Highway Capacity

• 2000 Baseline:  1,485 lane-miles of freeway
• 2030 Trend Line:  300 additional lane-miles of freeway
• 2030 Target: 1,786 lane miles of freeway

Twenty-two additional lane-miles were added to the system in 2007.  This was an extension of new Highway 212 (MN-312) 5.6 miles long and four lanes wide.   Lane-miles added has averaged 13.5 annually over the measurement period—above the long-term target of 10 miles per year.  

Source:  Minnesota Department of Transportation

Roadway Congestion

• 2000 Baseline:  41 hours per peak-hour traveler spent in congestion/year
• 2030 Target:  55 hours
• Annual Indicator:   no more than 1 percent growth per year

The goal is to keep the increase in delay below 1 percent a year. Estimated delay increased in 2001, then dropped back to 39 or 40 hours per traveler during 2002 to 2004.   2005’s congestion, representing the most recent data available, marked a return to the highest level since 2001 with a 7.5 percent increase over 2004.

The overall trend is increasing congestion, though averaging less than one percent during the decade—under the target.  As the regional economy grows, road use may pick up, increasing congestion.

Source:  Texas Transportation Institute, 2007 Urban Mobility Study

Daily Roadway Usage

• 2000 Baseline:      25.9 vehicle miles per capita
• 2030 Target:          25.9 vehicle miles per capita

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is an indicator tracking the total amount of travel on the region's roadways. Since 1949 when the first travel behavior survey was done, both the average number of trips taken daily by each individual, and the average length of trips, have grown.  As a result, the amount of travel on the region's roadways has grown substantially faster than population.  However, these trends seem to be changing.  The growth in total vehicle miles traveled over the previous year, 0.7 percent, was close to the growth in population, and the per capita measure slipped slightly.  The Minnesota Department of Transportation estimates that roads and highways in the seven-county area accommodated 73.5 million vehicle miles per day in 2007. 

Source:  Minnesota Department of Transportation

Transit Service

• 2002 Baseline: 42.4 million vehicle revenue miles per year
• 2030 Trend Line: 42 million miles (assuming no growth)
• 2030 Target: 89 million miles

This is a systemwide measure, including Metro Transit, Metro Mobility, contracted services, community programs, intercampus service at the University of Minnesota, and the vanpool program.  Since the 2002 baseline, service has expanded nearly 9 percent.  The target is for 3 percent in annual growth, beginning in 2006.  The uptick in 2006 can partially be attributed to the opening of the Hiawatha LRT, which will not be an annual occurrence.

Source:  MetroTransit and Metropolitan Transportation Services, Metropolitan Council

Transit Ridership

• 2002 Baseline: 74.9 million riders per year
• 2030 Trend Line: 75 million riders (assuming no growth)
• 2030 Target: 150 million riders

Transit ridership on Metropolitan Council lines, excluding the Northstar Coach and the University of Minnesota routes, has grown over 14 percent since 2002, exceeding the target of building ridership by 3 percent annually starting in 2006.  A labor strike in 2004 disrupted service for 44 days, but ridership growth resumed the following years.  Recent ridership increases are likely a result of higher gas prices and expanded transit options including LRT.

Source:  MetroTransit and Metropolitan Transportation Services, Metropolitan Council

Peak Hour Transit Capacity

• 2000 Baseline:  2.28 million peak-hour seat miles (December data)
• 2030 Trend Line: 2.28 million peak-hour seat miles (assuming no growth)
• 2030 Target:  4.56 million peak-hour seat miles

The goal is to increase peak-hour transit capacity by 3 percent annually, beginning in 2006.  Peak hour capacity in 2006 was ahead of the goal, at 9.7 percent above the 2000 baseline level.  Start-up of the Hiawatha LRT service, and deployment of larger vehicles during the peak, supported peak-hour service growth.  The increase in 2007, 4 percent, also exceeded the target growth rate. 

Source:  MetroTransit and Metropolitan Transportation Services, Metropolitan Council

Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Runway Congestion

• 2002 Baseline: 7.1 minutes average annual aircraft delay
• 2030 Trend Line: 9.8 minutes
• 2030 Target:  7.1 minutes
  
  

Aircraft activity at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport decreased by 4.6 percent by 2007, compared to 2006.  This decrease in operations followed a decline of 10.6 percent between 2005 and 2006.  Fewer operations reflects increased airline competition, a deteriorating economy, and substantial increases in fuel costs while many airlines still operate older, less efficient aircraft.

Despite the decline in operations, the average annual delay per aircraft operation increased from 2006 to 2007, by 2.04 minutes.  Minneapolis-St. Paul’s ranking among large hub airports worsened from 15th place to 7th place.  Primarily, the cause for increased delay was two-fold:  south parallel runway reconstruction during the high-traffic summer season, and several weeks of unseasonably poor weather conditions.  Undoubtedly, annual delays would have been much higher had the new runway not been made available. 

Reductions in airline schedules are expected to continue through 2008, and delay levels should improve.  It is unclear at this time whether the merger of Northwest Airlines with Delta will have an impact on aircraft operations over the next year.  In 2009, delays are likely to increase temporarily again with the reconstruction of the north parallel runway.

Source:  Metropolitan Airports Commission