Where to Eat Breakfast Near Blue Line Station Hiawatha and Lake Minneapolis

In this Issue

• Message from Council Member Letofsky
• Metro Transit's new A Line is here!
• District Project Spotlight
• Recent Activities

Message from Council Member Letofsky

Welcome to the inaugural issue of my new e-newsletter! It is designed to share information about the Metropolitan Council's work in your community and region-wide that helps make Minneapolis-St. Paul region one of the best places to live in the country.

The Metropolitan Council was created by the Minnesota Legislature almost 50 years ago to make sure that the Twin Cities metro maintains a high quality of life. Most of the Met Council's work doesn't grab big headlines, but it is essential to the region. We're responsible for transportation services like Metro Transit buses and light rail, as well as Metro Mobility; wastewater treatment across the entire seven-county region; investing in affordable housing and livable communities; and collaborating to fund and plan our award-winning regional parks. Or as one of my colleagues puts it: "buses, flushes, parks, and housing."

But our biggest job is helping the region plan for future residents and businesses. There are more than 180 local jursidictions in the metropolitan area, and our planners work alongside local officials to ensure that the region as a whole has orderly growth and maintains a high quality of life. In the words of our regional development guide, we help communities thrive.

As one of the newer members of the Met Council (I was appointed in March 2015), I'm continually impressed with the commitment of staff and my colleagues to building communities of choice throughout the region, and making the region work for everyone.

I hope you enjoy this first e-newsletter. Please feel free to share it with your friends and neighbors, and encourage them to sign up for it – and other Council newsletters – at the Council's website. Choose Council District 8 from the list for this newsletter, or choose from any of the others listed there.

If you want to know more about my background, you can find my full bio. If you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to contact me at the email below.

Thanks!

Cara Letofsky

Metropolitan Council Member for District 8 (Northeast Minneapolis, Southeast Minneapolis, parts of South Minneapolis, and St. Anthony Village)

Metro Transit's new A Line is here!

The A Line is a new type of rapid bus service for the Twin Cities. Like regular Metro Transit buses, the A Line travels on busy urban streets. But the A Line is different - and faster - than regular buses.

The key to the A Line is speed – instead of paying onboard, you buy a ticket or use your Go-To Card at the station before getting on.

• New bus, new kind of fast: Unique, recognizable buses with wider doors and aisles so more people can get on and off easily. As with all other Metro Transit buses, they have ramps to assist those with mobility needs, and bike racks. Plus, all A Line buses have FREE Wi-Fi!

• Frequent service: The A Line is part of Metro Transit's High-Frequency network, offering service every 10 minutes most of the day, along with fewer stops so you'll be moving more of the time.

•Enhanced stations with more amenities: Each station has ticket machines, a Go-To Card reader, enhanced maps and aNexTrip real-time departure sign so you'll always know when the next bus is coming.

• Enhanced security: Stations with cameras and emergency phones, fare enforcement by Metro Transit Police and improved lighting

The A Line connects with the METRO Blue Line at 46th Street Station and the METRO Green Line at Snelling & University Station and several popular destinations, including Hamline University, Macalester College, Highland Village, Rosedale Transit Center, HarMar Mall, Minnehaha Park and the Midway area.

District Project Spotlight

Corcoran Triangle is a 103-unit, mixed income affordable housing development poised to revitalize the intersection of 32nd and Hiawatha on an oddly-shaped triangular parcel of land. The project, consisting of two, four-story buildings will be accessible to a variety of household sizes, across a range of incomes. It includes 11 supportive housing units to serve people living with HIV/AIDS who have experienced long-term homelessness. It also offers 82 units for individuals living at 60% of federal annual mean income standards. In addition, $505,000 in transit-oriented development funds from the Council will support stormwater improvements, utility relocation and improvements to a central plaza.

Corcoran Triangle, located two blocks from the Lake Street METRO Blue Line, will also provide better pedestrian connections to the station and offer bike racks to encourage the use of alternate forms of transportation.

Learn more about Corcoran Triangle.

Recent Activities

National Transit Agency Board Member Training: I was chosen to participate in the inaugural program of two national transit policy organizations with participants from eight other cities to learn about the intersection of transit and community development in other communities. With other members of the first cohort of the joint Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and the TransitCenter program, I  visited transportation systems in Houston and Seattle.

District D Advisory Committee Breakfast: On July 12, Council Member Gary Cunningham and I hosted a breakfast at Breaking Bread in Minneapolis for the District D representatives from the Council's advisory committees. The meeting was a chance for us to meet in person and for us to better understand how to represent communities.

Transportation Forward Equity Roundtable: On July 14, the fourth and final equity roundtable organized by Transportation Forward was held at the McKnight Foundation. Council Member Jennifer Munt and I attended along with Council staff. Much of the two-hour meeting was spent recapping the previous three meetings in the series and asking for decision-maker feedback. The Council was mentioned as a leader in equity and our new Equity Advisory Committee was specifically called out as a great step forward for the region. Although next steps were not decided at the meeting, leaders in the Transportation Forward coalition said that this was only the beginning of the discussion.

Minnesota Food Charter's Food Access Planning Guide:As noted in Thrive 2040, the Met Council has committed to "recognize opportunities for urban agriculture and small-scale local food production and encourage policies and investments that improve access to safe and healthy food." For the past year, I have co-chaired a Center for Prevention Steering Committee to create the MN Food Access Planning Guide, which is a resource for planners and healthy food advocatesinterested in incorporating policies and strategies in a community's comprehensive plans. Goals for this resource include supporting increase d access to healthy food, supporting the growth of local and regional food infrastructure, and reducing obesity and diet related diseases at the local community level here.

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Source: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNORGMETC/bulletins/15783dd

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