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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jeff Howe (R)

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Addressing local transportation issues

Monday, February 4, 2013

To the editor,

I have been investigating a number of local roadway issues as a member of the Transporation Finance Committee and would like to pass along an update.

For safety reasons, the city of Cold Spring would like to reduce the speed limit on a stretch of County Road 2 which runs alongside numerous schools, parks and housing for the elderly. Cold Spring officials would like to reduce the speed limit from 40 mph to 30 mph.

The problem is local officials currently do not have the authority to make such changes. That is the sole responsibility of the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation commissioner. I am working to change that by working on a bill to allow local authorities to change or set speeds. A review by the commissioner still would be required.

I also recently met with MnDot officials to discuss expanding to four lanes the eight-mile stretch of Highway 23 between Paynesville and Richmond. This would eliminate the existing bottleneck where the road shrinks to two lanes, making for safer and more consistent travel. On a related note, the bill I authored to memorialize this stretch of road to honor slain Cold Spring police officer Tom Decker is entering the committee process and a hearing is scheduled.

We also are investigating travel between our area and the Twin Cities, including the potential for adding a third lane to Interstate 94 between St. Cloud and the metro. I expressed my desire to see MnDot do more to coordinate the branches of our state’s multi-modal transportation system. It would be good to see more communication between busses, light rail, commuter rail and airplanes to make schedules more compatible with one another. Discussions to land St. Cloud an airline with connections to international hubs also continue.

American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education recently had a day at the Capitol. It was a pleasure to meet with local citizens who traveled to St. Paul to talk about issues pertaining to motorcycles.

These issues of local impact are in the process of developing and I will keep citizens posted as things unfold. As always, I welcome your input at rep.jeff.howe@house.mn.

 

Sincerely,

Rep. Jeff Howe