Transportation on Tap: Youth and Active Transportation

 

By Erin Kindell, Minnesota GreenCorps Member (TLC), and Hilary Reeves, Strategic Advancement and Communications Director

 

Photo credit: Kirk Johnson

It’s clear that Millennials are influencing transportation trends, and using a range of options to get around, stay connected, and save money. But what about teenagers and younger kids? What’s their transportation world—and what should it be? 

On December 9, TLC members and allies gathered at Republic in Minneapolis to explore the topic of “Youth and Active Transportation,” as part of TLC’s Transportation on Tap series. The final event of 2014 featured panelists Amber Dallman, Physical Activity Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health; Nicole Campbell, Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Coordinator at MnDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Section; and Casey Pavek, General Manager at Venture North community bicycle shop. Thank you to the panelists and everyone who joined us for a great conversation! For everyone else, here is some of what you missed:

 

Moderated by TLC's Hilary Reeves, the last Transportation on Tap panel of 2014 brought us a smart, engaging conversation about youth and active transportation.

 

Barriers and Successes: Access, Infrastructure, Education

Casey Pavek emphasized that access plays a major role in how everyone get around; if kids are equipped with bicycles, they will use them. But, there are barriers that make it harder. Venture North works with nearby schools and neighborhood youth. They’ve noted infrastructure barriers, such as a lack of bicycle lanes or safe crossings at major roads. Another problem is a lack of safe places to park or store bicycles. Casey also said sometimes drivers tell bicyclists to get on the sidewalk, and sometimes kids on bicycles are associated with loitering or bad behavior. Overcoming these misperceptions, while also addressing access and infrastructure issues, is essential to supporting a new generation of bicyclists and pedestrians.

Nicole Campbell noted that some parents are opposed to their children walking or bicycling alone, in cold weather conditions, or in seemingly unsafe areas. Although the idea of “stranger danger” originated several decades ago, that idea is still very prominent. Nicole explained that although infrastructure changes are necessary and welcome, these need to be paired with education and programming for parents and students. This could include walking or bicycling clubs, “walking school buses,” or teaching bicycling and walking safety skills in school. Students exposed to this type of engagement are more likely to be open-minded to a variety of travel habits as adults.

A walking school bus is one way to make walking to school a fun group activity for young students.

 

Amber Dallman echoed the need for education and outreach to encourage active transportation. Through initiatives such as the St. Paul Smart Trips Frogtown Neighborhoods Program, she has seen kids become champions of bicycling and walking and see their neighborhoods in new ways. Amber also noted that some believe active transportation “doesn’t work” in rural communities because of longer distances between destinations and busy roads. But, in Greater Minnesota, she has seen successful collaboration between service groups, seniors, and kids around active transportation. The local Kiwanis or senior group, for example, will volunteer to monitor bicycle rides or kids walking to school, bringing the community together.

 

Frogtown Youth Crew, Summer 2013. Photo credit: St. Paul Smart Trips

 

Ages 9 to Adult: Engaging Community & Cultivating the Next Generation

Community bike/walk centers can be important incubators for the next generation of bicyclists and pedestrians. In North Minneapolis, Venture North engages youth in different ways at different ages. The Earn-a-Bike program teaches participants ages 9 through adult to fix and maintain bikes as they earn their own bike. The Bike Mechanic Apprenticeship program employs and trains community youth ages 15-23 about bicycling and walking in addition to professional skills for future employment. Many younger kids visit the shop with older siblings and become interested in bicycling. Around age 10, kids start being interested in taking bikes apart but might not be able to put them back together. At about age 12, they might start doing both. As they transition into teenage years, they begin to understand how the shop operates as a business. By demonstrating how bicycling and walking can be inexpensive, fun, and practical, kids are more likely to integrate those activities into their daily lives.

 

Venture North engages kids ages 9 and up with Earn-a-Bike and other programming.
Photo credits: Venture North.

For the Future: Changing Trends & Supporting Multimodal Families

According to the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the number of children walking or bicycling to school plummeted significantly, from about 50 percent in 1969 to only 13 percent in 2009. The panelists described programs that are helping to reverse that trend, in terms of the communities we build, the options at hand, and the decisions we make daily about how to get around. A key component of getting more kids and teens into the lifelong habit of bicycling and walking for transportation is ensuring that more young families can leave the car at home. Amber currently walks her children 2 miles to and from school every day, and frequently uses transit and bicycles to destinations. Because she utilizes these modes on a daily basis, her kids view vehicle trips a lot differently. Her four-year-old son’s reaction when she tells him to get in their vehicle is often something like “But that’s going to take forever!” He associates car rides with traveling to visit family in Wisconsin. 

