5.5. SR 03-24-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section 3: Why are existing funding sources insufficient? Sections 1 and 2 dealt with the questions: "What does the city road and bridge system look like?" and "How is it funded?" In this section of the report, the focus is shifted to a question that lies at the heart of policy debate on transportation infrastructure investments: "Is current funding adequate, and if not, why not?" This section will briefly identify and describe some of the key variables that are influencing the increasing gap between available resources and the capital and maintenance program needs present in Minnesota cities. This section details a number of the most important demographic trends that are important to transportation system planners and elected officials as they consider options to address the current and future demands on roads and bridges in the state's 854 cities. 1. Traffic volumes are increasing. The map and table below in Figure 13 show the increases in the percentage of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on all streets and highways by Mn/DOT transportation district. These substantial increases in VMT are a reflection of the increases in population growth and economic development. Figure 13 Increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled, All Route Systems 1990 - 2000 District 1 20% District 2 22% District 3 50% District 4 24% Metro District 35% District 6 29% District 7 20% District 8 21% Source: Mn/DOT Office of Investment Management Mn/DOT reports that the VMT growth trends continue to increase. According to the Mn/DOT 20- Year Transportation Plan, the average annual increase in total VMT between 1990 and 1995 was 2.5% per year compared to 3.6% per year between 1995 and 2000. 16