can participate in the buzz and reward healthy lifestyle choices by your employees? Contact Commuter Connection to get the ball rolling with simple ideas of opportunities to be star company!

Sign up for the Commuter Challenge today!  It’s free and you can win some great prizes!  All you need to do is register and then between now and June 30, bicycle, walk, carpool, telework, ride the bus, light rail, or commuter rather than dive somewhere alone.  Register Now!

Step Up to the Commuter Challenge

The Commuter Challenge is an annual spring event to get people to think outside the box (or in this case, personal vehicle with one occupant) and try another method of transportation. The Challenge is making a pledge to try any form of transportation other than driving alone in the months of April, May, or June in a situation where you would normally drive alone.

Sound too simple? It is simple but breaking habits with our personal vehicles is hard when you have been doing the same thing for years. Driving to the  market for milk, driving to a friend’s house for dinner, or even driving alone to commute to work can be so ingrained in our mind that we don’t even stop to think about our options.  The Commuter Challenge is asking folks to change it up, consider different options, and explore how those different options can benefit them.

What’s the Purpose of the Commuter Challenge

The main purpose of the Commuter Challenge is to raise awareness of transportation options for daily activities and lessen the glut of single occupant vehicles (people driving alone) filling our roads that in turn increases our air quality, and leads to a healthier and more active lifestyle.

According to the Census, 78% of  workers in the metro area drive alone to and from work. While The Onion’s article 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others is satire, the overall message hits the nail on the head- “Traffic is everyone else getting in my way, others should change their ways, but I won’t.”

No, the Commuter Challenge isn’t an intervention, just think of it as a nudge to look at where you can break free from your routine of driving alone.  If doing it once inspires you to reevaluate more of your driving habits, that’s great! If not, that’s okay too.  We just want you to try.

Photo:  Traffic with 73 solo drivers vs. traffic with 73 commuters using commute alternatives including bus, carpool and vanpool.

Prizes for the 2013 Commuter Challenge

We have some great prizes lines up this year!  Here’s what you could win by participating in the 2013 Commuter Challenge:

• Amazon Kindle Fires HD (6 winners)
• Galaxy Tab 2 (4 winners)
• Wii U (3 winners)
• GRAND PRIZE: Galaxy Note (1 winner)

Register for the 2013 Commuter Challenge

Ready to participate in this year’s Commuter Challenge? Register here!

2013 Commuter Challenge Official Rules

The open houses will provide an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the initial selection and development of alternatives and discuss transit needs in the corridor. At the open houses, project updates will be provided and public input will be sought on the screening and selection of alignment alternatives and initial alternatives development.

Learn more about the Robert Street Transitway Alternatives Study.

Thursday, Feb. 28, 6-8 p.m.
Neighborhood House Ferber Room
179 Robie Street E., St. Paul

For help planning your trip to any of the open houses, use the interactive Trip Planner or call a transit expert at 612-373-3333.

The Dakota County Regional Railroad Authority and the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority are jointly conducting the study.

Get there FREE on Metro Transit! Just download a free-ride pass here and show your pass to the bus driver or Transit Police officer for free rides on any Metro Transit bus or light rail.

Ride free with your pass between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on these days:

• Wednesday, Feb. 27
• Thursday, Feb. 28
• Friday, March 1
• Saturday, March 2
• Sunday, March 3

The free-ride offer is not available on Northstar.

At the Home and Garden Show, you can find innovative products, ideas, practical advice and great deals in remodeling, home improvement and gardening with hundreds of experts all under one roof. Learn more about the event.

Getting there

Need help planning your trip? Use the interactive Trip Planner or call a transit expert at 612-373-3333.

“No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination as well as policies or practices that may appear to be neutral but disproportionally affect protected groups. The Federal Transit Administration’s Title VI Circular 4702.1B requires that certain transit agencies define the threshold for major service changes and the determination of disparate impact/disproportionate burden applied to Title VI equity analyses. The FTA requires that the public be engaged in the process to develop the policies.

