The 2026 legislative session came to an end on Monday, May 18th, ending a biennium marked by difficult circumstances.
This year, Our Streets built on the 2025 session and continued to lead the forward-thinking transportation movement to advance policies that reconnect communities, make getting around more affordable and accessible, ensure our transportation system is maintained and fiscally solvent, and build in good governance, transparency and democratic participation at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and on transportation projects across our state.
The 2026 Legislative Landscape
This year’s legislative landscape unfolded against urgent backdrops impacting the lives of our most vulnerable communities and all Minnesotans. Operation Metro Surge, gun and political violence, federal healthcare cuts, and an affordability crisis have harmed our communities, and bold actions were needed to address these challenges.
While a divided legislature prevented many big policy wins in 2026, Our Streets, the communities we serve, our partners and allies, and forward-thinking elected officials worked to ensure our transportation system strengthens and uplifts the communities most affected by past inequitable transportation decisions, current federal crises, and ongoing economic and racial injustice.
Transportation decision makers have a role to play in creating a transportation system that works for everyone. This means understanding our transportation system is a tool to create safe, healthy, and prosperous communities across the state, building projects and enacting policies that connect and uplift communities, reduce harms to Minnesotans, support small businesses, local economies, land use, and tax bases, increase transportation choices and affordability, and reduce climate, health, and environmental impacts.
Building a Transportation System for Everyone
For more than 15 years, Our Streets’ vision is grounded in our work with communities across the metro and state. We’ve knocked over 200,000 doors talking to residents about our campaigns, we’ve engaged more than 1,000,000 Minnesotans who have attended our events—like Open Streets Minneapolis™ and Imagine—and other engagement events, and worked directly with people who experience our current transportation system from every angle—community members, advocates, unions, elected officials, local governments, engineers, policy experts and many more.
What we’ve heard is consistent: people want a transportation system that is safe, affordable, equitable, and accountable to the people it serves—one that works for everyone and creates healthy, safe, and prosperous communities across the state.
Realizing this vision means reorienting MnDOT around three core responsibilities of a modern state DOT, including:
- Maintaining and improving the system we already have by fixing roads first, planning for the long term, and delivering smart multimodal projects;
- Investing in safe, affordable, and accessible transportation choices that prioritize people who walk, bike, and take transit and reduce household costs for the 1 in 3 Minnesotans who don’t drive; and
- Reducing the transportation system’s impact on people, the economy, and the environment by rightsizing overbuilt roads, reconnecting neighborhoods, and undoing the climate and health harms that fall hardest on communities least able to bear them.
Across all of these priorities, MnDOT must track progress toward shared goals, engage communities meaningfully, steward public dollars responsibly, and protect and uplift the workers who build, maintain, and operate the system every day. This is the vision we showed up for at the Capitol this year, with and for the communities we serve, and we will continue to advance this vision in 2027 and beyond.
What Happened This Session?
The 2026 legislative session was the second year in a biennial cycle. During these sessions, the legislature largely focuses on policy, a bonding bill where the state borrows money to support infrastructure projects, and supplemental budget items at the governor’s request.
Given the challenging political circumstances of the session, leaders emphasized the need to advance policies as “stand-alone” bills, meaning not rolled into broader packages that brought finance and policy provisions together, as there was a recognition that it would be difficult to move large bills in a divided legislature.
Main takeaways in transportation included saving the critical Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) through a short-term stabilization fund, some of which included previously canceled dollars from the Blue Line. Republicans were also able to include a one-year reduction in vehicle registration fees, also known as tab fees, meaning drivers who already don’t pay their fair share of road maintenance dollars get a break, while those who don’t drive continue to pick up the tab while lacking viable transportation choices.
Another package of uncontroversial transportation policies was brought to the Senate floor for a vote less than five minutes before the midnight end of the session, but it did not advance.
Our Streets and our legislative partners laid the groundwork for transformative change ahead, building on the 2025 session and the 2023–2024 biennium. That meant playing both offense and defense—advancing new priorities while fighting cuts and rollbacks of past policy wins. This work is critical to sustaining momentum toward a transportation system that works for everyone.
We worked closely with Senate and House DFL leaders who have worked to make this vision come to life, coalesced around defending transit, active transportation, making MnDOT more transparent and democratically accountable, and rethinking the way we plan, build, and fund major highway projects. We will continue to advance these policies in 2027.
Days on the Hill
Our Streets brought community members to the Capitol for two Day on the Hill events in 2026, one focused on our policy priorities and the other focused on the Bring Back 6th Campaign. Our advocacy is driven by and accountable to communities across the state, and bringing community members together at the Capitol breaks down barriers to residents and community partners from engaging in the legislative process.
Gallery of photos from Our Streets Day on the Hill and Bring Back 6th Day on the Hill.
