Title
Expressing the City’s Priorities for the MnDOT “Rethinking I-94” Project.
Body
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is planning for a major investment in I-94 between I-35W and I-35E in its Rethinking I-94 project; and
WHEREAS, the condition of the roadway has deteriorated to the point where action is required and MnDOT has entered Phase 2 of its environmental documentation phase and will be drafting its purpose and need statement and goals for the project and are working with stakeholders, including the City of St. Paul to finalize it; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has adopted the Saint Paul 2040 Comprehensive Plan, a policy framework that prioritizes walking, bicycling, and transit, with goals of increasing equity in transportation, reducing carbon emissions, improving human health through better air quality and increased active travel, and enabling the safe movement of people, goods, and services across the city; and
WHEREAS, the proposed project area is a rich and diverse community wherein 42% of residents are people of color and 32.6% of residents live below the federal poverty threshold; and
WHEREAS, the City of St. Paul passed Resolution 21-77 apologizing for its role in institutional racism and agreed to form a new commission to study reparations for Black residents whose ancestors were enslaved; and
WHEREAS, the original construction of the Saint Paul portion of I-94 in the 1960s extracted wealth from a historic, predominately African-American community through the destruction of businesses, over 700 homes, places of worship, and other community assets, and physically divided neighborhoods all along the corridor; and
WHEREAS, a recent study completed for ReConnect Rondo, Inc. by Yorth Group estimates that the construction of I-94 contributed to a loss of at least $157 million in home equity values and the flat line of homeownership rates, remai...
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