Minneapolis, MN
The future is electric — which is to say, still mostly on four wheels
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In 2018, the city of Minneapolis adopted its long-range plan, the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. The plan assumed 75% growth over the next 20 years. Based on this plan, in 2020, the city adopted the Transportation Action Plan. The core was a 60% reduction in auto travel by 2030, with a presumption that by then, 25% of trips would be taken by walking, bicycling would triple and transit ridership would double. The city is now rebuilding its roads as if this is going to come true.
• Population growth: The population of Minneapolis declined, from 430,710 in 2020 to 425,115 in 2023, about 1.2%. This is most likely because of the declining birthrate. It takes 2.1 babies per woman to have a stable population, and the U.S. is at 1.66.
• Auto travel: Vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, in Minneapolis declined 3% from 2016 to 2020 and another 11% from 2019 to 2023. This decline happened mostly from 2019 to 2020, rebounded from 2020 to 2021, then remained stable. This change is most likely due to a tripling of people working from home and a tripling of the time people spent at home.
• Transit: Regional transit ridership peaked in 2015 and declined 9% from 2015 to 2019. This is most likely because Uber and Lyft debuted in 2014. Transit ridership has fallen about another 40% from 2019 to midyear 2024, for a net decline of about 50% since 2015.
• Walking/bicycling: In the Twin Cities, walking trips declined 47% from 2019 to 2022. Nationally, biking increased 37% from 2019 to 2021, then flatlined in 2022. The Twin Cities ranked 30th in per capita biking in 2019 and 33rd in 2022 despite making heavy investments in bike amenities. Given that biking is such a small percentage of travel, even an increase of 37% would not impact VMT in a meaningful way.
Minneapolis leaders are divided over whether to keep paying for ShotSpotter as the city weighs a new contract for the gunfire detection system.
A public hearing at City Hall focused on the technology as Minneapolis negotiates a new contract with SoundThinking, the company that provides ShotSpotter. Deputy Chief of Investigations Travis Riddle told the council the system supports gun violence strategies and can alert police no later than 60 seconds after shots are fired.
Critics at the hearing said the technology is not proven enough and argued the money could be spent in other ways. The proposed deal would cost $3.7 million through 2029 and would expand ShotSpotter into new areas of Minneapolis.
“We have actually had a contract with SoundThinking for their ShotSpotter services since 2014, and even with this technology for over 12 years now, MPD’s solve rates for homicides and non-fatal shootings were some of the worst in the country,” Council member Robin Wonsley said.
Council members pushed back on the long-term proposal and said they want a one-year deal instead. Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw disagreed with concerns raised by her colleague during the debate.
“In my opinion, and in folks I’ve heard from the North Side who have shown up here time and time again to say that we want this technology, we believe that ShotSpotter is a tool that the police use to save lives,” LaTrisha Vetaw said
City Council is set to take up the issue again on June 17. Minneapolis police are expected to return with a one-year contract instead of the three-year contract brought forward at the hearing.
Premiere vocal ensemble, Cantus is bringing the songs of Dolly Parton to the stage with fresh interpretations. The show will cover her classics like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.” Cantus Presents, COVERS: Dolly & Friends runs through June 7th at the Luminary Arts Center at 700 N 1st St. in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police are investigating a hit-and-run that left a man seriously injured Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened near Oliver Avenue North and Lowry Avenue North just before 2 p.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Investigators say an SUV struck another vehicle, which then collided with a motorcyclist. The driver of the SUV then fled the scene.
The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. Police say the driver of the other vehicle was not injured.
No arrests have been made as of Tuesday night.
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