Transportation

Amy understands that sustainable economic growth depends on a comprehensive transportation system that maintains the roads Minnesota has built and improves the system capacity with timely investment. Farmers, manufacturers, commuters, and other travelers all need reliable transportation, or productivity suffers and we all pay more. Congestion, safety concerns and the lack of alternatives combine to make Minnesotans constantly worried about being late and frustrated at the waste of their time. Minnesota’s transportation system is increasingly unreliable. Today the state postpones or cancels projects, relies on borrow-now-pay-later gimmicks to build individual projects, and shoves the debt onto future generations.

Transportation continues to be a major frustration and a key issue in our government and it is time to not simply pay more without getting results. We deserve a transportation system that is balanced so that no part (roads vs. transit, metro vs. greater Minnesota) is favored at the expense of another. And we should expect a system that demands better results from government and more personal responsibility from users. Such a system must deliver greater reliability and safety and ultimately less frustration.

Some of Amy’s plans include:

• Making sound investment, maintenance and management decisions to improve the use of roads for shipping goods, commuting, recreation/ tourism or local access
• Create a system with viable transit alternatives that make sense and are affordable and include the community in the planning process
• Develop an integrated transportation system that is governed by a Commissioner
• Consider User Mileage Fee and other diverse funding options for maintenance
• Explore furtherance of MnPASS and other revenue generating options