Fix-It First, Fix-It, Right Advanced
Our Streets partnered with Chair Erin Koegel (DFL, Spring Lake Park) and Senator Doron Clark (DFL, Minneapolis) to advance the country’s strongest Fix-it-First provision, which uses state Transportation Asset Management Plans (TAMPs) as a fiscal decision-making tool: if MnDOT isn’t meeting maintenance targets for roads and bridges, it can’t expand highways until it does. This approach makes roads safer, reduces household costs, creates good maintenance jobs, and strengthens the state’s transportation fiscal outlook. The companion Fix-it-Right bill would modernize how MnDOT develops major projects, requiring the agency to study a wider range of approaches to meet transportation needs and update project development processes and benefit-cost analyses to prioritize fixing existing roads and building for long-term durability.
Fix-it-First received hearings in the House and Senate and was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus package, but transportation omnibus bills never came together this session. Fix-it-Right (SF3990) was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee and referred to the Finance Committee. Because the hearing was after the deadline, the bill was referred to the rules.
We thank Representative Koegel and Senator Clark for their partnership and look forward to advancing this work in 2027.
Leading on Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Safety
Our Streets was invited to present on our state’s transportation safety crisis in the House Transportation Committee, with a specific focus on safety for our state’s most vulnerable road users—those who bike, walk, roll, and use public transit. We invited Michael Wojcik, the executive director of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) and a statewide expert on bike and pedestrian safety, to join in on the conversation.
The presentation framed the conversation on safety through national and state data, case studies, and stories from those most impacted by the crisis in pedestrian safety. Despite safety improvements through the 2010s, safety has decreased significantly since then and has increased significantly since then.
At its core, this trend points to a deeper crisis of intentional engineering and design decisions—creating a system built to move a lot of cars quickly rather than keep all road users safe. Smart Growth America coined the term Dangerous by Design in their 2024 report, a great resource on national pedestrian safety trends.
We thank the members who introduced important safety legislation that gets at the root of the problem: designing roads and streets meant to move a lot of people quickly, not safely. This means pursuing real safety projects that protect vulnerable road users, not using safety as an excuse to build bigger, faster roads. We look forward to continue collaborating with the committee on important safety work in 2027.
A Growing Conversation to Make MnDOT More Accountable to Minnesotans
Growing out of public frustration with MnDOT’s development of major highway projects and provisions in the 2025 Senate Omnibus Transportation Bill, Senator Dibble’s SF 4657 was a big step forward in improving MnDOT’s process.
By establishing new standards for project “purpose and need” statements, the bill ensures that transportation decisions start with a clear-eyed look at transportation needs rather than jumping to predetermined solutions like lane expansions. The bill thoughtfully reduces reliance on traditional capacity metrics like level of service and instead elevates considerations like safety, cost efficiency, community input, multimodal access, and equity—bringing Minnesota’s transportation planning in line with the diverse needs of the people who actually use these roads, sidewalks, and transit systems.
Beyond reshaping project scoping, the bill builds in meaningful accountability and transparency throughout the process. Interdisciplinary teams with expertise in multimodal and social sciences will guide projects from planning through construction, conduct field visits, and evaluate outcomes against statewide goals. Stronger oversight tools—including expanded authority for the Transportation Ombudsperson, targeted compliance audits, and performance reviews tied to statutory standards—ensure these reforms have real teeth. Combined with robust outcome reporting and tighter integration with Minnesota’s Complete Streets policy, the legislation moves the state toward a transportation system that is more accountable, more context-sensitive, and better aligned with the long-term outcomes Minnesotans care about.
We thank Senator Dibble for his leadership on this bill.
A Win on Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs)
Our Streets led the forward-thinking transportation space in pushing back on the adoption of autonomous vehicles in Minnesota, working with labor partners to stop the passage of a bill in 2026. This new technology, especially if not regulated, threatens workers, safety, and undercuts progress towards building a world-class transit system. Waymo and other corporate interests pushed the legislature to give them a blank check to operate without oversight, but if a regulatory framework is going to move forward, it must set a high bar: one that protects workers, preserves and strengthens transit, ensures safety, supports local regulatory authority, and holds companies accountable.
Our Streets worked closely with labor partners at the Teamsters, SEIU, and ATU and Senate transportation leadership to ensure that Waymo’s industry bill does not move forward unchecked. No policy approach to automated vehicles should undercut jobs for transit operators, truck drivers, rideshare drivers, and other workers.
Senator Dibble’s package, paired with bills from Senator McEwen and Senator Maye Quade, moved us meaningfully in that direction and we thank him for his leadership on the issue. No bill was passed on CAVs in the 2026 session. However, having the DFL start from a strong position will be a helpful starting point in next year’s conversations and lay a foundation for a successful framework in 2027.
We will continue to work closely with labor allies and communities to engage residents in meaningful conversations on CAVs, and similar technology, and broader transportation needs in 2027.
