After launching in 2021 with eight sessions, MnDOT’s Transportation Equity Lunch-and-Learn series returned April 21. The session, organized by the Office of Organizational Planning & Management, provided updates on the agency’s efforts to create a more equitable transportation system, along with a glimpse at the work ahead.

Interim Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger opened the event with a discussion of the recent work to develop MnDOT’s equity statement of commitment, which is still in progress.

“There are a wide variety of perspectives on meanings of ‘transportation equity,’” Daubenberger said, “and it's clear that MnDOT's ongoing work needs a common understanding of its meaning and its implications. Transportation equity is an ongoing journey of listening, learning, changing, implementing and adapting.”

One key to this work is acknowledging the history of past harms and their disproportionate impact on Black and Indigenous communities and other people of color, as well as people with disabilities, Daubenberger said. This includes, for example, the Rethinking I-94 project in St. Paul, which session panelist Erik Rudeen, Office of Government Affairs director, highlighted for its goal of "reconnecting a community divided by past transportation projects."

MnDOT is especially well poised to make and implement equity-focused plans, thanks to both the commitment from leadership—including the Executive Inclusion Council—and recent funding, according to Deputy Commissioner Kim Collins and Chief of Staff Sara Severs. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden last year and fully funded by Congress in March 2022, will provide about $4.5 billion to Minnesota over the next five years, offering a 30 percent increase in federal formula funding for roads and bridges in the state. The act includes discretionary grant programs that “are actually targeted to address issues of inequity, reconnect communities and make for healthier living conditions,” Collins said.

The lunch-and-learn included a panel discussion moderated by Craig Gustafson, chief counsel, and featuring Rudeen, Abdullahi Abdulle, transportation equity planning coordinator from the Office of Transportation System Management; Gina Kundan, deputy director of the Office of Equity and Diversity; Renee Raduenz, deputy director of the Office of Communications and Public Engagement; and Sean Skibbie, interim director of the Office of Civil Rights.

A recurring theme of the discussion was the need to make efforts both in partnership with communities and organizations around the state, and within MnDOT. Since 2018, Abdulle said, MnDOT has been engaging with communities as part of its Advancing Transportation Equity Initiative "about specific elements of transportation equity and what is important to them. What resources do they need? What transportation gaps exist?" Collecting this information, which is an ongoing process, is essential to understanding history, need and a plan for action.

Such conversations are also critical inside MnDOT.

"Building workplace equity requires all of us to be engaged and involved,” Kundan said. “It's so easy to just keep our heads down, do our work and leave, but that does not create an inclusive or welcoming environment."

Kundan also offered some examples of tangible things employees can do, including joining an employee resource group or one of the diversity and inclusion committees and teams that exist throughout the agency, or volunteering at a job fair, the MnDOT booth at the State Fair or other events.

“And there's really no one magic solution. We have to continue to use a variety of tools and methods and techniques to reach our public,” Raduenz said.

At the end of the discussion, the panelists offered a note of optimism about all the work that has happened recently, including the outreach from other state agencies looking to emulate and build on MnDOT’s work.

“That recognition and the conversation around transportation funding … gives me a great deal of optimism as we move forward,” said Skibbie.

For anyone who missed the session, a video of the discussion is now available on iHUB. The lunch-and-learn series will be held quarterly in 2022 with the next one scheduled for Thursday, July 14, at noon. More information on topics covered will be coming via NoteMailer.

Ralph Adair, Regional Transportation Management Center integration engineer, maintains MnDOT’s fiber optic lines. These thin, flexible fibers are buried underground, out of sight in more ways than one. They transmit information using infrared light, invisible to the human eye. A single strand of fiber optic cable can do the work of a much larger bundle of copper wires.

Adair recently celebrated his 30th year with the agency.

What does fiber optic technology allow us to do that we couldn’t do otherwise?
Without fiber optic technology, MnDOT would not be able to communicate with its infrastructure. Fiber optic technology can move large amounts of data over long distances. MnDOT’s early fiber optic use was for cameras. Fiber optic transmission was much easier than the older coaxial cable technology. Over the years, MnDOT’s fiber optics use grew to accommodate all types of communications, including field equipment like cameras, ramp meters and signs. They connect MnDOT’s offices like Water’s Edge, the Maplewood lab, Central Office, truck stations and even the 800MHz ARMER system (Minnesota statewide radio system).

How many people at the agency work with fiber optics? Are you on a team?
There are only a few groups that work with the actual strands of fiber optics — mostly RTMC Design, Integration, Maintenance and the Electrical Services Section at Fort Snelling . However, there are many groups at MnDOT that use the agency’s fiber optic cables. Fiber optics can be thought of as a part of the roadway, just like lighting, signing and striping.

Does MnDOT own all its cable or does it purchase services from providers?
MnDOT owns cables on our right of way. However, we partner with MNIT to get some long-haul connections to places like Brainerd, Duluth and Mankato. MNIT has legislative authority to lease or barter fiber with the private sector. MnDOT has approximately 1,000 miles of fiber optic cables.

