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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!
By Hilary Reeves, Strategic Advancement and Communications Director, and Erin Kindell, Minnesota GreenCorps Member (TLC)
Our newest initiative will focus primarily on nonprofits along or near the Green Line.
Photo credit: Allison Osberg, TLC.
Surveys show that many people consider their trip to work part of the workday. They may not be paid for that time, but it affects how they feel when they get to work and when they get home. With the opening of the Green Line and more bicycle routes and options for car- and bike sharing, more people have a choice about how they commute. These same new options also can open up new ways of approaching the workday, with results that are more environmentally friendly, save money, and create better connections with the community.
This year, TLC is launching a new program to encourage nonprofit organizations to be leaders in re-thinking transportation in the workplace. We’ve teamed up with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) with the goal of establishing transportation best practices and certifying nonprofit transportation leaders.
In this first year, we’ll be focusing primarily on nonprofits along or near the Green Line in Minneapolis and Saint Paul We want to encourage employees to consider options other than driving alone. And we want to help organizations foster an equitable, sustainable, multi-modal workplace and establish themselves as leaders in innovative transportation best practices. We’re particularly excited to work with nonprofits because of their commitment to community and to squeezing the most out of hard-won funding.
Earlier this month, we attended the MCN conference to share plans for the program and hear about the ways transportation comes up in the work of nonprofit organizations. Many nonprofits already have pioneered ways to reward cleaner, greener transportation choices—or to think creatively about how visitors reach their location. We’re eager to document these stories and hear more.
 
TLC's certification program will encourage use of options other than driving alone.
Image credit: Erin Kindell, TLC.
Transit for Livable Communities also collaborated with MCN on a recent survey about how nonprofit employees get around. We received 1,328 completed surveys that will inform our work on this new program! A few of the survey results include: the distance and time of employee commutes, their typical mode of transportation, the number of vehicles in their household, and current barriers to using modes other than driving alone. The survey helps us get a baseline picture of commuting habits for the certification.
Nonprofits enrolling in the program will receive an assessment of their current conditions and options, attend a Transportation Options workshop, and create an action plan with goals for shifting trips and encouraging options other than driving. We’ll also work with organizations to track changes in travel habits. Nonprofits that complete the certification will be recognized at the 2015 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Conference!
Our intent is not only to shift trips (work and otherwise) for employees, but also to make sure that organizations incorporate the full range of transportation options in the way they carry out their work. This initiative is designed to benefit nonprofit staff and organizations as a whole, as well as the communities, volunteers, visitors, and clients they serve.
TLC’s new certification program will continue to develop over the winter months as we encourage nonprofits to sign on and participate in this leadership opportunity.
If you are interested in learning more, contact us!
An Interview with Cally Ingebritson, Prepare + Prosper
By Pam Moore, Transportation Options Program Director
Cally Ingebritson, Financial Capability Manager at Prepare + Prosper.
Recognizing that transportation is an unmet basic need for many low-income Minnesotans, TLC’s Transportation Options program addresses the high cost of getting around by combining workshops for social service staff and one-on-one assistance for low-income participants. To date, TLC is partnered with three community-based organizations to work with individuals and families via coaching and financial assistance. These participants are all motivated to move toward economic self-sufficiency and are open to utilizing affordable transportation options—such as biking, walking, transit, car sharing, and bike sharing—to get there.
Our newest Transportation Options partner organization is Prepare + Prosper in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Recently, we followed-up with Prepare + Prosper’s Financial Capability Manager, Cally Ingebritson, to get her take on this partnership and how it fits with her organization’s ongoing work to help move Minnesotans out of poverty.
TLC: Tell us about the mission of Prepare + Prosper. Who do you serve?
CI: Prepare + Prosper is a robust and multifaceted organization focused on economic justice and financial capability. Working with more than 550 volunteers, our work is about leveraging the “money moment” of tax time to help more than 13,000 households work toward a brighter financial future. With the support of staff, our volunteers are the core of our ability to provide these services in our community each year.
We continue to grow as an organization and currently I lead our new volunteer-based financial coaching program, Money Mentors. Money Mentors is a volunteer-based financial coaching program in which we aim to help participants boost savings, eliminate debt, and improve credit. We are in the first year of launching this program. The decision to start Money Mentors came after offering free tax preparation and financial services for over 40 years as we wanted to grow as an organization to help the community with their financial goals in a deeper way.
