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The Met Council: The least safe light rail operator of its peers

4/1/2018

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​In the last two weeks our ever-expanding Metropolitan Council announced that it intends to become the owner of a rail corridor in order to facilitate the construction and operation of the proposed Southwest Light Rail line (SWLRT), which would be an extension of the current Green Line. Specifically, for the new line the Council would own the rail corridor and operate light rail trains adjacent to freight trains.
 
It seems no task is too big for our uniquely unelected regional authority, which already has by far the largest scope and budget of any such organization in the country. So where would that leave us?
 
Is the proposed SWLRT a good use of taxpayer funds? No.
 
Is the proposed route one that serves a densely populated area, with many potential riders? No, not even the Met Council pretends that is true. 
 
In light of the most recent developments, legislators and others are asking, is the Met Council even qualified to safely operate both freight and passenger light rail trains adjacent to each other? The data suggest the answer is no. 

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Citizen victory and settlement against the FAA in Phoenix

11/30/2017

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Great news from citizens in Phoenix, who have forced the FAA to settle their complaints against the runaway agency, and its arbitrary implementation of new NextGen flight departures out of Sky Harbor airport. 

I had the opportunity to work with the citizen activists in Phoenix as they were just getting started in their quest against the FAA, and I am delighted the rogue agency is being forced to heel to local concerns. 

Again - Government Of, By, For, not TO the People. This is a great victory for citizens against an unaccountable agency, depriving citizens of property rights, and subjecting them to physical and emotional harm.

​Well done, Phoenix!
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kt talks Met Council on KTLK

11/29/2017

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I joined Justice and Drew today to update listeners with the latest on the Met Council. We touch on Southwest Light Rail, the origins of the Met Council, and more. Takeaway: Don't build the Metrodome of Transit! 
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MN Legislators look to rein in Met Council

11/28/2017

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Over 20 Minnesota legislators did a nice job today of summarizing the latest news in the ever evolving case against the Met Council's pet project, Southwest Light Rail:
  • The Met Council supplied two sets of financials for SWLRT - one to state decision makers, and one to federal funders. Naturally, the numbers look much better to the feds so that the Met Council can ask for its $1 billion in federal funding for the rail line
  • Emerging questions of basic competence as the Met Council threw out all construction bids for the project, and then barred 36 contractors from even bidding on it for reasons that make no logical sense
  • The giant, 1.4 mile long Crash Wall that now needs to be installed to meet the safety requirements of the co-located railroad
  • Financial ineptness, as the decision by Hennepin County to raise taxes to pay for SWLRT has now limited the City of Minneapolis' ability to collect sales tax - just in time for the purported tax windfall from the upcoming Super Bowl activity
The 2018 legislative session should be a raucous one when it comes to Met Council reform, especially with the Governor's race on the ballot. Let the fun (and reforms) begin!
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Two Sets of Books: The Met Council Strikes Again

10/9/2017

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On October 4th, 2017 the Office of the Legislative Auditor released the first in a new series of quarterly audits of our sprawling regional authority, the Met Council, with a focus on its transit financial activity. Transit financials are of particular interest right now, as the Met Council is pursuing nearly $1 billion in federal funds for its much maligned Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) line that it hopes to impose on the Twin Cities as part of expanding its Metro Transit system.

However, as that project has stumbled, an apparent disconnect has emerged: On the one hand, the Met Council appeared to be telling the federal government that Metro Transit's financials were in good enough shape to earn SWLRT the second highest rating available (Medium-High) from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA).
 
And on the other hand, the Met Council was telling the Minnesota Legislature (and anyone else who would listen) that its Metro Transit division is facing a structural deficit that must be addressed with additional taxpayer funding.

And the OLA's verdict is...

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kt joins KTLK to discuss the OLA audit of the Met Council

10/8/2017

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I joined Justice and Drew on KTLK on Wednesday to discuss the just released audit from the Office of the Legislative Auditor on the Met Council's finances. Rep. Nash joins us in Part 2 of the discussion. I'll have more details on this later in the week.

Listen to the podcast here.


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MSP FairSkies Coalition presents to the Noise Oversight Committee

9/21/2017

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MSPFSC NOC 20 Sept 2017 from Kevin Terrell on Vimeo.