 

Winter Bicycling 101

By Pamela Moore, Transportation Options Program Director, and Jennifer Harmening Thiede, Communications and Member Engagement Manager

 

 

Winter can be a particularly challenging time for all of us in Minnesota to get where we need to go. Traveling by bike is no exception. Still, if you think you’re seeing more people biking year-round, you’re right: data from Bike Walk Twin Cities monthly counts confirm winter bicycling is on the rise in the Twin Cities. This winter, we expect some of those cold-weather bicyclists will be participants in our Transportation Options program.

Through Transportation Options, Transit for Livable Communities has been connecting people with the knowledge and resources essential to getting around via bicycling, walking, transit, bike sharing, and car sharing. In late November, with the cold and snowy season on its way, we invited Transportation Options participants and volunteer consultants for a mini-workshop on winter bicycling basics to ensure anyone interested would be well prepared.

Bill Dooley, a year-round bicyclist and active member of the Minneapolis bicycling community, led the hour-long workshop with a focus on safety, proper gear, and advice for navigating through snow and ice. Here are some of his key tips for safe and enjoyable winter bicycling:

1. Dress for success. Sure, it’s winter in Minnesota, but when you’re bicycling, it is surprisingly easy to get overdressed and overheated. You don’t need a down jacket. Instead, Bill’s go-to layers include:

• Wool sweater from thrift store
• Two pairs of sox (with the thickest layer on the outside)
• Long john pants and top
• Balaclava/face mask
• Light weight wind-resistant jacket
• Wool pants or wind pants
• Neck gaiter (to keep wind from going down into jacket)
• Insulated hiking boots (and wider bike pedals as needed)
• Bucket bike helmet (to keep your head safe and warm)
• Lobster gloves
• Road ID wrist band in case of emergency

 

 

Bill gives Transportatation participants and volunteers advice about proper clothing for pedaling through a Minnesota winter.

 

2. Prepare your bike. Bill uses an old bike for winter rides. He wipes the chain and cleans the rest of the bike once a week. Swapping in studded tires can be helpful for snowy conditions. Fat tire bikes are also growing in popularity, although the expense doesn’t work for every household budget. With short winter days, though, lights are essential. Bill rides with two front lights and two back lights. Between trips, he keeps them in a clear plastic zippered toiletries kit in his bike bag. (This way they are easy to find and you can see if you left a light turned on.)

 

 Bill rides his bike year-round in almost any weather. Lights are essential.

 

3. Adjust your route. Bill recommends riding on slightly busier roads in the winter as the riding conditions are better. Don’t be afraid to take the lane. This time of year, bicyclists will need to ride farther left to stay out of messy, slippery areas. During winter months, Bill’s routes of choice also include well-maintained bicycle boulevards and off-street trails such as the Midtown Greenway.

4. Take it slow. Bill has noticed many drivers are courteous to people pedaling through the winter. Still, slippery black ice and snow pose risks for all road users. He recommends bicycling slowly to be safe. Brake early, especially when riding downhill and approaching intersections.

Adjusting your route and your ride for winter road conditions can help ensure you have a safe trip.

 

5. Combine options in bad weather conditions. Bill rides his bike almost every day of the year, including days when the temperature is well below zero. On days when it is snowing and roads are very slippery, however, he puts his bike on the bus or train. Taking transit or combining multimodal options is a great alternative when road or weather conditions are beyond your comfort level.

 

All Metro Transit bus and trains are equipped with bike racks, making it easy to combine multimodal options and get where you need to go in any season. 

 

Special thanks to Bill Dooley for leading our Winter Bicycling 101 workshop and sharing your experience with participants and volunteers in the Transportation Options program!

 

Victory Neighborhood Celebrates Long-Awaited Pedestrian Improvements

 

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

 

Enjoying a more pedestrian-friendly Victory neighborhood. Photo credit: Val Escher.

 

A complex intersection in the Victory neighborhood in North Minneapolis has a safer, more community-oriented design. The new design was aided by a planning grant Transit for Livable Communities awarded back in 2011 through the federal Bike Walk Twin Cities program we administered.  

 

Long-awaited pedestrian improvements at Penn Avenue North, Osseo Road, and 44^th Avenue were the focus of a community celebration last month. New bike lanes on Osseo Road were added just a couple of weeks later. The center of the neighborhood is where these three roads come together. Victory 44 coffee shop and kitchen is there, along with The Warren art gallery.

 

 

Community members came out to celebrate a walkable intersection years in the making.
Photo credits: Val Escher. 