Successfully Defended Transit Funding
Governor Walz’s supplemental budget proposal set the tone on transit by doubling down on his 2025 transit cuts that would zero out state general fund dollars for transit operations in the Metro.
These cuts directly impact communities of color, low-income households, immigrant neighbors, and all those who use transit across our region every day. In the wake of Operation Metro Surge and as gas prices and the cost of car ownership continue to rise, there has never been a worse time to cut much-needed spending on transit that supports vibrant communities across our region.
We asked the legislature to lead where the Governor faltered by rejecting the proposed $41 million permanent cut for transit operations in the Twin Cities region and to defend against other attacks on public transit funding.
Our Streets, alongside other allies like the Sierra Club North Star Chapter, organized a broad coalition letter to oppose the cuts, and we successfully defended these critical transit operating dollars.
A Bonding Bill that sidelined Transit Riders
Challenges securing transit capital dollars were present in the capital investment committees, as members negotiated a bonding bill that rolled out in the final hours of the legislative session. The $1.2 billion bill had a long list of state and local road projects in every corner of the state with $0 for transit in the metro, in Greater Minnesota cities, and in rural communities, affecting over 30 rural transit operators across Minnesota.
Our Streets and other partners uplifted the ask for $75 million in general obligation bonds to develop the METRO H Line BRT project between downtown Minneapolis and the east side of Saint Paul.
These bonding dollars would allow the project to move forward more quickly and provide a critical east-west transit link on Maryland and Como Avenue, connecting to nine existing or future transit lines.
Senator Dibble (DFL, Minneapolis) named this dynamic directly, stating in a joint House and Senate Capitol Investment Committee meeting that “there is zero for transit in this bill and that is a huge and glaring omission,” challenging the assumption that the metro sales tax is a silver bullet to build out transit across the region.
Senator Dibble added historic context, too, stating:
In bonding years past, when metro transit and rural transit were facing extreme fiscal pressure and metro transit was facing a fiscal cliff– that’s what the sales tax actually addresses– there was still nothing for transit in these [bonding] bills, and that was a glaring omission.
I don’t really buy the argument that transit is doing well, I just know that folks who advocate for transit aren’t as politically powerful as those who advocate for pavement and concrete, and that is what comes up; that’s how these bills come out the way that they do, nothing for rural transit, nothing for metro transit.
Creating a Regional Vision for Transit
The House heard the “Transit for a Vibrant Metro” Act, led by Rep. Jones (DFL, 61A) and developed in close coordination with Our Streets, Move Minnesota, and the Sierra Club North Star chapter. HF 4449 establishes a new framework for coordinating transit planning, street reconstruction projects, and land use in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
The bill was laid over and will not advance this year. However, it was a step in the right direction to ensure there is a comprehensive vision for our regional transit system and accountability for metro sales tax dollars. We thank Representative Jones for her leadership on the package.
Making Efficient Use of Transportation Dollars
Since 2024, Our Streets has led the effort to clarify “Highway Purposes” to include all modes of transportation, including transit and active transportation along state highways.
This provision passed the state senate in the 2025 Transportation omnibus bill and was almost included in the final agreement.
This common-sense clarification makes our transportation dollars go farther, supporting more transportation choices and saving taxpayers time and money. According to MnDOT, Commissioner Nancy Daubenburger, who testified at a May 12th legislative hearing, failed to align the F Line BRT project and roadway projects on Highway 47 and 65 which would cost taxpayers an additional $18 million, creating redundant work, and causing two extra years of construction-related travel disruptions.
In 2026, we kept the conversation going. Both the House and Senate transportation chairs stated in committee that what constitutes highway purposes is “up to the legislature to decide” or “in the eyes of the beholder”, setting the stage to rethink smart, flexible transportation spending in 2027.
What Comes Next?
Our Streets will continue leading on forward-thinking transportation reforms in Minnesota by continuing to engage with people across the state on how transportation shapes their lives and how improvements made can help create a transportation system that works for everyone.
This summer, we’ll be engaging with thousands of residents at Open Streets and Imagine events, through door-to-door canvassing, and planned engagement events in Duluth, Rochester, Mankato, and more.
None of this is possible without the thousands of Minnesotans who’ve shaped this work—the residents who answered their doors, the advocates and community members who shared their stories, and the engineers, unions, local officials, and policy experts who lent their expertise to building a better path forward.
We are deeply grateful to Chair Dibble, Chair Tabke, Senator Clark, Senator McEwen, Senator Fateh, Senator Johnson Stewart, Representative Koegel, Representative Jones, Representative Kraft, and other authors and their staff this biennium for authoring these bills and other legislative leaders and staff who carried these bills and championed a transportation system that works for everyone.
There is real momentum, the conversations are moving in the right direction, and we look forward to continuing this work alongside our partners to deliver the safe, healthy, and prosperous communities that Minnesotans deserve.