Land use and transportation are closely interrelated – changes in land use affect transportation; changes in transportation affect how land can be used. Transportation systems connect people to housing, work, services, and recreation opportunities. The region is well-served by an existing system of extensive roadways that provide connections for people choosing or able to use a personal vehicle. A transportation system that is well connected with uses and services close to an individual’s daily needs provides opportunities for choices in travel options that can help to decrease driving. Both planning and investment need to be coordinated to ensure thoughtful growth and development while continuing to serve people’s mobility needs throughout the region.

The region also has a robust network of existing and planned regional transit, bicycle, and walking/rolling infrastructure responding to increasingly diverse travel preferences and needs. Many residents use these options for some or all of their daily travel needs due to cost, ability, health goals, climate concerns, or preference. Additional housing, jobs, and services in places that support these travel modes can have many benefits, including:

· Increased accessibility of the region for those without access to a personal vehicle.

· Reduced need for vehicle trips and/or their cost and duration.

· Reduced GHG emissions related to transportation and land use.

· Efficacy of regional investment in regional transit/bicycling infrastructure.

· Increased positive health outcomes due to greater physical activity.

Places well-served by transit, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure can be identified in several ways. Comprehensive plans and other local plans often call out these places specifically. Transit market areas, an analysis maintained at the Met Council, are areas with density, walkability, and levels of car ownership that favor various levels of transit service. Population analysis such as age (youth/older adults), ability, income, and personal preferences can also identify areas with likely non-automobile-using residents.

Local governments in the region can support, reinforce and create these areas through planning and implementation that encourages additional density around activity centers and along corridors, a greater mix of uses, and improvement to the walkability and livability of the area. A critical piece of local planning is the development of interconnected local street networks that provide more opportunities to support travel by modes other than a car. The design of the networks, the street layout, the relationship with the surrounding land uses, and the space for people to travel without a car is important in creating effective and safe places for people.

Focus planned residential and commercial development near available and planned transportation and transit infrastructure. (Local Government)

Develop and implement transit-oriented development (TOD) policies and design at all stages of development (site plan, subdivision, long-range plan).

Plan higher-density residential developments around public transportation hubs and corridors. (Local Government)

Provide technical assistance for retrofitting/transitioning from one transit market area to another. (Met Council)

Provide technical resources related to accommodating additional density, reducing parking and parking impacts, travel demand management (TDM), placemaking/placekeeping, pedestrian networks, and related considerations. (Met Council)

Analyze and coordinate the effects of land uses and transportation infrastructure on each other during local comprehensive plan development. (Local Government)

Consider mitigation measures for displacement due to changes in the built environment including relocation assistance programs, land-disposition practices, anti-displacement funding programs, support of commercial and residential land trusts, and others. (Local Government)

Identify appropriate mitigation measures for different scales of development to provide a consistent and transparent level of planning and engagement. (Local Government)

Consider implementation of new policies or retrofitting existing ones to better meet the needs of communities vulnerable to displacement resulting from public investments. (Met Council/Local Government)

Support community-centered engagement practices and community-led decision-making as part of development and public investment. (Met Council/Local Government)

Invest in local efforts to encourage growth in locations that support improved access, such as strategic land acquisitions, infrastructure investments, and community/developer engagement. (Met Council/Local Government)

Identify regional, state, and federal funding sources to pair with local efforts to access funding through programs like the Regional Solicitation for transportation funding, regional trail acquisition and development funding, federal programs, and new opportunities as they become available. (Met Council)

Include market studies in local implementation strategies and priorities. (Local Government)

Support a comprehensive pedestrian network assessment for integration into land use planning and development projects. (Met Council/Local Government)

Address network connectivity gaps to improve accessibility and personal safety. (Met Council/Local Government)

Pursue partnerships to collaborate on funding programs that enhance biking, walking, and rolling access to centers of economic activity. (Met Council/Local Government)

Identify opportunities to adjust parking requirements to encourage alternative modes of transportation and to achieve additional benefits such as improved water quality, more efficient use of rights-of-way, and increased greenspace. (Local Government)

Ensure that all forms of transportation (transit, bicycling, walking, and rolling) at the neighborhood level support the individual communities, cultures, abilities, ages, and needs within each jurisdiction.

Coordinate with Met Council programs including Livable Communities programs, water quality grant programs, transportation funding, and housing investments. (Met Council/Local Government)

Integrate environmental and natural features in road rights-of-way, along highways and corridors, and other public transportation features, including near transit where available. (Met Council/Local Government)

Integrate planning for nonmotorized access to transit locations, neighborhoods, employment centers, and parks through various regional, state, and federal funding sources. (Met Council/Local Government)

Leverage the development process to integrate natural features that can provide bicycle and pedestrian protections as part of planning for local roads, intersections, connections, trails, sidewalks, and bikeways. (Local Government)

Coordinate infrastructure planning efforts to minimize disruptions to habitat connectivity, integrating wildlife crossings into transportation and utility projects.