Project Manager Newsletter
January 2025
Happy 2025! Welcome to the first newsletter of the new year. I wish peace, prosperity, and happiness for all of you this year!
In this month’s newsletter, I will talk about equity and environmental justice as these two topics will be the focus of our first Table Talk on Wed, Jan. 29. Table Talks are intended to be informal discussion opportunities on topics relevant to the project. The upcoming Table Talk will be a virtual webinar for the public to learn a little more about these topics. The registration link is under the Meetings tab.
When MnDOT talks about environmental justice, this means ensuring public agencies treat everyone fairly and involve them in the process when making and enforcing environmental laws, rules, and policies. We have identified environmental justice communities (defined by the federal government as minority and/or low-income communities in the project area by using data from the U.S. Census and other sources, as well as in-person site visits to verify the community’s demographics and make sure we aren’t missing information. The goal is to reduce any negative effects on these communities. We also look at the benefits and impacts to see if they affect these groups more than others. After that, we look for ways to mitigate the impact. In short, our goal is to make sure that environmental justice communities aren’t unfairly harmed and that the benefits and harms are spread fairly across all groups.
Environmental justice is a process that is very important to MnDOT and is embedded into the way we develop projects. It is also a fundamental part of the Environmental Impact Statement process for this project, which is required due to federal funding.
Equity in transportation means the benefits and burdens of transportation systems, services and spending are fair and just, which historically has not been the case. As part of this study, MnDOT’s equity analysis will focus on two main initiatives: Metro District Livability and MnDOT’s Advancing Transportation Equity. The Livability Initiative aims to improve infrastructure and address community needs related to transportation in the Twin Cities area. The Advancing Transportation Equity Initiative makes sure that transportation decisions help underserved communities in Minnesota by improving their access and opportunities. Hwy 252 and I-94 run through areas that are disproportionately affected by air and noise pollution, have poorer health outcomes compared to other parts of Hennepin County, and experience higher rates of asthma, lung diseases, obesity, and less access to healthful food and green spaces (from EHA Report #3). Because of this, we’ve developed commitments from MnDOT (see the November 2024 PM Newsletter for more information) to focus on equity and health, looking at community livability, transportation equity, and road safety.
As an agency, MnDOT continues to further embed equity in project development. I hear this is also important to you. It is important to me as well. I will continue to make it an important part of my day-to-day work because it is who I am and part of my character. I don’t really know any other way to work. Thank you for continuing to talk with me about your communities and please keep sharing your experiences.
Question of the month
Will my input make a difference?
We’re committed to collecting input from the community throughout every phase of this study. Your feedback is incredibly important to us, and we truly appreciate the time and thought you’ve put into sharing your perspectives. Our team takes every comment seriously, whether it comes through a comment card, online form, email, phone call, or letter. We carefully review and evaluate each piece of feedback to identify substantial input or changes we can incorporate during the current phase of the study. This thorough review process ensures that community voices are heard and considered as we work to balance public input with technical requirements and the environmental process. One example of this is including light pollution from vehicle headlights as part of the evaluation criteria due to comments in the equity and health assessment process. Your engagement is essential to developing the best solutions, so we encourage you to stay involved and continue sharing your thoughts.