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SHARING THE ROAD: INFRASTRUCTURE |
Snelling
Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 2002. Despite having a sidewalk,
this section of Snelling Avenue - near the State Fairgrounds
with its fast moving traffic - feels dangerous and unpleasant
for walking and bicycling.
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Older
communities, including Minneapolis, Saint Paul and some inner ring
suburbs, were constructed with sidewalks for walking (and bicycling
by young children) and streets safe for bicycle travel. Many of today’s
newer communities are not designed this way. While sidewalks and multi-use
trails exist in a few places, they are often not continuous, they don’t
connect to major destinations, and they don’t feel pleasant or
safe (narrow sidewalk or bike lane next to fast moving traffic,no
shade trees, no transit service or transit amenities). |
Success
Stories
• Using
local dollars and federal grants, Minneapolis has
built many new bike and pedestrian trails including
the Kenilworth Trail, the Cedar Lake Trail, the Bassett Creek
Trail and the Midtown Greenway. The city has also refurbished
two abandoned railway bridges over the Mississippi River for
pedestrian and bike use. A coalition of neighborhood groups and
bike activists, in conjunction with Hennepin County, is developing
a former railway corridor that runs east-west across south Minneapolis
into the Midtown Greenway bike trail. When completed, the Greenway
will have landscaping, community gardens, public art and, if
approved, new development and redevelopment that is bike and
pedestrian friendly. There are also plans for the Greenway to
include a streetcar line.
• Davis,
California, a college town of 62,000 in California’s
Central Valley, is known by many as the bicycling capital of
the United States. Since the 1960’s the city of Davis
has encouraged bicycling through planning and implementation
of extensive bicycling infrastructure, and the city
boasts a bicycle mode share of 20 to 25 percent. Eighty percent
of major roads have bike lanes, most lanes are at least 5 feet
wide, and there are 50 miles of off-street paths. On the U.C.
Davis college campus, where half of students and 20 percent
of staff and faculty bicycle, bicycle only traffic signals
have been installed at the busiest intersections to give bicyclists
time to clear the intersections ahead of cars (7).
• A bicycle
planning effort initiated by Chicago Mayor
Richard Daley and conducted in collaboration with the Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation (CBF) and other advocacy organizations produced
the city’s first bicycle plan in 1992 (8). In 10 years,
the city created 300 miles of bikeways and installed 8,000
bicycle racks, more racks than in any other U.S. city. The
bicycle racks were funded with $1.8 million in federal Congestion
Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds (9). The city has begun
a new round of planning for a 2010 bicycle plan, and CBF volunteers
are conducting a bicycling needs assessment on hundreds of
miles of roads (10). |
Starting in 1990, suburbs began again to require, or
at least encourage, the construction of sidewalks in new residential
development. Efforts to install sidewalks in neighborhoods previously
built without them are rare, but efforts to build trails are more common
(1). The city of Shoreview, which has few sidewalks, is working to
link all major destinations by trails and to install trails along most
major roads within the city (2).
Minnesota has a statewide trail system of more than 1,300
miles, which reflects positively on the state’s commitment to
recreation. However, few trails connect to places of employment, shopping,
or services so their transportation value is limited.
Even in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, infrastructure for
biking and walking is extensive but not complete. While most areas
have sidewalks, there are still locations along collector and arterial
streets, across bridges, and in suburban-style commercial areas that
lack sidewalks, or have narrow sidewalks that are not separated from
fast-moving traffic. Most collector streets do not have on-street bike
lanes. Many areas are not pleasant for walking and bicycling because
of lack of shade or pedestrian-scale lighting.
Minneapolis has 79 miles of on-street bike lanes as well
as 53 miles of off-street bike trails. The city plans to add 125 miles
of new bikeways by 2008 (3). In Saint Paul, there are 16 miles of striped
and signed on-street bicycle lanes, 18 miles of bicycle lanes that are
striped but have no signs, and 68 miles of off-street bicycle trails (4).
There are no bicycle lanes in the downtown area. Saint Paul has an ambitious
bike plan as part of its City Transportation Plan, but little of it has
been implemented since it was written in 1997.
Maintenance
In most cities, the cost and maintenance of sidewalks is primarily the
responsibility of individual homeowners and businesses; roads are built
and maintained at taxpayer expense (5). When sidewalks are not adequately
maintained or plowed in winter, or cleared of sand and gravel in other
seasons, they are dangerous and discourage bicycling and walking.
Secure bicycle parking
In contrast to the acres of vehicle parking provided and usually paid
for by employers, businesses and government, designated bicycle parking
is hard to find. Almost all local governments have substantial requirements
for vehicle parking for every type of land use, but rarely require bicycle
parking. Because bicycle theft is common, secure bicycle parking is a
key element to increasing bicycle use.