How did you become interested in electronics?
After working for three years in Central Office Video Log, I did mobility work with a project called Integrated Corridor Traffic Management. It was a special project that had Bloomington, Richfield, Edina, Hennepin County and MnDOT all working together to have one system control all the traffic signals and ramp meters in the Bloomington strip along Interstate 494. That project got me into field communications and intelligent transportation systems. I’ve enjoyed it ever since.

What do you like most about your job?
I enjoy working with all the different MnDOT groups on projects and problem-solving. I also like that I can see what we accomplished. But the thing I enjoy most about my job is the people I work with every day. They make my job the best one I can imagine. 

Do you or a co-worker have an interesting job to share with readers? Send us your ideas, and we’ll contact you for more information.

Recent employee profiles:

• Sam Brown oversees agency's operating budget
• Stephanie Clark drives thousands of miles to collect pavement data each year
• Pippi Mayfield enjoys variety, challenge of District 1's public engagement efforts

The League of American Bicyclists recently recertified MnDOT’s Central Office as a “Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business.”

The League’s Bicycle Friendly Business designation reflects a business’s efforts to encourage a more welcoming atmosphere for people riding bicycles to and from the establishment. To apply, MnDOT staff completed questionnaires about facilities and amenities available to bicyclists at the Central Office building, as well as the types of programming offered to support bicycling in the communities the agency serves.

There are many reasons to make it easier for people to bike to work, said Jake Rueter, active transportation coordinator, Office of Transit and Active Transportation.

“More bike trips are a good thing for the environment,” he said. “They also offer the opportunity to see your community in a new way, and, as research suggests, make people happier. Thinking bigger picture, if we can switch trips to biking or other alternatives, the overall cost of maintaining our transportation system will go down. A reduced need for private vehicle parking also means that there is more space available for other amenities or land uses on the Capitol grounds.”

The Bicycle Friendly Business designation is good for four years. 

MnDOT’s Central Office first received the designation in 2017. Cycling amenities at Central Office include:

• Two secure parking facilities in Ramp F
• A bike fix-it station in Ramp F
• Abundant outdoor bicycle rack parking
• Locker room and showers for employees

Similar amenities are also available further north in Detroit Lakes, at District 4’s headquarters. The district won a Gold certification last year. These offerings include:

• A sheltered bike rack: Covered and ADA compliant, this bike rack can accommodate up to 18 bicycles.
• Bikes and helmets: MnDOT owns four bikes and helmets for employees to use on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Bike repair station: This station offers a spot for employees to work on their bikes. It includes a rack to lift bikes, air for tires, and tools for quick fixes.

Last year’s Gold designation is a step up from the Silver certification garnered in 2017, said Jane Butzer, bike and pedestrian coordinator for District 4.

“The biggest improvements since then were adding to our bike fleet and building a bike shelter,” she said.

Other improvements since 2017 include:

• An extension of the Heartland Trail
• A website highlighting initiatives such as the Love to Ride District 4 Bike Club, Bike Buddy, Guaranteed Ride Home and Pedal Pack
• An equity and transportation study
• A Diversity and Inclusion Committee identifying and addressing bicycling barriers and disparities

The League recognized District 6 for “encouraging bicycling at its headquarters building for employees and the public. New bridges, such as the Hwy 58 bridge at Zumbrota, the Hwy 63 Red Wing Bridge and the Hwy 43 Winona Bridge, each have or will have new wide trails across that allow for bicycle traffic.”

District 6’s headquarters has a full set of new bicycle racks for temporary and safe bicycle storage. It also offers a bicycle repair station with bicycle pump and tools. Finally, employees are able to store folding bicycles inside cubicles.

Another part of this work is the agency’s commitment to encourage bicycling and educating stakeholders. Some of that education involves encouraging an initial bike trip to the office for employees who have not done so previously.

“There are many things you can do to help make that first bike trip to work easier and more comfortable,” Rueter said. “Try riding to the office on a day that you don’t work without carrying the things you’d need for a work day. Maybe consider biking to work one day per week and seeing if you’d like to bike more in the future. You might be surprised by the connections you make with other people biking on your way in, or at the bike rack outside of MnDOT.”

By Molly Murphy, Office of Chief Counsel

Members of the Office of Chief Counsel volunteered April 12 at the local nonprofit, Feed My Starving Children, packing food to help people suffering from extreme malnourishment in countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Somalia.

It was one way that the office has remained connected with each other while working remotely during the past two years.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the Office of Chief Counsel created a social committee to arrange outings as a way for people to get together (mainly outdoors) during a time when everyone felt so isolated. Past events have included a summer picnic at Como Park and a trip to an apple orchard. During one of the committee meetings, the group discussed ways to socialize while also helping others during difficult times, spurring a group trip to Feed My Starving Children.