Principal Investigator(s):
Dawn Spanhake, Associate Director, Center for Transportation Studies
Co-Investigators:
-
Robert Johns, Former Director, Center for Transportation Studies
Project summary:
The Transitway Impacts Research Program is intended to answer questions about the economic, travel, and community impacts of transitway corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The program was launched in 2006 by the Hennepin County-University of Minnesota and has grown to include a mix of local, regional and state funding partners, including: Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties; Metro Transit and the Metropolitan Council; the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT); the University Metropolitan Consortium; and the Itasca Project. It is supported by the Center for Transportation Studies and the State and Local Policy Program (SLPP) at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The program will create knowledge and information needed to improve planning and decision making for transitway expansion. It will also help educate legislators, agency leaders and staff, and the University research community about current issues, innovations, and trends pertaining to transitways. In addition, the program can serve as a national model of interjurisdictional collaboration between government and academia for transitway research, education, and outreach. To facilitate this collaborative approach, a Transitway Impacts Program Management Team (PMT) was established to: (1) frame an organizational structure and governance model that supports coordination among the various stakeholders for this effort, including the University of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council, Hennepin and other Metro Counties, Mn/DOT, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and other affected cities; (2) develop a vision and expected outcomes for this program; (3) identify and select workgroups and research projects; and (4) to provide financial and staff resources to the effort.