Staff from MSP airport's environmental team asked MSP FairSkies Coalition to present some of our requests to the airport's Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) on September 20th. My fellow Co-Founder Steve Kittleson and I addressed the NOC regarding our proposal for "Less Noise, No Surprises" with respect to aircraft noise. Here we lay out a path to get there, including:
- Aligning around the nature of the problem
- How to use new and existing data to create a more transparent fact base for better decision-making on noise in general, and with respect to any proposed changes the FAA has in store for MSP
- Establishing a firm goal for noise reduction (we propose a 50% reduction by 2025)
- Enhancing the NOC, with the addition of citizen (non-elected) representatives to truly bring the "Voice of Citizen" to the decision making process. We also suggest that the NOC's mission and name should change from "Noise OVERSIGHT Committee" to "Noise REDUCTION Committee".

​We conclude the presentation with a very specific set of decisions for the NOC on what they can do to inform the community and align the stakeholders around the goal of reducing aircraft noise from MSP airport.

You can't see the (4-part) screen that well, but you should be able to hear the presentation, and the back and forth on questions. You can download the PDF of the presentation and follow along here:
mspfsc_noc_20_sept_2017_final.pdf
File Size: 4247 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

"That helps us all get to data-driven decisions based on citizen expectations. Which I think should be a common goal of everyone on the room."
Afterwards we heard from MAC staff about their interpretation of the recent DC Court of Appeals decision striking down FAA actions in Phoenix (panic alert in DC). You can read my (non-legal) interpretation of that decision here.

MAC staff also told the room that the FAA is finally preparing to announce how it might change the metrics and/or threshold for the significant impact of noise. Staff expects that to happen by the end of the year, though we'll see how that plays out. I expect the timing of that announcement to affect the response we get from the NOC.

Thanks to Chad Leqve and Dana Nelson of the MAC, and to Connie Carrino of our team for making this happen.
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Met Council blows past budget for SWLRT - do over time?

9/11/2017

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The long and crazy story of the the Twin Cities' proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line took another twist today as the project sponsor, the Great and Wonderful Metropolitan Council, rejected all four construction bids they have received for the $1.9B boondoggle.

The source of the problem may well be that bids are 30% more expensive as a percentage of overall project cost as was the construction phase of the original leg of the Green Line (SWLRT is an extension of that line, which runs from St Paul to Minneapolis).

Of course, there is much more going here, with a new $20M "Crash Wall" proposed for the line, a lack of environmental analysis, and even a host of left wing critics who are astonished at the brazen way in which the Met Council has tried to ram through recent "tweaks" to the project. 

As Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin recently noted, they "haven't won the argument" on putting through this overpriced Met Council toy.

Stay tuned - much more to come!
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Citizens group seeks to redefine MSP noise contours

9/5/2017

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Janet Moore of the Star Tribune does a nice job today of updating local residents on our efforts at MSP FairSkies Coalition to improve transparency and accountability on the issue of aircraft  noise.

Next steps in our efforts include speaking directly to the MSP airport's Noise Oversight Committee about our specific goals for measuring, communicating and ultimately reducing aircraft noise in the Twin Cities.  Some of that is mentioned in the article, and of course various posts on this blog.

Interestingly this article appears just days after citizens and the city of Phoenix won a great  victory in their court case against Federal Aviation Administration. The central concern in that case  was the imposition of new flight tracks and noise on Phoenix, the lack of transparency in the process, and ultimately the lack of common sense in how the FAA deals with aircraft noise. 

Picture is by Mark VacCleave of the Star Tribune
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The City of Phoenix v. FAA - Common Sense, Arithmetic and History

9/4/2017

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​On August 29th, 2017 the DC Court of Appeals delivered an eagerly awaited blow against the Federal Aviation Administration when the Court vacated the FAA’s order implementing new flight tracks from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, and remanded the matter to the FAA for further proceedings. The case came about when the FAA implemented new flight tracks as part of its NextGen technology package in Phoenix.
 
Having now read the full ruling, I want to call attention to aspects of it I think have implications far beyond how the FAA implements NextGen. Specifically, the Court recognized a few simple facts that seem obvious to citizens, but have thus far eluded the Courts and the FAA. Those are:

  1. A 300% increase in the number of flights over a neighborhood is a lot, regardless of how the FAA measures noise (i.e. the logarithmic measurement known as DNL).
  2. Thinking otherwise defies “common sense”, and “could not reflect reasoned decisionmaking (sic).”
  3. History, and longstanding flight tracks matter, because they help create “quiet oases” that people value, even in urban areas. Destroying those when the FAA has options is problematic and illegal.
 
A few details from the ruling:

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    Kevin Terrell

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