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Transportation <br />5-13 Regional Transit System <br />The Twin Cities Metropolitan Area needs a multi -modal regional transit system as part of <br />a comprehensive transportation strategy that serves both commuters and the transit <br />dependent. The transit system should be composed of a mix of HOV lanes, a network of <br />bike and pedestrian trails, Bus Rapid Transit, express and regular route bus service, <br />exclusive transit ways, light rail transit, streetcars and commuter rail corridors designed <br />to connect residential, employment, retail and entertainment centers. The system should <br />be regularly monitored and adjusted to ensure that routes of service correspond to the <br />region's changing travel patterns. <br />Metro Cities opposes using the currently dedicated Metropolitan Transportation <br />Area sales tax proceeds to further subsidize operational funding for Metro Transit <br />and suburban transit providers that are the responsibility of the Legislature and <br />Metropolitan Council. Any increase to the sales tax already dedicated to transit <br />should be used to benefit the transit system as a whole. <br />Metro Cities is also opposed to legislative or Metropolitan Council directives that <br />constrain the ability of metropolitan transit providers to provide a full range of <br />transit services, including reverse commute routes, suburb -to -suburb routes, transit <br />hub feeder services or new, experimental services that may show a low rate of <br />operating cost recovery from the fare box. <br />In the interest of including all potential options in the pursuit of a regionally <br />balanced transit system, Metro Cities supports the repeal of the law passed in 2002 <br />which imposed a gag order on the Dan Patch Commuter Rail Line. <br />In the interest of safety and traffic management, Metro Cities supports further <br />study of rail safety issues relating to water quality protections, general public safety <br />concerns relating to derailments, traffic implications from longer and more frequent <br />trains and the sensitive balance between rail commerce and the quality of life <br />impacts on the communities through which they pass. <br />Current congestion levels and forecasted population growth require a stable, reliable and <br />growing source of revenue for transit construction and operations so that our metropolitan <br />region can adequately and strategically meet its transportation needs to remain <br />economically competitive. Metro Cities supports an effective, efficient and <br />comprehensive regional transit system as an invaluable component in meeting the <br />multimodal transportation needs of the metropolitan region and to the region's <br />economic vibrancy and quality of life. <br />Metro Cities supports a regional governance structure that can ensure a measurably <br />reliable and efficient system that recognizes the diverse transit needs of our region <br />and addresses the funding needs for all components of the system. <br />Metro Cities recognizes the need for flexibility in transit systems for cities that border the <br />edges of the seven county metropolitan area to ensure users can get to points outside of <br />50 2016 Legislative Policies <br />