 

Previously, the double intersection and the diagonal nature of Osseo Road formed “a complex geometry,” to quote one planning study. Residents who wanted to get to businesses found it “unwelcome for walking,” with poorly marked or missing crossings, complicated traffic signals, and missing sidewalk segments. Pedestrians were actually prohibited from crossing the street in several important places, reducing access to an area with potential as an economic hub.

 

The intersection, before recent improvements. 

 

For years, the Victory Neighborhood Association pushed for a solution to the complicated intersection.  Various options had been under consideration since 2008. Local residents and business owners called for a redesign that worked better for people walking and for bus riders, bicyclists, and motorists. Community members also wanted an easier connection to the Grand Rounds trail, which is just a block north of the intersection. The Hennepin County Bicycle Plan included a bike route on Osseo and Penn.

 

At a 2012 community meeting, residents brought shovels to signify that they were serious about turning improvement plans into reality on the ground.

 

 

The intersection, after recent improvements! Photo credits: Val Escher.
 

New bike lanes on Osseo Road also were added a couple weeks after the community celebration. Thanks to TLC members Val Escher and Peter Bretl for attending, trying out the new infrastructure, and reporting back! Photo credit: Peter Bretl. 

 

Today, with support from the community and funding provided by Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis, Osseo Road is safer for all users. It has dropped from two travel lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction (a design treatment called a 4-3 conversion). The stop light at Osseo and 44^th has been removed and bike lanes and a pedestrian median have been added. Now, a person crossing the street has to deal with only one lane of traffic in each direction. Other pedestrian improvements include:

 

• Reconstructed pedestrian ramps at all corners of the intersection.
• New bump-outs at corners to shorten street crossings.
• Improved street lighting.
• More visible crosswalk markings.

 

Thanks to the City of Minneapolis for taking the lead on implementing this valuable project. Congratulations to the Victory neighborhood and to everyone who will safely bike, walk, and drive this much-improved intersection going forward.

 

Success: Making Transportation a Top Issue

 

By Bethany Winkels, Move MN Field Director

 

With a new session on the horizon, elected officials are primed to address Minnesota's transportation needs, which span all modes and all areas of the state.

 

The last few months have been busy for the Move MN campaign. We have been traveling the state, meeting with supporters, businesses, and community groups—from Minnetonka to Duluth, Owatonna to Moorhead, and Worthington to Burnsville. It’s clear that people throughout Minnesota want to see greater investments in transportation. Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved in the campaign, we successfully made Minnesota’s urgent transportation needs a key issue this fall.

 

As we move forward, we are excited to report that transportation funding will be a top issue during the 2015 legislative session! Governor Dayton, Presumptive House Speaker Kurt Daudt, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk have each acknowledged the need for a transportation solution next year. The type of solution will be up for debate. Move MN will continue to advocate for a funding package that is balanced, comprehensive, sustainable, and gimmick free. We know that we need investments statewide, from Greater Minnesota to the metro region, and suburbs to cities.

 

Minnesotans also favor a multi-modal approach. A recent poll released by the Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition showed that a majority of Minnesotans from every region in the state want bicycle and pedestrian investments included in new transportation funding. We also need more public transit options both in the metro and in Greater Minnesota, and we need safe roads and bridges in all of our 87 counties. Our transportation system needs to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks per year. We need reliable, predictable funding to make sure that it can. No gimmicks!

 

 Are you among the significant majority of Minnesotans (65%) who support additional funding for bike/ped infrastructure? 

 

The only way to ensure that we see the right solution come out of a bill this legislative session is by staying engaged and organized. On February 12, Move MN will be holding a rally for Transportation Day at the State Capitol. Mark your calendars! We will be delivering 10,000 postcards to lawmakers in support of transportation funding. If you can’t attend in person, there will be other opportunities to get involved. In the meantime, check out the Move MN website and take action online. You can let your local community know that you support investments in transportation by writing a letter to the editor, contacting your lawmaker, or signing our petition. We can move Minnesota forward, but only if we have strength in numbers! Keep up the good work!

 

For more opportunities to get involved in the Move MN campaign, contact me at 651-789-1406 or [email protected].

 

 

Hennepin County Plan Aims for Four-Fold Increase in Bike Commuting

 

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

 

If you currently bicycle in Hennepin County, or would like to someday, you will want to review the recently released Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan: Safety and Comfort for All Ages and Abilities. The draft plan has ambitious goals for increasing the percent of trips by bicycle, for getting more women riding, and for reducing crashes. We urge all our readers to review the plan and support the county in this effort to increase investment and support for bicycling. The draft is out for public review and comment through December 5.

