Have you connected with the Capitol Region Watershed District and Mississippi Watershed Management Organization to understand opportunities for water quality improvements, engineering/design studies, and funding for infrastructure projects that would decrease pollution discharge from the corridor?
We have not yet connected with the watershed organizations but this is a great idea and we will absolutely reach out to both. The I-94 trench and the immense amount of impermeable surface that it includes generates significant amounts of untreated stormwater and runoff pollutants. A boulevard conversion would create exciting opportunities to better manage stormwater and could potentially integrate water features into the linear park space.
Have you connected with the Trust for Public Land to understand the lay of the land for green space/public lands needs and funding opportunities along the corridor?
We have connected with staff at the Trust for Public Land a few times within the past year to discuss Rethinking I-94 and it would be good to follow up with them now that the Twin Cities Boulevard campaign has launched. They were heavily involved with a project to study and add parkspace along the Green Line so they are already familiar with this corridor.
Have you connected with the Reconnect Rondo folks, and is there potential for collaboration and a more unified voice/vision toward decision makers?
We have met with ReConnect Rondo’s Executive Director Keith Baker following the Twin Cities Boulevard launch. It was a good conversation and there was agreement that the Twin Cities Boulevard and ReConnect Rondo are united in desired outcomes: reconnecting the neighborhood, reclaiming freeway land and creating wealth-building opportunities that prioritize Rondo's Black residents and descendants. We emphasized that we recognize that the future of the Rondo community must be decided by Rondo residents and our goal is to inform, not interfere with that process.
However there is an important difference, as was outlined in the presentation. We do not believe a land bridge over a reconstructed and/or expanded freeway would be a positive outcome for the Rethinking I-94 project. Land bridges or freeway caps are used to mitigate some of the negative impacts of highways. It goes without saying that MnDOT and project partners will not invest hundreds of millions of dollars into a land bridge without also reconstructing the freeway underneath it. Freeway caps do not significantly improve air quality, improve transportation access for transit-dependent households or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The benefits are also limited to the immediate 3-5 block area and do not impact the rest of the 7.5 mile project corridor. Our view is that a highway-to-boulevard conversion is the only way to reconnect the community while addressing all of the I-94's harms along the entire corridor.
ReConnect Rondo's vision of an African American community enterprise district that encompasses the broader Rondo community is fully compatible with the Twin Cities Boulevard vision. Since Rethinking I-94 will determine the future of the corridor for the next half-century, we believe it is essential that Rondo residents, and all residents in the corridor, are allowed to consider all project options and understand that a future without the freeway is possible. This is why we've been intentional about articulating the difference between a freeway cap and a highway-to-boulevard conversion, including on the Frequently Asked Questions section of the website.
We expressed this to Keith during the meeting and emphasized that we hope to earn ReConnect Rondo's support. We also offered to share materials and assist with their community engagement so that consideration of a highway-to-boulevard conversion could be included. A unified voice is the best path forward and that is our goal.
What are you doing to build relationships with decision makers at the neighborhood, city, county, state, and federal levels to understand the decision making context and opportunities for shifting that context?
We strongly believe that the success of this movement hinges on first building broad community awareness and support for the Twin Cities Boulevard vision within the community. That’s why we’re knocking doors within the project corridor at least 20 hours a week. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and our focus is on demonstrating this support to decision makers and building public pressure via action steps.
We continue to meet with decision makers at every level to build their understanding of what this vision entails, why its important and to ask for their support. After every meeting, these asks include:
A public statement of support for the Twin Cities Boulevard campaign that includes the project outcomes, deadlines, and the benchmarks and reiterating support for including a highway-to-boulevard conversion as a project alternative during the next Policy Advisory Committee meeting
Writing a letter of support for the grant application for USDOT Reconnecting Communities program planning funds to study a highway-to-boulevard conversion for Rethinking I-94
Door-knocking with us to hear community reaction to the proposal (if their district is in the project corridor)
Attend a virtual public forum about the project that we’ve scheduled for Tuesday, June 28th at 6:00 p.m.
We are very intentional about communicating all of the asks publicly to ensure that this message is transparent and consistent and that MnDOT and elected decision makers must answer to the community.
Has Our Streets considered citing sources for claims made about the project, particularly in terms of traffic evaporation, carbon emissions, and economic benefits?
All of the statistics that are referenced on the website and in the presentation slides are backed by data but we recognize that it’s important that these sources and resources are easily accessible. To do this, we recently added a resources and references page to the Twin Cities Boulevard website that lists all of the referenced studies, data sets and articles by topic as well as additional resources on each. I’m still adding to it and finalizing the formatting, but my hope is it will make it easier for those who are interested in learning more about topics like traffic evaporation, the importance of reducing driving, etc. I’m also working on going through the website to ensure that all claims and statistics include links to the source material.
Case studies of conversions can be powerful for decision makers. Has Our Streets considered inviting leaders from those communities to come and meet with Twin Cities mayors, or otherwise bringing those case studies to life? Decision makers typically don't want to be the first to try something, and want to be reassured that success is likely.
As you mentioned, it is extremely useful to highlight the dozens of examples of successful highway to boulevard conversion projects. I really like the idea of convening an event where leaders from the communities can talk about their experiences and takeaways. We would love to work with Sustain St. Paul to co-host something like this. We’ve been active participants in CNU’s Freeway Fighters network which would be a great place to make some of those connections.