On the Way
Volume 1, Issue 11
October 2007

TLC's Bike/Pedestrian Counts Reveal Desire for Safer Routes

Scott Smedberg was standing at the corner of Central and Lowry Avenues in the North side neighborhood of Minneapolis. A member of Transit for Livable Communities' Bike/Walk Twin Cities advisory committee, Scott dedicated a couple extra hours to help survey and count bicyclists and pedestrians as part of the program's national evaluation.

"Everyone needs to have an equal voice in transportation decisions," said Smedberg. "I met a young Latino man who was riding his bike and I was able to use the survey, which had been translated into Spanish, to make sure that TLC and the city of Minneapolis heard his thoughts about bicycling in his neighborhood."

Scott was one of nearly 40 volunteers who spent hours helping Transit for Livable Communities learn how many people are bicycling and walking in Minneapolis and its surrounding communities. TLC placed volunteers all across Minneapolis, ranging from places on the Midtown Greenway and downtown Minneapolis to busy intersections in Northside and Cedar/Riverside neighborhoods.  

The results from the counts were revealing:

• Routes. Most respondents chose their route because it was the most direct way to reach their destination. In locations with bike lanes, 70 percent of cyclists said they chose their routes based on the availability of bike lanes.
• Locations. Cyclists can be found on all legally accessible major roads in Minneapolis. There are more cyclists riding on Riverside Avenue or at the Lyndale/Franklin intersection (places with no facilities and poor conditions) than on Bridge #9 (an exclusive bike/pedestrian bridge) during peak commuting times (4-6:00 p.m.).
• Requests for Safety. In locations without bikeways, the majority (71 percent) wanted a bikeway. Other requests for improvements included less traffic (86 percent) and safer drivers (71 percent).
• Seasons. 39 percent of the cyclists surveyed said they rode year-round. 82 percent of the pedestrians said they walked all year.
• Sidewalk Riding. Sidewalk riding is commonplace, especially on corridors with high traffic volumes and no bike lanes or extra space. At the Central and Lowry intersection, 85 percent of the cyclists were riding on the sidewalk.
• Bike Crashes. Intersections with the highest rates of bicycle crashes are not the locations with the most bicyclists. In fact, the crash intersections tend to be locations without special bike facilities and a relatively low number of bicyclists. For instance, the Central and Lowry intersection had six times the number of crashes, but 20 times fewer cyclists than the University and 15th Avenue SE intersection.
• Bike or Drive? 57 percent said that if they weren't riding bicycles, they would be driving a car.
• Pedestrians Often Transit Users. Most pedestrians counted at busy intersections were also transit users.
• Pedestrians Outnumber Bicyclists. Where sidewalks exist, and especially at streets with high traffic volumes and no special bike facilities, pedestrians outnumber bicyclists. Pedestrians outnumbered bicyclists at all downtown locations except at Bridge #9 and 11th Ave & Light Rail Trail.Outside the central city where sidewalks exist, traffic is moderate, and there are no special bike facilities, the pedestrian and bicycle use rates are about equal (18th Ave and Fillmore NE, 42nd Street and Fillmore NE).

"These results demonstrate that we need to invest in safer places to walk and ride bicycles," says Steve Clark, Program Manager of Bike/Walk Twin Cities.

Transit for Livable Communities worked with 42 volunteer counters who counted bicyclists and pedestrians between 4 and 6:00 p.m. at 37 locations across Minneapolis, ranging from places on the Midtown Greenway and downtown Minneapolis to busy intersections in Northside and Cedar/Riverside neighborhoods. Six volunteers and three staff members conducted intercept surveys at 10 different locations. Combined, more than 6,000 cyclists and pedestrians were counted, representing an estimated 30,000 daily non-motorists.