Republicans in the Minnesota State Senate blocked the planning of a proposed passenger rail route between Duluth and the Twin Cities in addition to a plan for a freeway cap in a historically Black neighborhood in St. Paul.

The Minnesota State Senate voted earlier this month to block planning for an intercity passenger rail route connecting the Twin Cities Duluth,” reports Tim Pugmire for MPR News.
The route, known as the Northern Lights Express, was under development by the Minnesota Department of Transportation completed an environmental review and service development plan, approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2018.
In the end, the project’s demise was caused by partisan bickering (that culture war again) about the role of intercity rail in contemporary transportation systems. Sen. David Osmek, R-Mound, authored the amendment prohibiting the planning for the Northern Lights Express, to a larger supplemental budget and policy bill.
“The Northern Lights passenger rail system is a bad idea that is a 19th century solution to transportation in Minnesota,” Osmek said. “It’s like asking us to spend money on buggy whips.”
The same larger policy and budget bill also featured the demise of the ReConnect Rondo project, a plan to build a “land bridge” (also called a freeway cap or freeway lid) in the historically Black neighborhood of Rondo in St. Paul over the Interstate 94 freeway. The ReConnect Rondo project had been approved for $6.2 million in planning by the governor and legislature last year.
“Bill sponsor Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, said he opposes the funding because he believes the ReConnect Rondo project has nothing to do with transportation, and he was not part of last year’s agreement,” reports Pugmire.
FULL STORY: Minnesota Senate derails train to Duluth

Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime
Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021. But did they rise equally in all cities, or was the situation worse in some than in others?

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.

Federal SMART Grants Awarded for Transportation Safety, Equity Projects
The grant program focuses on the use of technology to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency in transportation.

Fare Enforcement Upheld by Washington Supreme Court
But using armed police to enforce fare payment is less than ideal in the eyes of the top court in the state of Washington.
City of Greenville
City of Greenville
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.