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
SouthWest Station
13500 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie
Served by routes 684, 690, 695, 698

Thursday, Feb. 7, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Dakota County Library – Burnhaven Branch
1101 W. County Road 42, Burnsville
Served by Route 444

Saturday, Feb. 9, 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Hennepin County Library – Augsburg Park Branch
7100 Nicollet Avenue, Richfield
Served by Route 18

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Urban League
2100 Plymouth Avenue N., Minneapolis
Served by routes 7, 19

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
St. Paul Eastside YMCA
875 Arcade Street, St. Paul
Served by Route 61

Those who cannot attend a public hearing can comment as follows:

• Mail: Metropolitan Council, 390 N. Robert St., St. Paul, 55101
• Fax: 651-602-1464
• TTY: 651-291-0904
• Email: public.info@metc.state.mn.us
• Public Comment Line: 651-602-1500

Comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Learn more about proposed policies.

A recommendation for final adoption of the policies will be brought before the Met Council in March.

A series of three open house meetings is scheduled to give the public an opportunity to learn about modern streetcar and enhanced bus options being considered within the Nicollet-Central Corridor, and to share their ideas on improving transit service.  The open houses will provide an update on the Nicollet-Central Transit Alternatives Study, including the results of the initial screening of transit alternatives and an overview of the next phase of study – the detailed evaluation of alternatives.

The corridor extends from the south along Nicollet Avenue at the 46th Street/Interstate 35W Transit Station, through downtown Minneapolis along Nicollet Mall, over the Mississippi River, and north along Central Avenue NE to the Columbia Heights Transit Center at 41st Avenue NE.  The Nicollet-Central Transit Alternatives Study began last fall and will be completed later in the summer of 2013. The outcome of the study will identify a preferred transit enhancement that could serve as the first phase of a longer-range vision for transit service in the corridor.

Open houses are being held:

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
MPHA Parker Skyview Community Room, 1815 Central Avenue NE
Presentation at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
HCMC Whittier Clinic, 2810 Nicollet Avenue S
Presentation at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 14, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall
Presentation at 4 p.m.

The City of Minneapolis invites and encourages participation by every resident to each program, service and event within our city. There will be Somali and Spanish interpreters at the open houses.  The open houses are wheelchair accessible.  Should you require an accommodation for you to fully participate or interpreter services for language(s) other than Somali or Spanish, please contact Anna Flintoft at 612-673-3885 or anna.flintoft@minneapolismn.gov at least 48 hours in advance.

For more information, visit the project website at www.minneapolismn.gov/nicollet-central.

Metro Transit will be holding two public open houses in late January to provide information about the Midtown Corridor Alternatives Analysis, an initiative to determine the benefits, costs and impacts of creating a new transitway on the Midtown Greenway or Lake Street in south Minneapolis.

Anyone interested is welcome to attend the following open houses:

Monday, Jan. 28, 2013
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Colin Powell Center, 3rd Floor
2924 4th Avenue S.
Minneapolis

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Whittier Park Recreation Center
425 W. 26th Street
Minneapolis

The open houses will be an opportunity for the public to get information from the project team about the study’s background and schedule, get questions answered and provide comments about the project’s purpose and need.

The Midtown Corridor Alternatives Analysis will look at transitway options between the future Southwest Light Rail line and the Hiawatha Light Rail line and aims to recommend the best method of delivering transit service in the Midtown Corridor: street car, light rail, bus rapid transit or dedicated busway. For more information about the study visit www.midtowntransitway.org, email midtown@metrotransit.org or call 612-349-7793.

Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council. Upon request, the Council will provide reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities. Please submit such requests to Michael Mechtenberg by Jan. 22, 2013 by calling 612-349-7793 or emailing midtown@metrotransit.org. Spanish and Somali translators will be available at the open houses.