 

The focus of the plan is roads and trails in Hennepin County and also the trail systems owned and operated by Three Rivers Park District. The plan proposes to increase bicycle facilities by 21 miles each year: from 651 today to 1,187 miles in 2040. This annual growth would be a four-fold increase over the current level of bikeway implementation! About a third of the increased mileage is within the Three River’s system.

 

Currently 2.5 percent of trips taken in Hennepin County are by bicycle. This is twice the national average. In the last decade, trips by bike on the Three Rivers Park system trails doubled to 2.3 million trips in 2012. By building new facilities, providing better signage and lighting, and increasing education and enforcement, the county hopes to quadruple the number of bike commuters from 12,000 daily in 2014 to 48,000 in 2040.

 

Other major goals for bicycling contained in the plan are worth mentioning and include:

• Reducing crashes per-capita by half
• Increasing the percentage of women riding to half of all riders (up from only 30% now)
• Providing a bikeway within a half-mile of 90 percent of residences in Hennepin County
• Greatly increasing winter riding

 

For this expanded system to become a reality, Hennepin County will need to greatly increase the amount it invests in bicycle facilities and programs. The County currently invests less than $1 million per year in bikeways and the plan proposes investment of $6 million per year. That amount compares to approximately $50 million the County spends on roads and bridges annually. The plan proposes to consider additional investments in lighting and signage (page 49), promotion, education, and enforcement, but these costs ARE NOT estimated or included in the $6 million per year Hennepin County proposes to invest.

 

The plan also talks about the need for funding partners—typically cities—which could be a stumbling block for implementation. Cities receive very little state transportation funding compared to counties.

 

Recently there has been a lot of local discussion and planning for protected bikeways and cycle tracks. The plan contains good descriptions of each on page 33.

 

While the plan mentions bike sharing in a number of places and also talks briefly about equity, we want to see information on the community bike centers in Hennepin County: Spokes Bike Walk Connect and Venture North. The County can have a great bikeway network, but if county residents can’t afford a bike or have never learned to ride, they can’t use the system and they miss out on the health, social, and financial benefits of bicycling. We urge Hennepin County to add a section on community bike centers and commit to some level of county funding for their operations.

 

TLC would like to see more counties in Minnesota develop a bicycle plan like Hennepin County has done. Ramsey County also recently issued a plan for a bikeway system.

 

In developing its 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan, the County surveyed 2,700 people, and held 10 listening sessions and an open house.

 

Two more open houses will be held this month before the plan is finalized and adopted:

• Wednesday, November 5, 5-7:30 p.m. at Wayzata Library
• Thursday, November 13, 5-7:30 p.m. at Brookdale Library in Brooklyn Center

 

Hennepin County will review all the comments that come in through December 5. Visit http://www.hennepin.us/bikeplan for more about the plan, including information on submitting your comments.

 

If you have questions about the plan, you can contact Kelley Yemen, Hennepin County Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, at [email protected] or 612-543-1963.

 

TLC Supports Met. Council’s Proposed Shift to More Travel Options & Growth in Walkable Communities

 

By Barb Thoman, Executive Director

Post updated: 10/1/14.

 

 

Photo Credit: Metro Transit.

 

The Metropolitan Council’s draft 2040 Transportation Policy Plan (draft TPP), wisely calls for greatly expanding transit, bicycling, and walking options across the region and focusing on more compact, pedestrian-friendly development patterns. The draft TPP, an update of the plan developed in 2009, is out for public comment through Wednesday, October 1, at 5 p.m. TLC urges our members to send comment letters or e-mails to the Met. Council, offering their support for this proposed shift (see our sample comment letter at the bottom of this post). The Council is hearing pretty significant push back from proponents of the spread out, auto-focused, and costly development patterns of the last 50 years.

Demand for travel in the region is undergoing historic change. Young people are driving less and the Baby Boomer generation is starting to retire, both leading to fewer driving trips during peak periods. Ridership on transit is growing even as households in the region make fewer daily trips. Rates of bicycling are up, evidenced from data in the Met. Council’s Travel Behavior Inventory and from TLC’s 2013 Bike/Walk Count Report. The Council’s proposed approach in the draft TPP responds to these trends.

