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Transportation bill adds traffic-calming dollars for cities of the first class and directs study of Blue Line mode
Summary
City staff said the special-session transportation bill includes traffic-calming funds for cities of the first class, funding for a Washington Avenue suicide-prevention barrier, cuts to NLX allocations and Metro Transit operations, and a required Blue Line mode study.
Steve Hueser described transportation provisions that affect Minneapolis, including new traffic-calming funding and a required study on the Blue Line extension.
Steve Hueser, Senior Government Relations representative with the Intergovernmental Relations Department, told the committee that the special-session transportation bill included an allocation for traffic calming for cities of the first class. Hueser estimated that the city could receive roughly $500,000 per year from an anticipated $1,000,000 per year statewide allocation for the 2026–27 biennium but said final distribution details would come from MnDOT.
The bill included $2 million from an active transportation account for a Washington Avenue suicide-prevention barrier and $6 million allocated to Hennepin County. Hueser said the NLX corridor (Duluth–Minneapolis rail proposal) lost $77 million from its originally allocated $194 million; that reduction, he said, leaves some state funds available for federal partnership but reduces the state’s standalone allocation.
Hueser reported roughly $61 million in cuts to Metro Transit operations from general fund sources but reminded the committee that Metro Transit retains revenue from the metro-area sales tax. The transportation bill also requires a Blue Line Extension BRT study: the Met Council must reevaluate the mode for the Blue Line Extension project and report alternatives for Bus Rapid Transit as a possible option.
Hueser said the bill directs MnDOT to study a local cost participation policy and report back to the Legislature by Feb. 1 of next year; he noted existing MnDOT policies determine when local governments must contribute to trunk highway projects and that the new study would reexamine how those costs are allocated. Council Member Rainville asked for more detail on the local cost participation work and whether it would affect county projects; Hueser clarified the MnDOT review applies to MnDOT trunk highway projects only, not county cost-share policies.
Why it matters: Traffic-calming funds and state studies could change local project funding and design flexibility; the Blue Line mode study could alter long-term plans for the extension. Committee members requested follow-up briefings on distribution rules and design-flexibility proposals.