Financial coaches and mentees in Prepare + Prosper’s Money Mentors program.
TLC: Why were you interested in attending a Transportation Options workshop? What were your key takeaways from the workshop personally and professionally?
CI: Personally, I became much more aware of and enthusiastic about the numerous transportation options available in the Twin Cities after attending a Transportation Options workshop. I was even inspired to become a Nice Ride member and have begun walking to work. Hopefully this new habit keeps up over the winter! I have told many people about the training I attended at TLC! Recently I attended a concert at the Target Center and my friend, girlfriend, and I chose to use Nice Ride bikes instead of driving and paying for parking. Afterward my friend told me, “Riding the bikes through downtown Minneapolis was almost as fun as the concert!”
Professionally, I saw the benefit of partnering with Transit for Livable Communities through sharing this information with the volunteer financial coaches I supervise and encouraging them to pass this information along to our participants. We also altered some of the financial coaching activities we lead with our participants to discuss transportation more directly. No longer should transportation be an invisible, unspoken expense—it should be viewed as part of everybody’s overall financial life.
TLC: Share the value you see in partnering with the Transportation Options program. What impact do you expect it will have for your participants?
CI: By attending Transportation Options, I was motivated to have TLC train our volunteer financial coaches. Through TLC’s hands-on, interactive training our volunteers learned how the various transportation systems work in the Twin Cities. Our goal is to send five participants to TLC to receive additional support to make new transportation options a regular habit and save money in the process. The coach who referred our first participant to TLC has discussed saving money and using light rail, bus, bike, or some combination of these.
All featured photos are courtesy of Prepare + Prosper.
By Riggs Wangchuk, Multimodal Transportation Intern (TLC)
Editor’s Note: Pam Moore recently joined TLC in the new role of Transportation Options Program Manager. Here, we dig into her approach to and goals for the program, her passions and past experience, and why it’s so important for social service organizations and financial coaches to address transportation as a basic need.
Pam Moore, Transportation Options Program Manager, TLC
RW: What drew you to join the TLC staff as Transportation Options Program Manager?
PM: I learned about this position from a Major Taylor Bicycling Club member. The more I looked at it I was really interested in the idea of advancing a new program. It excites me to be able use my community-based programing experience, as well as my training experience in this new capacity. I’ve been a trainer for several years and I enjoy training on different topics! My own interest and my passion in transportation options also drew me to the position.
RW: What has your own experience with transportation been? How do you usually get around?
PM: I have always been a bus rider and a biker. I have been in the Major Taylor Bicycling Club for nine years. I started taking the bus when I was ten years old. I grew up in South Minneapolis but I did gymnastics in Minnetonka. In the summer of ’77, one day a week, my mother couldn’t drive me to the gym so I rode the bus instead. Over time the bus driver knew me and kept an eye on me. I think I’m fearless when it comes to the bus because I had such an early bus experience and it was positive.
RW: You have diverse experiences working in different organizations—philanthropic, educational, and community-based. Are these past roles informing your approach to the Transportation Options program?
PM: Yes! The work I’ve done ranges from direct service with youth to creating youth development programs all the way to working with foundations where I was a program officer overseeing grant giving. For a very long time, I was a health educator overseeing the community education department for a small nonprofit. One thing I have really enjoyed while getting acclimated to this job has been reconnecting with colleagues from my past community-based work. Re-engaging with some of those folks has been a fun way of sharing what I’m doing now with Transportation Options, how it’s related to their work, and how we could work together.
RW: Why is it important for social service organizations and financial coaches to address transportation as a basic need?
PM: Over and over, I’ve heard that transportation is one of the biggest challenges that social service providers are experiencing with their participants. Adding transportation options information and resources to their toolkits and addressing transportation as a basic need enables staff to help the families they serve with what can be one of the most challenging household budget items. It increases their knowledge and helps them become stronger financial coaches and social service providers.
Pam Moore talking transportation options and neighborhood destinations at the Green Line grand opening event at Raymond Station.
RW: What do you see as the biggest challenge and biggest opportunity for people using transit, biking, walking, car sharing, and bike sharing instead of relying on car ownership?
