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Accepting funding from Smart Growth America to hire an Urban Transportation Innovation Fellow in Saint Paul Public Works through a grant from the McKnight Foundation.
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WHEREAS, shared mobility, automated vehicles and other emerging technologies are combining to change the landscape of cities and will reshape transportation in the region for years to come; and,
WHEREAS, without the acceleration of current efforts, the Twin Cities risk being passive recipients of technological change and/or simply falling behind as other cities deploy technology to meet their transportation challenges; and,
WHEREAS, given the strong need for intercity collaboration, regional coordination, and a desire to lift both cities up together, Smart Growth America provided assistance to the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Public Works Departments to propose Urban Transportation Innovation Fellow positions within each department; and,
WHEREAS, the fellows will develop an understanding of the mobility landscape through research on policies and pilot projects nationwide and throughout the world in an effort to define best practices, assess the feasibility of deploying such technologies in the Twin Cities and develop cases studies of successful and unsuccessful deployments; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed work of the fellows will help the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis harness rapid advancements in transportation technology and develop policies and projects that have a positive impact on regional economic growth and competitiveness while also ensuring that these technologies have the largest positive benefits for low-income people, people of color and underserved communities; and,
WHEREAS, the McKnight Foundation has provided a grant of $275,000 to Smart Growth America to work with the Saint Paul and Minneapolis public works departments to hire Urban Transportation Innovation fellows and to support their work;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council ...
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