ST. PAUL, Minn. – Ensuring accessibility, building to a maintainable scale and connecting key regional centers are among the eight guiding principles that form the state’s new 50-year vision for transportation, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“The ‘Minnesota GO’ vision is a transportation vision for generations,” said MnDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel. “These are long-range objectives for all parts of the state’s transportation system that may take decades to be fully realized, but will ultimately help our communities achieve a high quality of life, a competitive economy and a healthy environment.”
The vision is the result of months of work that included input from the public and diverse representatives of the transportation community.
“We thank everyone who participated in this effort during the past year. Your contributions have shaped this important step in achieving a safe, efficient and sustainable transportation system for the future,” he said.
MnDOT and other transportation organizations will use the vision and information from this project to develop short-term and long-term plans. The vision will offer guidance in determining the transportation initiatives that the state chooses for investment, and will serve as the basis for updating the 20-year Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan beginning this fall. Updates to MnDOT’s plans for highways, rail, aviation, transit, freight and non-motorized transportation will also follow, so that all of MnDOT’s plans fully reflect the Minnesota GO vision.
“Although MnDOT initiated the effort to develop the vision, this is a vision for all forms of transportation,” Sorel said. “It is intended to guide planning for Minnesota’s multimodal transportation system.”
The Minnesota GO vision for transportation has a wide range of implications for different parts of the transportation system. Examples include:
• Waterways, rail, transitways, roads, trails, airports and pipelines that are integrated and strategically located to enable critical connections for Minnesota’s businesses and communities
• An integrated network of streets, roads and highways that collectively support freight, mass transit, non-motorized transportation and personal vehicles
• Reliable and affordable transit options for people who cannot or choose not to operate a personal vehicle in both rural and urban areas
• Connected options to walk and bike
• Zero deaths or serious injuries in any form of transportation
• An environment that allows safe travel using multiple modes for both an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old in every neighborhood and community
A number of opportunities and challenges were considered during the development of the vision, including the effects on transportation and communities of an aging and increasingly diverse population; the continued trend towards people living in cities rather than rural areas; shifts in energy sources and consumption; advances in vehicle technologies; and persistent budget challenges.
To view the vision, visit the Minnesota GO website at www.minnesotago.org.
