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Bike/Walk Twin Cities
What is Bike/Walk Twin Cities?
 Bike/Walk Twin Cities (formerly known as the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program or NTP) was established in 2005 as part of the six-year federal transportation bill known as SAFETEA-LU.
The law provides $21.5 million to four pilot communities nationwide (Columbia, MO; Marin County, CA; Minneapolis/Adjoining communities, MN; Sheboygan County, WI) to explore how investments in planning, infrastructure, and publiceducation can increase rates ofbicycling and walking and reduce driving by 2010. The four communities will also study the impact of these investments on traffic congestion, energy use, health, and the environment. Click here for a detailed program description.
Who's Involved?
 The Board of Directors of Transit for Livable Communities is the decision-making entity for the program in Minneapolis/bordering communities. Transit for Livable Communities is working closely with its agency partners: the Federal Highway Administration, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and the Metropolitan Council.
The Board also established an advisory committee to advise it on implementation of the program. The committee includes representatives from neighborhood organizations, non-profits, small businesses, citizen activists, elected officials, and agency partners.
Project Updates and Events
- Summary of all 2008 NTP Applications available here!
- Mia Birk: Bike/Walk Streets in the Twin Cities. Through its Bike/Walk Twin Cities initiative, Transit for Livable Communities brought Mia Birk, a principal with Alta Planning and Design, and an expert on bike/walk streets, to speak about how Bike/Walk Streets (aka "bike boulevards")
have succeeded in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities hosting bike/walk street expert Mia Birk on Monday, April 7 in Minneapolis (April 2, 2008)
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities issues request for proposals for Public Relations and Communications Professional Services (March 24, 2008) (Right click on link to download Word document)
- REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)Issued by Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) for Professional Services to Review and Score Applications for TLC’s Bike/Walk Twin Cities Spring 2008 Solicitation (March 28, 2008) APPLICATION CLOSED
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities' Research Cited in Federal Report on "Greening" Transportation and Climate Change (link to report included!) (March 10, 2008)
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities Public Information Consultant RFQ Released (March 7, 2008). HAVE YOUR RFQ QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE!
- Dan Burden: In Our Front Yard: Bike/Walk Streets and Livable Streets as Community Assets. Through its Bike/Walk Twin Cities initiative, Transit for Livable Communities brought Dan Burden, an internationally renowned bicycling and walking expert, to the Twin Cities. On February 25 and 26, he provided insights on how to make our region more friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians. The materials from his workshops are now available.
Suitable for streets with higher traffic volume
These are projects to make an existing street work better for bicycling and walking. Projects may include installation or widening of a sidewalk or boulevard, installation of bicycle lanes and bicycle parking, bump-outs, street trees or landscaping, public art, benches, pedestrian scale lighting, narrower traffic lanes (or fewer traffic lanes), and bus shelter facilities. It could include reduced speed limits and innovative street configurations. Optional elements include advance boxes and innovative street configurations. Focus or extra points allocated for projects at locations where new TOD is planned or under construction.
2) Bike/Walk Streets category Guidelines: $2 million pot; $250,000 maximum
Suitable for streets with lower traffic volume, running parallel to busier arterials
Bicycle boulevards are low-traffic neighborhood streets that provide direct, attractive routes for bikes and create safer, more welcoming environments for pedestrians as well. Design elements include traffic calming measures, intersection controls to keep cyclists moving, and traffic lights and curb extensions to help cyclists cross busy streets. Some of the best boulevards are created where a road dead ends for motorists but is through for cyclists and pedestrians via a trail or cut-through.
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities Announces $7 Million in Bicycle and Pedestrian Project Funding. (June 7, 2007). Minnesota’s first bicycle roundabout. Four to three lane road conversions that make neighborhoods more welcoming for pedestrians. Colored bicycle lanes, never before used in Minnesota, designed to make city streets safer for bicyclists. Under its Bike/Walk Twin Cities initiative, Transit for Livable Communities’ board of directors recently awarded $7 million to make these and other innovative projects a reality on Twin Cities streets.
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities website launched in August 2007. www.bikewalktwincities.org
Want more information now on Livable Streets and Bike/Walk Streets?
www.walkable.org
http://bikeverywhere.com/mn/
www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/bikeboulevards.php
www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/transportation/Bicycling/BB/BicycleBoulevard.html
www.techtransfer.berkeley.edu/newsletter/99-4/bicycles.php
www.streetfilms.org/archives/berkeley-bike-boulevards/
www.streetfilms.org/archives/portland-or-bicycle-boulevards/
In the News
- Biking and Hiking Options Expand. If you enjoy a bike ride around town, you'll soon have more travel options. The federal government is making funds available in an effort to reduce car emissions in the Twin Cities. ~KMSP-TV, June 9, 2007.
- Twin Cities on Two Wheels.Minneapolis is set to receive an infusion of $21.5 million in federal funds with the goal of making a thriving bike scene even better. With that funding, the Bike/Walk Twin Cities Initiative aims to improve bike connections between neighborhoods and create bike lanes to attract even novice cyclists; more immediately, it will beef up bike parking in downtown Minneapolis and other high-traffic areas. ~The Rake, June 2007
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities Projects Funded. Bike/Walk Twin Cities has funded thirty metro-area projects to encourage bicycling and walking in the metro area. Minneapolis projects criss-cross the city, from the Norhside to Southwest, from the University area to Phillips, Powderhorn, Longfellow and Camden. St. Paul projects target the Central Corridor, Como Avenue, and the stretch of Marshall Avenue between Cretin and the Mississippi River. ~Twin Cities Daily Planet, June 7, 2007.
- Officials Announce $250,000 for Bicycle Projects in Northeast. Bicyclists in Northeast Minneapolis can look forward to new lanes, signs and bike racks, and – maybe someday – a more bike-friendly Central Avenue. ~Northeast Beat, June 7, 2007.
- Some TLC for Non-Motor Transit. The Twin Cities--and Bridgeland in particular, will be the beneficiaries of $7 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects intended to increase the rates of bicycling and walking while examining how the work can improve traffic congestion, energy use, health, and the environment. ~The Bridge, June 15, 2007.
- Bike/Walk Twin Cities Awarded $7 Million in Funding.Minneapolis is now one step closer to becoming a bicyclist’s paradise. The Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) — a nonprofit organization that encourages walking, biking and public transportation — has given $7.3 million toward Bike/Walk Twin Cities. The project will add miles of colored bicycle lanes designed to increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians. It’s part of a four-year national project championed by U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, an avid bike rider. ~Downtown and Southwest Journals, June 2007.
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Bike/Walk Twin Cities Links:
How Can You Get Involved?
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