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• SUMMARY of ASSUMPTIONS, GOALS AND PHILOSOPHY REGARDING THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM This paper summarizes a-,12-page paper discussing the philosophy and assumptions that lie behind the regional plan for transportation in the seven- county Metropolitan Area. Both the summary and the full paper are intended as the starting point for widespread discussion of the Metropolitan Council's transportation policy plan. That plan for managing the region's transportation system is now being revised to carry it to ,the year 2010. The region's transportation system includes both roads -and public transit.. It also places strong emphasis on "travel demand management"--the use of incentives. to encourage certain behavior from drivers and riders, and to reduce unconstrained demand for highway lanes. GOALS The Metropolitan Council is taking seven major approaches to transportation issues between now and 2010. These approaches, listed here, constitute the Council's goals for the region with regard to transportation. The goals: o Reflect Council and community values; . o Are intended to ensure that the transportation plan helps the region achieve its other goals wherever these interact with transportation; o Grow out of the philosophy and assumptions discussed below. • The goals are: 1 . Support the investment and geographic policies of the Council's Metropolitan Development and Investment Framework, its keystone set of policies for guiding the region's development. 2. Manage, adapt, reconstruct and reconfigure, existing highway and transit facilities and services to respond to changing transportation needs and to- support economic growth. 3. Protect the metropolitan ,highway system at levels consistent with its capacity by using traffic-demand management techniques and advocating appropriate development strategies. 4. Strengthen the role of transit--both conventional services and ridesharing options--to serve transit-dependent people, supplement the metropolitan highway system, satisfy downtown-oriented travel and allow intensified development. 5. Encourage behavioral changes in travelers to maximize the peopla- carrying ability of the metropolitan transportation system. 6. Support adequate and stable funding sources to ensure that appropriate investments are made in transportation facilities and services. 7. Encourage local government and developer cost-sharing to implement the highway and transit policy plans. PHILOSOPHY For many years the region's transportation system has allowed Twin Citians excellent access to the places they wanted to go. This accessibility was made • possible by the construction of 580 miles of freeways and expressways, and the expansion of an ailing bus system. During the 1970s, free-flowing traffic conditions on major roads were the norm. In the 1980s conditions have changed. It's no longer possible to travel throughout the region without any constraints, particularly during rush hours. Today's accessibility levels are still very good, even though congestion