05-9594r
194
RESOLUTION NO. 9594
RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING LEGISLATION
TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR 1-494 CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS
WHEREAS, the cities of Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth
and Richfield have joined together to promote improvement of 1-494 from the Minnesota
River to 1-94 in order to increase road capacity and to improve the productivity and
convenience of resident and businesses throughout the region; and
WHEREAS, funding for improvements to the 1-494 corridor, the Twin Cities
metropolitan region and greater Minnesota has not kept pace with growth and demand;
and
WHEREAS, accelerating the scheduled expansion of 1-494 is a common and high
priority objective of the 1-494 Corridor Coalition communities; and
WHEREAS, the 1-494 corridor is over capacity in many locations; the cost of traffic
congestion along the corridor is $100 million per year, and congestion is expected to
double in the next 20 years; and
WHEREAS, these costs and the ramifications of congestion are an impediment to
business development, economic growth, and reduce the overall quality of life in the
metropolitan area; and
WHEREAS, transportation funding, in inflation adjusted dollars, has declined by
more than 25 percent over the past decade, transit is funded at 65 percent of that in
similarly sized regions, and planners c:m<;l government officials estimate that $700 million to
$1 billion in improvements per year is needed over the next decade to simply keep up with
anticipated congestion.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of
Richfield, Minnesota, that this Council supports legislation to decrease congestion and
increase the state revenues available for improvements to the 1-494 corridor and other
metropolitan transportation systems.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Richfield, Minnesota this 22nd day of
February, 2005. . \. ( \ n
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Martin J. Kirs , Mayor
ATTEST:
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Nancy Gibbs, Ity Clerk