At more than 300 pages, the draft TPP is a long document. Here, we boil it down into thoughts on major topics. If you don’t have a day (!) to read the full plan, we suggest focusing on pages 67-125, which includes Vision and Strategies. Here goes:

• Land use – There is good language in this section (pages 126-148) that calls on cities and counties to prioritize walkable development, better connected streets, a mix of uses, development along transit, and more. This makes good economic and environmental sense and promotes equitable development and access for everyone. In coming years, cities in the metro will be required to update their comprehensive plans to be consistent with the TPPand other Met. Council plans. TLC believes that cities that want to access the funding streams available through the Met. Council (federal transportation, Livable Communities, and others) should be required to plan, zone, and invest in ways consistent with Met. Council plans. The region can no longer afford to subsidize expensive low-density development on farmland and open space at the edge of the region.
  
  
• Bicycle and pedestrian system – For ten years TLC has been calling for the identification of a regional bike system (pages 261-273) and it’s included in this plan! We applaud the statement on page 272 that “any new state transportation funding package should include additional funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure…”This is a foundation of the Move MN platform. We would like to see more attention to pedestrian access with a focus on major transit corridors, concentrated areas of poverty, access to schools, and access for seniors.
  
  
• Transit – The draft TPP acknowledges the transitway projects that can be completed with the current ¼-cent metro sales tax for transit (Southwest, Bottineau, Gateway, plus Orange Line bus rapid transit (BRT) on 35W). We have concerns about the region’s ability to also maintain existing transit infrastructure, including bus garages and already aging Blue Line rail stations. We also have concerns about counting on larger federal grant awards and expecting state motor-vehicle sales tax revenues for transit to remain steady, given the trend toward less driving.
  
  The increased revenue scenario is on par with what Seattle, Denver, and other peer cities are doing as they continue a rapid build-out of bus and rail across their regions. Additional revenue is essential for: bus system expansion (this requires more than the 1 percent per year proposed on page 234), construction of all arterial BRT lines, building a regional system of transitways in a timely fashion, and a better customer experience (via bus stop safety, comfort, access, and more information). We support the existing Transit Market Area approach to getting the most from regional transit investments by focusing those investments on areas with higher population and employment densities and demand for transit service. We were happy to see the transit chapter acknowledge the state legislative goal to increase the percentage of trips taken on transit—a goal TLC successfully worked on years ago. 

 

Transit Market Areas. Source: Metropolitan Council (PDF).

• Highway system– The draft TPP notes that the Twin Cities region has the eighth largest roadway system in the country and wisely proposes more attention to maintenance and preservation. We would spend even more on maintenance, plus increase the investment percentage for safety projects—including Complete Streets and treatments compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act—on state, county, and local roads. In addition, we would carefully review the list of 50 proposed “spot capacity expansion” projects to ensure that these projects won’t just move congestion down the road. We support the proposal to add back the bus shoulder lane on I-94 between Minneapolis and Saint Paul (page 183).

Dave Van Hattum, TLC’s Advocacy Director, continues to call for all Met. Council and MnDOT plans—including this one—to have clear and measurable outcomes.

Don’t miss this opportunity to show your support for a new direction at the Council. Comments on the draft TPP are due Wednesday, October 1, at 5 p.m. Submit your comments by e-mail to [email protected].

 

SAMPLE COMMENT LETTER:

 

Subject: Comment on draft Transportation Policy Plan

 

I'm emailing to express my support for the direction the Met. Council has taken in the draft Transportation Policy Plan. 

 

I was very happy to see the call for greatly expanding transit, bicycling, and walking options across the region, as well as a focus on more compact, pedestrian-friendly development patterns. This makes good economic and environmental sense. 

 

Please continue to work on clear and measurable outcomes, but most importantly: Please don't buckle to the proponents of the status quo who want to continue the inequitable and costly policies of the last 50 years. The shift you have proposed will do much more to ensure we have a thriving metro region going forward, with better quality of life and access to opportunity.

 

Thank you.

 

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

 

 

Envisioning the Future of Franklin Avenue

 

By Jennifer Harmening Thiede, Communications & Member Engagement Manager

 

 

Last month, Transit for Livable Communities connected with hundreds of community members at Open Streets Minneapolis on Franklin Avenue E. The conversations we had at the event, which stretched from Portland to 28^th Avenue, were a highlight of our summer.

Anyone who lives, works, and/or travels on Franklin knows what a diverse corridor it is. There are so many incredible businesses, organizations, and residents along this street. But, Franklin is also home to challenging traffic congestion, inadequate sidewalks, limited transit amenities, and the most dangerous intersection for bicyclists in Minneapolis. (From 2009 to 2013, 21 bike crashes occurred at the Franklin and Minnehaha/Cedar intersection, and the corridor as a whole has earned a reputation as a “danger zone” for people on bikes.)

