Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA)

The Racial Equity Impact Analysis helps the City consider racial equity outcomes when shaping policies, practices, programs and budgets.

B Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Recommended Corridor Plan: City of Minneapolis comments - REIA

Section 1: Background

Does this impact one of the City's Goal Areas

Policy Goals

Operational Goals

Public Safety	No
Housing	No
Economic Development	No
Public Services	No
Environmental Justice	No
Built Environment & Transportation	Yes
Public Health	No
Arts & Culture	No

Workforce	No
Spending	No
Data	No
Community Engagement	Yes

Describe the impact on selected goal areas.

The partner agencies will be working together to promote design for the built environment that is dynamic and durable, reflects the diversity of Minneapolis residents, and contributes to a sense of place and community identity. The City together with the partner agencies will also proactively improve the public realm, including streets, sidewalks, parks and open spaces between buildings, to ensure that public spaces and private development are thoughtfully connected.

Achieving this goal also requires changes to the transportation system that make it easier to walk, bike or use transit to access daily needs. The city with partner agencies will proactively improve the pedestrian environment and continue to build and maintain a network of bikeways, while working with Metro Transit to increase the frequency, speed and reliability of the public transit system.

Who participated in completing this analysis?

Jasna Hadzic-Stanek, Transportation Planner, Transportation Planning & Programming, City of Minneapolis
Adam Smith, Senior Planner, Bus Rapid Transit Projects, Metro Transit

Section 2: Data

LIST THE SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIES THAT WILL BE IMPACTED AND THE RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS OF CONSTITUENTS IN THOSE AREAS:

B Line is proposed to operate along Lake Street, which is a major thoroughfare in South Minneapolis connecting sixteen diverse neighborhoods across five wards in the City, while also serving as a critical link to the adjoining cities of Saint Louis Park and Saint Paul.
•The project travels through ACP-50 area and a Southside Green Zone.
•42% of population within ½ mile of the route are people of color, while 38% of the population within ½ mile of the route are low income.
•19% of the population along the corridor are zero car households.
•Among other measures of equity within ½ mile of the corridor are:
oNumber of jobs paying less than $40k/year: 52,321
oPeople speaking English “less than well”: 12,622
oPopulation with any disability: 13,224 (12%)
oPopulation over 65: 9,546 (9%)
oPopulation under 16: 18,937 (18%)

What does available data tell you about how constituents from BIPOC communities currently relate to the desired outcome as compared to white constituents?

More than 10,000 average weekday rides (pre-pandemic), second-highest Metro Transit ridership bus route
Carries 20% of people in vehicles while making up less than 2% of vehicles in portions of route
Based on the 2016 Travel Behavior Inventory On-Board Survey prepared by the Metropolitan Council, 56.8% of Route 21 riders identified as BIPOC, including 28.2% of riders who identified as Black/African American, Improvements in transit service along this corridor will benefit a relatively high percentage of BIPOC transit users in the Route 21 corridor.

What data is unavailable or missing? How can you obtain additional data?

More recent information about ridership demographics is unavailable. The pandemic may have affected the demographics of transit ridership. Additional surveys could provide this data; however, On-Board surveys are typically prepared as part of Metropolitan Council’s decennial Travel Behavior Inventory.

Section 3: Community Engagement

Using the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Public Participation Spectrum, which participation strategy(s) was used when engaging those who would be most impacted?

Inform	Yes
Consult	Yes
Involve	Yes
Collaborate	No
Empower	No

Describe the Engagement and what have you learned?

This draft corridor plan is being circulated for public review and comment. Following the public comment period, Metro Transit will report back to the community with revisions in a recommended plan and bring a final plan to the Metropolitan Council for approval in summer 2021.
In fall 2019, initial recommendations for the B Line corridor were published as an initial step toward this plan. Based on strong stakeholder interest early in the planning process, Metro Transit evaluated the potential for an extension of the B Line to downtown St. Paul.
Feedback from corridor recommendations:

847 responses, largely from web-based survey
Online form, ride-alongs, 1 pop up (Chicago-Lake), several community meetings
Broad support for extension alignment
636 support alignment as is, 51 generally don’t support, 66 mentioned preference for Midway routing
A strong majority are happy with identified station locations
Preference for additional local service
121 mentioned a Midway connection, 27 mentioned local service on Selby

Section 4: Analysis

How does the outcome for this ordinance, amendment, or policy help the city achieve Racial Equity?

83 percent of Route 21 riders today would be able to catch the B Line within 1/8 mile (one block) of their current bus stop
B Line will extend to Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul via Marshall, Snelling, and Selby Avenues (initial recommendation was to terminate in the vicinity of Allianz field)

Section 5: Evaluation

How will impacts be measured? What are the success indicators and process benchmarks?

Project impacts will be measured against project goals, including transit travel times and reliability following B Line implementation, along with change in transit ridership as a reflection of the success of the service.
Future surveys of transit users will also help to measure satisfaction with the speed and reliability goals of the project, as well as the impact of upgraded transit waiting facilities and vehicles.

How will those who are impacted be informed of progress over time?

Following project implementation, progress updates will be communicated through standing means of Metro Transit communications, including publication of newsletters, surveys, and studies.

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