PM: I think it varies. Lack of knowledge is big; many people just don’t know how to access car sharing or bike sharing or how to ride the bus or the train. Others maybe have a bad impression, so the challenge or opportunity in that case is to find ways to change perceptions with a positive experience and address concerns about safety. Access to options is also an issue. I remember a recent conversation with some young people who said, “But we want a car! That means that we’ve made it!” That definition of success is still out there, which means there is still a big opportunity to help to redefine “making it” in a way that emphasizes personal accomplishments—education or a rewarding job or family life, etc.—rather than owning a vehicle. And for some adults who might say, “I haven’t ridden a bike in 20 years!” part of the challenge is picking up an activity that was once recreational and seeing it as transportation. It’s about shifting mindsets and increasing knowledge so that people better understand what options are available to them and how to use them.
RW: After launching as a pilot in 2013, TLC recently announced that Transportation Options is expanding. What are you most excited about with this new phase of the program? And what are you hoping to accomplish in the next year or two?
PM: I’m most excited about the opportunity to bring this to communities and possibly see change over time that comes as people make different choices about how they get around. One of my hopes is that thinking about transportation options will help build community and help people feel more connected to their community because they are experiencing it in different ways. Everything you notice when you are walking, taking the bus, or riding a bike makes you a better advocate for your community; you can really say, “this is lacking” or “this is great” or “this needs improvement.” I am also excited about the benefits in people’s budgets, health, and ultimately their environments. There is this strong element of empowerment—taking control of your ability to get somewhere and experiencing that feeling of accomplishment.
RW: Tell us a little bit about your life and background outside of work. What else are you passionate about?
PM: I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I have two nieces and one nephew and I am lucky to be able to see them often. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel across this country and visit other countries throughout my childhood and into adulthood. I’ve learned a lot and experienced a lot that way and hope to keep exploring!
RW: What has been your most memorable experience as a member of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club?
PM: There have been a few! I remember getting a new bike after six years riding with the club. Honestly, one of the most memorable moments is falling off that bike after I got new clips. I clipped in and then I immediately fell right over and I thought, “Okay, I did something wrong!” Our ride around Lake Mille Lacs every summer also stands out. It is about a 65-mile ride. The very first time was dreadful (three flat tires) and the second time was also dreadful (90 degrees) but not as dreadful as the first. I like challenging myself! No matter how fast or slow you bike, we always stop in certain places together. It’s a memorable experience to be welcomed back by the staff of the same establishments we stop in every summer. Our jerseys are bright yellow so you can’t really miss us!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
By Allison Osberg, MN Green Corps Member (TLC)
Transportation Options workshop attendees visiting Cycles for Change in Saint Paul.
Transit for Livable Communities is excited to announce the expansion of our Transportation Options program!
Having started as a pilot in the spring of 2013, the program is now expanding from train-the-trainer workshops to a collaborative approach that integrates financial assistance, financial coaching, and transportation consulting for low-income families and individuals.
In partnership with social service organizations and financial opportunity centers, the full model of Transportation Options will engage individuals looking to save on transportation expenses and will offer support in using transportation options that, alone, may be more difficult to understand, access, or embrace.
This expansion is made possible in part by the Otto Bremer Foundation, the Saint Paul Foundation, and the F.R. Bigelow Foundation. Sincere thanks to these generous funders.
TLC welcomes Pamela Moore, Transportation Options Program Manager
As part of the expansion, Pamela Moore joins TLC in the new role of Transportation Options Program Manager. Pamela brings 22 years of experience with program conceptualization, development, implementation, coordination, and management. Her professional and volunteer background includes working in community-based agencies, philanthropic organizations, and educational institutions. She is also a member of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota. Welcome, Pam!
Ongoing Workshops
As we’ve shared in a previous post, TLC launched the Transportation Options pilot program with a two-day train-the-trainer workshop for staff at Neighborhood House, a social service organization serving low-income residents throughout Saint Paul.
Our experiential workshop delivers direct-service staff the resources, knowledge, and experience they need to incorporate transportation options into their ongoing basic needs work. It reinforces that transit, biking, walking, bike sharing, and car sharing are not only realistic solutions to everyday transportation needs but integral options in the path to economic self-sufficiency.
"There is no program I know of that addresses financial benefits of transportation so directly.” (Eva Song Margolis, Director, Eastside Financial Center)
This spring, staff at Project for Pride in Living and Eastside Financial Center completed the workshop as well, acquiring practical information about different transportation options, insight into their potential to improve a person’s economic well-being, health, sense of place, and range of opportunities all at once.