In this context, we decided to use Open Streets as an opportunity to ask people about their vision for a better Franklin Avenue. What would make this part of the city more livable and more vibrant? What would make it easier and safer for people of all ages and abilities to get around? The idea grew out of a conversation with our allies at Hope Community, and the responses we got were amazing. Check it out!

 

 

The community voices captured in this video echo, and bring life to, the key recommendation from last fall’s BWTC-funded report on Franklin Avenue: that “the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County place the highest priority on improving multimodal safety within the corridor.” While we can still dig deeper into the specifics of a potential solution, the call for a more transit-, bike-, and pedestrian-friendly Franklin Avenue is clear. What can you do about it?

• Share this video! Here is a direct link.
• Sign the latest Move MN petition. A win for this campaign will bring more dedicated, sustainable funding for walking, bicycling, and transit to communities throughout Minnesota.
• Support the Bikeways for Everyone campaign’s efforts to improve bike facilities on Franklin Avenue and elsewhere in Minneapolis.

Thank you to everyone who shared their vision with us at Franklin Avenue Open Streets! And thanks to TLC’s videographer, Allison Osberg, for helping us carry that vision forward.

 

Sunday on the Southern Connector

By Hilary Reeves, Strategic Advancement & Communications Director

Editor’s Note: This piece by TLC’s Hilary Reeves originally ran in the Southwest Journal on July 1 as part of her regular “Spokes & Soles” column. 

 

Thousands of bicyclists know that the Bryant Avenue Bicycle Boulevard is a great north-south route in southwest Minneapolis, near Lakes Calhoun and Harriet. Now, southeast Minneapolis bicyclists have a north-south route of their own. The newly finished 17th Avenue & 12th Avenue Bicycle Boulevard runs 4.75 miles from the Phillips neighborhood to Richfield, near Lake Nokomis.

In its planning stages, this route was called The Southern Connector, almost as if it was a new highway. Perhaps that’s because it provides a route over the Crosstown (aka Hwy 62) or because it provides a flat, bicycle-optimized route from the south metro — Richfield and Bloomington — to downtown Minneapolis.

If bicycles are to be a convenient form of transportation, a network of routes to connect neighborhoods and get across the cities really helps. Building an on-street network of bike lanes and bicycle boulevards was one of the chief goals of the federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program, locally known as Bike Walk Twin Cities. The program is winding up, as the last projects such as the Southern Connector are completed. Overall, since 2007, the pilot added more than 100 miles of new bikeways and sidewalks, including 65.5 miles of bike lanes and 27.8 miles of bicycle boulevards.

A recent Sunday ride on the 17th  & 12th Avenue Bicycle Boulevard (as the Southern Connector is now known) proves that a pleasant north-south bike route is attractive for recreational and commuter riding.

 

Phillips Neighborhood to Lake Street 

On the north end, the route begins at East 24th Street, across from East Phillips Park. Bike lanes were added to East 24th as part of the Southern Connector project. This east-west route passes through East African and Latino neighborhoods. On a Sunday afternoon, there were many people on the sidewalks and East Phillips Park was busy.

Turning onto 17th Avenue, it’s a few short blocks to the ramp to the Midtown Greenway. Along the route, there also are improvements for people walking, such as new curb bump-outs at East 26th and East 28th streets. When the route hits Lake Street, there is an easily accessible button for cyclists to push to get a green light. On Lake Street, the Heart of the Beast Theater is just a few blocks west, while a few blocks east is the busy Hiawatha-Lake intersection, with a Blue Line LRT stop, Minneapolis Community Education GED and English classes, and the Midtown Farmers Market. Access to Hi-Lake by bicycle is arguably best via the Midtown Greenway and Hiawatha LRT Trail.

 

 

Lake Street to Minnehaha Parkway  

Along the bicycle boulevard south of Lake Street, there are several residential traffic circles, which tend to slow down motorized traffic and make it possible for people on bicycles to keep moving without having to come to a full stop. On the Sunday of my ride, a few guys were playing pickup basketball while a bicyclist looked on. Given the lack of a hoop, their game was mostly dribbling and defense, but the ability to play in the street is an indication that 17th Avenue is a low-traffic street, good for cycling.

A few blocks farther south, a family of five was out for a ride, dad with trailer carrying a toddler, mom watching two older kids on bicycles. Together, they rode through the median at 42nd Street. The median keeps cars from using 17th Avenue as a through-street and it provides a place for people walking or on bikes to wait mid-crossing for traffic to clear.