Download Open House Flyer

Installing overhead wires, station art, testing trains on tap for 2013

ST. PAUL – Dec. 12, 2012 – The final year of heavy construction on the Central Corridor LRT Project is wrapping up on cue, with all roads and sidewalks over 10 miles to be completed and opened by the end of the year, 10 miles of double track installed and all 18 station structures built.

“Reaching the end of the hardest part of Central Corridor construction is cause for reflection and a little celebration. As we pause to mark this milestone, I would like to extend our appreciation to all businesses, customers and neighbors along Central Corridor that have endured the disruption of Central Corridor heavy construction in 2011 and 2012,” Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh said.

The project ended 2011 at 45 percent complete overall. With over 84 percent complete overall at the end of 2012, the project is on schedule to open for service in 2014. Still, the systems work is only 49 percent complete and the operations and maintenance facility is 76 percent complete. The $957 million project continues to remain within budget.

“It looks like a light rail line now, and people are asking when trains will begin service,” said Mark Fuhrmann, program director of New Starts rail projects. “While the hard part is over, much work, including electrification of the system, completion of the maintenance facility and testing of the light rail vehicles, remains to be done in 2013 before trains can begin carrying passengers some time in 2014. While you may hear people predicting when service will begin, we need to await patiently the outcome of those LRV tests, which will begin in late 2013 and determine our debut in 2014.”

Over the winter, the following work will continue:

• Construction inside the operation and maintenance facility.

• Electrical work at the 18 stations.

• Installation of catenary poles that will hold the overhead wires along the alignment.

In 2013, crews will finish:

• Installing miles and miles of overhead electrical wires.

• Installing the traction power substations that will convert the alternating. current from Xcel Energy’s lines to the direct current used by light rail vehicles.

• Installing signal bungalows holding the signaling and communication systems.

• Completing the expanded Rail Control Center.

• Building the operations and maintenance facility.

• Installing station art.

• Assembling, delivering and testing the light rail vehicles.

• Punch list items.

About the project:

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and the University of Minnesota. Construction began in late summer 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, and service will begin in 2014. The line will connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the Northstar commuter rail line at the Target Field Station. The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, provides advice and oversight. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board, state of Minnesota, Ramsey and Hennepin counties’ regional railroad authorities, city of St. Paul, Metropolitan Council and the Central Corridor Funders’ Collaborative.. The Central Corridor LRT Project Website is www.centralcorridor.org. 

The morning of Friday, Dec. 14, U.S. Marines and BNSF employees who operate Northstar will be on hand at Target Field Station to accept donations from Northstar commuters. In exchange for donations of new unwrapped toys, riders will be given a pair of free Northstar tickets to use at a later date. (Limit one pair of tickets per customer).

The evening of Saturday, Dec. 15, those traveling on the special Northstar Holidazzle train may ride free to and from any station with their Toys for Tots donations. To qualify for the free Holidazzle ride, one donation is needed for each Northstar customer. For example, a party of two adults and two children would ride free with a donation of four new unwrapped toys. Donations will be collected at Target Field Station by U.S. Marines as well as BNSF and Metro Transit staff. The BNSF Railway Foundation is joining in the effort, providing a $2,000 contribution to Toys for Tots. The Northstar Holidazzle train will operate on this schedule:

The return trip will depart Target Field Station promptly at 8 p.m.

The Northstar Link Commuter Bus, which runs between St. Cloud and Big Lake Station, is also offering free rides. Board the Link with a toy to donate Friday, Dec. 14, and get two free Link ride passes. For the special Holidazzle service on Saturday, Dec. 15, bring a toy to donate and your round trip on the Link is free. See bus schedules at www.CatchTheLink.com or call 877.LINK.010.

For more information about Toys for Tots, visit toysfortots.org.

Northstar is operated by Metro Transit, a service of the Metropolitan Council. Customers boarded Metro Transit buses and trains 81 million times last year.

BNSF Railway is one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies operating on 32,000 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. Learn more at BNSF.com.

Northstar Link is funded by the Northstar Corridor Development Authority, Sherburne and Stearns Counties. It is operated by Metro Bus in St. Cloud.