Dakota County Providing Travel Training to Help Individuals use Transportation

Dakota County is providing free travel training to help older adults and people with disabilities increase their mobility and independence. The training teaches individuals and groups about public and private transportation options and how to use them. The public is invited to attend a free one-hour forum to learn more about the training and how to use public and private transportation. The forums will be:

Tuesday, June 5, at 5 p.m., at Pleasant Hill Library in Hastings;

Wednesday, June 6, at 6 p.m., at Burnhaven Library in Burnsville;

Thursday, June 14, at 2 p.m. at Heritage Library in Lakeville; and

Monday, June 25, at 2 p.m., at the Dakota County Northern Service Center, Room 110.

For questions about the forums or to schedule a training session, contact Robyn at traveltraining@co.dakota.mn.us or 651-203-0183.

Met Council Restructuring Bill Vetoed by Gov. Dayton

As expected, Gov. Dayton today vetoed SF 2809 which would have drastically altered the structure of the Metropolitan Council. Regardless of how Met Council members should be appointed or elected and the what the Council's structure ought to be, this bill was not an appropriate solution and failed to attract the support of many of the counties and municipalities that would be directly impacted.

Among other problems, the bill would have created conflicts of interest as members would have conflicting obligations to the Council and their county or municipality, the bill would have eliminated the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), a well-functioning body that allows for deliberation and input on transportation funding for the metropolitan area by a range of entities and individuals, including locally elected officials, and there was minimal opportunity for public input on changes that would have had drastic impacts for the entire metro region. See Gov. Dayton's veto letter.

Dakota County's April 2018 Transit Workship

On April 17 the Dakota County Board of Commissioners held a Transit Workshop. The purpose was to discuss chapter 5 of the 2030 Transportation Plan. No minutes of the meeting have been made available but there is a lengthy presentation setting forth the agenda and the topics that were to be discussed. Some topics included the impact of the dissolution of the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), Metro Transit's Red Line (Apple Valley/Lakeville) and Orange Line (Burnsville/Lakeville) BRT extensions, the possibility of establishing BRT on Robert Street, and DARTS circulating bus service in South St. Paul, West St. Paul, and Hastings. If you have any input regarding the topics discussed please contact your Commissioner.