 

 

Minnehaha Parkway to Richfield and beyond 

At Minnehaha Parkway, a new curb cut provides easy access to the off-road bike path along Minnehaha Creek that is part of the Grand Rounds. Take the path a few blocks east to Lake Nokomis. Take it a few blocks west to 12th Avenue South, where the bicycle boulevard continues south to Richfield. On my Sunday ride, part of the bike path was flooded but westbound it was easy to ride a few blocks on Minnehaha Parkway to pick up another entrance to the off-road bike path. And plenty of cyclists were out for a Sunday ride.

Heading south, the bikeway passes Hale School and Our Lady of Peace Church and School. These are just two of several schools and churches along the 17th and 12th Avenue Bicycle Boulevard, including Bethlehem Lutheran Church & Jacob’s Well, Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Lake Nokomis Presbyterian. Other schools on or near the route include South High (just south of Lake Street) and El Colegio Charter School, a Spanish-English high school.

At East 60th Street, the route turns east for a few blocks (sharrows mark the route), before turning on Bloomington Avenue South, which crosses over Hwy 62. As I rode by Taft Park, I could hear the announcer for a baseball game. There were a lot more cars than bikes at Taft Park, suggesting that this new north-south route has yet to be discovered by everyone. Yet, I saw cyclists on every segment of the route. In Richfield, bike lanes (also funded through BWTC) continue on Bloomington Avenue South to Diagonal Boulevard to East 73rd Street and south along 12th Avenue to East 76th Street.

 

All photos courtesy of Transit for Livable Communites.

 

Where we want to live—now and in the future

By Hilary Reeves, Communications Director

Editor’s Note: This piece by TLC’s Hilary Reeves originally ran in the Southwest Journal on May 28 as part of her regular “Spokes & Soles” column. 

What makes a good neighborhood? A recent survey shows walkability on the minds of many.

Every couple of years the National Association of Realtors conducts a National Community Preference Survey. The most recent, in fall of last year, indicates that people most likely to be in the housing market want to live in communities where it’s possible to walk or drive to shopping, restaurants, the library, and school. For those who plan to move in the next three years, the walkable neighborhood was preferred by an 18 point margin (57 to 39 percent).

 

The number one feature that people said there was too little of in their neighborhoods was “safe routes for riding bikes to work and shopping.” The next biggest needs were for more “public transportation within an easy walk,” “housing for people with low incomes,” and “shops or restaurants within an easy walk” of home.

 

Many are willing to give up a large yard to gain walkability. Asked to pick between a house with a large yard where “you have to drive to get to schools, stores, and restaurants” and a small yard in a walkable neighborhood, the latter won out, 55 to 40 percent.

 

People still overwhelmingly want to live in detached, single-family homes (76 percent) and not in condos or apartments. But, the preference for a house drops to 57 percent when the apartment or condo brings more walkability and a shorter commute.

 

A March 2014 blog about the survey on Planners Web asks, “Do your development regulations and transportation plans allow for single-family homes on small lots, in a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and community facilities?” The blog notes that this is what “consumers increasingly want, but in many communities this option is hard to find.”

 

It may be fair to ask, however, if building primarily for single-family homes is best for walkability and for the changing demographics of the Twin Cities.

 

According to Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City, communities where walking is most possible (and driving least necessary) come with densities of “ten to twenty units per acre,” which basically means a mix of “apartments, row houses, and yes, some free-standing single family homes.”

 

Planning and zoning for these densities would also foster some other things that the Realtors survey said people want: more bike routes and more affordable housing.

 

Speck (Walkable City) points out that in the 1950s (when the US started building interstate highways and people starting moving to suburbs), Vancouver began advocating for high rises, with requirements for transit and green space. Now, walking and bicycling are 30 percent of all trips in that city.

 

In Minneapolis, biking and walking together account for about 10 percent of all trips, according to the American Community Survey, part of the US Census. The percentage of people commuting by bicycle in Minneapolis increased from 1.9 percent to 4.1 percent in recent years, according to a report, Modes Less Traveled—Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008–2012.

 

These are the same years that Minneapolis saw a big expansion of bike routes and programs (such as Nice Ride Minnesota bike-sharing and community bike centers, such as SPOKES in the Seward neighborhood) funded in part through the $28 million Bike Walk Twin Cities federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program. The pilot program was the inspiration of Jim Oberstar, a long-time Minnesota representative in the US Congress. Oberstar, who died recently, was a transportation visionary.

 

The same kind of match-up of spending, community priority, and political leadership could help prepare the Twin Cities for changing demographics. According to the Metropolitan Council, by 2040 the population of people over age 65 will rise by 58 percent or nearly half-a-million. A bunch of seniors likely will have less preference for yards and more openness to mixed use condos and apartments. This same kind of development also fosters more affordable options.