Southwest
Station, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, 2003.
Covered bike parking makes it more appealing to bicycle to transit. |
There are exceptions: In downtown Minneapolis, large commercial developments
must provide bicycle parking as well as lockers and showers for commuters.
The city also has a cost-share program with private businesses for voluntary
installation of bicycle parking. There are approximately 2,500 bicycle
parking spaces in downtown Minneapolis and several hundred spaces in
the Uptown area (6). St. Louis Park gives incentives to developers to
provide bicycle parking.
Regional planning
The Metropolitan Council’s Blueprint 2030, adopted in December
2002, includes a focus on walking and bicycling and identifies several
ways that walking and bicycling can be encouraged. The Council is currently
participating in a multistakeholder effort to map existing bikeways and
missing connections in the metropolitan area. When completed, the new
map is expected to form the basis of a more substantive regional bicycle
plan. Over the last decade, through its Transportation Advisory Board,
the Metropolitan Council has provided many grants for bike and pedestrian
projects from its allocation of federal transportation funds.
Recommendations
- State,
regional and local governments should plan, fund and build pedestrian
and bicycle infrastructure that links housing, jobs, shopping,
and recreation within and between communities.
- Pedestrian
and bicycle infrastructure should provide for travel that is
safe, convenient, accessible, and pleasant.
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Elements
of good bicycle infrastructure
- Connections
to the places people want to go. Bikeways serve transportation,
not just recreational purposes. They connect all destinations
throughout residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational
areas.
- Safety. Collector
and non-expressway arterial streets have on-street bike lates
with adequate width and proper striping. Separate off-street
bicycle paths or trails are of adequate width with proper striping,
offering faster travel yet accomodating less skilled bicyclists.
- Bike
Parking. Visible and provided at all local and regional
destinations.
- Signage.
Bikeways have route and destination indicators.
- Convenience
and continuity. Routes are direct adn continuous with
safe crossings of busy roads, bridges, railroad lines and other
barriers.
- Maintenance. Bikeways
are repaired and cleared of snow, dirt and debris, allowing year-round
use.
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Elements
of good pedestrian infrastructure
- Connections
to the places people want to go. Sidewalks
and trails connect all destinations throughout residential,
commercial, civic areas, schools and parks. Sidewalks are built
on both sides of the street, except in very low-density areas.
- Convenience
and continuity. Routes
are direct and continuous with safe crossings of busy roads,
bridges, railroad lines and other barriers
- Safety. Users
are protected from vehicles by boulevards, parked cars or barriers.
Street crossings are not too wide or have bumpouts or refuge
islands. Sidewalks and paths are of adequate width, well-lit,
with no broken or cracked surfaces.
- Accessibility
for all users. Sidewalks,
trails and paths have smooth surfaces, are cleared of snow
and debris and have curb cuts for wheelchairs. Traffic signals
are timed to accomodate slow walkers.
- Comfort. Lanes
and paths are easily identified, of adequate width and appropriate
surface, with trees or otehr vegetation to provide shade.
- Interesting
and pleasant environments. Routes
include landscaping, sidewalk furniture, buildings with interesting
architecture, and street activity.
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Footnotes
1 Cities of Chanhassen, Plymouth, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury
2010 Comprehensive Plans.
2 MnDOT, “A Guide to Bicycle Transportation in the Twin Cities Metropolitan
Area: The Processes, the Players and the Potential,” (Saint Paul, Minnesota:
Minnesota Department of Transportation: 2000) 33-35.
3 Donald Pflaum, City of Minneapolis, interview with S. Peterson, 9 Sept. 2002.
4 City of Saint Paul, Saint Paul Transportation Policy Plan, Dec. 1997,
47.
5 City staff of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Woodbury, Chanhassen, Plymouth, and
St. Louis Park, phone interviews with S. Peterson, 9-27 Sept. 2002.
6 Don Pflaum, 12 Feb. 03.
7 Rails to Trails Conservancy and Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, Improving
Conditions for Bicycling and Walking: A Best Practices Report, Jan. 1998:
4.
8 Ibid, 9.
9 Trisha Sternberg, City of Chicago, personal e-mail to S. Peterson, 5 Nov. 2002.
10 Holeman, Eric, “2010: A (Street) Space Odyssey: Its Bike 2000 Plan having
arrived, the city looks beyond,” Bike Traffic, May 2002. Accessed on 9
Nov. from www.chibikefed.org/biketraffic/BT0502. |
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