Transportation Options workshops, like the one Project for Pride in Living and Eastside Financial Center staff completed this spring, will continue to be a cornerstone of the expanded program.
We are offering additional workshops this summer and fall. Contact us if your organization is interested!
New Resources
With the expansion of our program, eligible organizations whose direct-service staff complete the Transportation Options workshop can refer their participants—the individuals and families they serve—to apply for a transportation consultant and financial assistance.
Transportation consultants will help participants accomplish their transportation and savings goals by assessing their individual needs, barriers, and values and by working with them directly to come up with a new route and routine that is affordable, convenient, and reliable.
If you’re interested in becoming a transportation consultant, read about the volunteer position here or contact us directly.
“Transportation is definitely a critical point in breaking the cycle of poverty.” (Joan McDonough-Schlecht, Director of Programs, Basic Needs, Neighborhood House)
Traditionally, financial assistance for transportation has been geared toward facilitating car ownership. For many people struggling to achieve economic self-sufficiency, however, this often proves unsustainable due to the high cost of operating and maintaining a vehicle. In contrast, the financial assistance now offered through our Transportation Options program helps participants purchase transit passes, car and bike sharing memberships, bicycles, trailers, and other related gear. With these resources, our goal is to foster transportation habits that will serve households and individuals well over the long-term.
In combination with experiential workshops for direct-service staff, new resources offered through our expanded program will help ensure transit, biking, walking, bike sharing, and car sharing are accessible and empowering options for low-income individuals and families.
Our approach builds on the results of surveys conducted in North Minneapolis in 2012. Through those surveys, TLC found that the largest barrier to transportation options is having financial access to them, and the second largest barrier is their perceived safety and convenience.
Through an innovative combination of financial assistance, experiential learning, and one-on-one support, we are working to make transportation options more accessible and empowering to populations that have historically been on the margins of transportation conversations, services, and benefits.
We’ll look forward to keeping you updated as our implementation of this new program continues.
By Allison Osberg, MN Greencorps Member (TLC)
Transit for Livable Communities is embarking on a new, expanded Transportation Options program that addresses equity and empowerment in the realm of transportation—and you can be a part of this innovative program.
For the past year, we’ve been leading workshops for social service organizations interested in empowering the families they serve to address the high cost of getting around. The cost of transportation can be one of the highest expenses for working families, sometimes even more than housing.
This year, the Transportation Options program will be adding a new element of direct assistance to individuals. Volunteers within the Transportation Options program will become consultants who work one-on-one with the participants and clients at participating social service organizations.
We are looking to recruit transportation-savvy individuals interested in sharing their knowledge and experience in getting around without depending solely on a car. TLC will match each volunteer Transportation Options Consultant to a family or individual interested in trying multimodal transportation options in order to achieve greater economic self-sufficiency.
Consultants are essential in welcoming those families and individuals into the world of Transportation Options. They will serve as a key resource for navigating transit, bicycling, car sharing, and bike sharing systems and for developing a personalized route and routine. This is a great way to help other community members embrace greener, healthier, and more economical modes of transportation—and to benefit from mutual sharing and learning.
Transit for Livable Communities will provide training on program specifics and get volunteers up to speed on all transportation modes. We’ll also discuss healthy relationships and boundaries, cultural awareness, and proper safety. A needs-based stipend is available to eligible volunteers.
We are looking for volunteer consultants who:
- Understand the importance of transportation on an individual level
- Are confident and knowledgeable in their transportation options
- Understand the Twin Cities Metro Transit system
- Understand bicycles, their basic maintenance, how to ride them in traffic and in all seasons
- Understand how to use car sharing and bike sharing systems
- Are, or want to be, connected to their community and transportation resources
- Have a desire to learn from a neighbor and fellow commuter
- Can empathize with transportation as a difficulty and challenge (financially, physically, mentally)
- Are culturally competent and respectful to individuals of all backgrounds
- Will be in the Twin Cities for the next 6-9 months
- Show enthusiasm and excitement for the program
In addition, being a League Certified Instructor (LCI) of bicycle safety, multi-lingual, or having experience with low-income individuals is a big plus.
If you are interested, have questions, or want to apply to volunteer, contact Allison Osberg at [email protected] or 651-789-1403.
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