 

Development of this sort would also meet one of the other preferences in the Realtors survey, for more diverse communities. A majority (53 percent) now favor “living in a community with a mix of people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds” (up 11 points since 2011). More people want to live in communities with various income levels” (48 percent in 2013 versus 42 percent in 2011). And 66 percent (up from 60 percent) now want to live in a community with people at all stages of life. 

 

 

Move MN Session Recap & Call to Action

By Dave Van Hattum, Senior Policy Advocate

 

At the State Capitol earlier this month, TLC and Move MN supporters delivered nearly 1400 letters pushing legislators for more than a band-aid approach to transportation funding.

 

“The future of transportation in Minnesota and the funding for it have to be among the 2015 legislative session’s top priorities.” (Governor Mark Dayton, April 30, 2014)

 

For Transit for Livable Communities, our members, and our allies in the Move MN coalition—who worked together this past legislative session to make transportation investment a priority—this statement from Governor Dayton is a measure of success, but it is also a rallying cry for the year ahead.

 

Growing the Movement

Over the last half year, the Move MN coalition grew to over 180 organizations, businesses, and associations and gathered support from more than 20 cities, 500 townships, and 80 counties. Transportation interests vary widely by geography, by mode, by sector. Nevertheless, Move MN coalition members successfully united around one comprehensive legislative proposal, guided by the key principle of investing in all modes statewide.

Move MN united a broad and diverse coalition of groups from around the state. Picture here (L to R), coalition members from AFSCME, Fresh Energy, the American Heart Association, and TLC rally together in the Capitol Rotunda.

 

Moving Legislation Forward

The transportation bills passed by the House and Senate Transportation Committees (HF 2395 and SF 2107) aligned closely with our Move MN proposal, and included funding for transit, roads and bridges, and bicycling and walking throughout the state. The ¾-cent sales tax for metro-area transit, included in the bills, would fund the transit vision TLC has advanced for over a decade. The bills also included the first dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian connections in Minnesota. Passing these bills out of both committees was a definitive step forward; similar legislation did not make it through the House committee in 2013.

 
House and Senate Transportation Committee Chairs, Sen. Scott Dibble (L) and Rep. Frank Hornstein (R), were strong champions at the legislature this year. Both of their committees successfully passed bills that would fund transit, bicycling, walking, roads, and bridges statewide.

 

Pushing Back

Transit for Livable Communities, our members, and Move MN coalition partners pushed hard to keep up momentum for this essential legislation this session. And when the legislature responded by directing only a small amount of money to transportation while sidelining a comprehensive package, we pushed back.

 

After a successful outreach campaign this spring, state senators and representatives across the state received nearly 1400 letters about Move MN from constituents calling for more than a band-aid solution to fix Minnesota’s transportation system. These letters—along with thousands of Move MN postcards and petition signatures, dozens of letters to the editor, weekly phone banks, and numerous stakeholder meetings, rallies, and press conferences throughout the 2014 session—sent the resounding message that Minnesotans need and expect sustainable, long-term funding to address inadequate transit and bike/pedestrian connections, deficient bridges, and aging roads.

 

 
No More Band-Aids for Transportation: Thanks to all who wrote their legislators and delivered letters at the Capitol in May--and to all who took action and volunteered their time on the Move MN campaign this session!

 

While the political winds ultimately prevented a transportation bill from getting to the finish line at the Capitol this year, we have built a strong foundation of support and have positioned transportation funding as the unfinished business of the session.

 

As Senate Transportation Committee Chair Scott Dibble affirmed last week, “Everyone associated with Move MN should be extremely pleased with how far we’ve come in building both the policy and political case for passing a substantial, comprehensive leap forward for transportation in Minnesota.”

Gearing Up

 

Minnesota's transportation problems aren't going to disappear, so neither is our call for a real solution. If we want to see success in the coming year, coalition partners and TLC members will need to expand efforts leading up to the next legislative session and also ensure that transportation is a top issue on the campaign trail this fall.

 

To that end, TLC and Move MN are gearing up for a busy summer. We’re headed to fairs, festivals, bike rides, transit stops, and project openings around the state. And we’re calling on you to help educate and engage the public about transportation needs in your area and to build a broader, stronger movement for legislative action in 2015. Together we can make sure every state legislator knows investment in transportation is both urgent and inevitable. Thanks for standing with us as the fight continues!

Volunteers needed: TLC and the Sierra Club will be talking up Move MN at the Green Line grand opening on Saturday, June 14. We’d love your help! Sign up to volunteer.

 

Special thanks to Cailin Rogers, campaign organizer, for her work with TLC and Move MN during the 2014 session!