There are several regional and statewide bicycle planning efforts taking place now through the end of the summer. They are happening at a great time since bicycling is a topic that is gaining momentum in Minnesota right now. They are also great examples of intergovernmental coordination as the inventory portions of each of these plans is a coordinated effort between all agencies.
The UMVRDC is working on an update to its regional Trail Planning Guide, from 2002, that will update the inventory of trails throughout the region, develop priorities and goals for trail planning in the region that are consistent with statewide goals for parks and trails, and identify future trail projects in the region.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is in the process of conducting a Statewide Bicycle Planning Study. We told you in this post about their public open houses throughout the state to gather input on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats pertaining to bicycling in Minnesota. The Study will provide detailed policy recommendations, inventory of existing bikeway facilities in the State, including on- and off-road facilities, create a new Statewide Bikeway Map, and establish bicycle-related performance measures for future MnDOT projects. For more information on the Study, visit www.dot.state.mn.us/bike/study.html.
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition is working on a study for the parks and trails in greater Minnesota called the $175 Study. The study’s outcomes include establishing protocols to determine the origin of visitors and project potential use of greater Minnesota’s regional parks and trails, collecting an inventory of park and trail facilities in greater Minnesota and developing evaluation protocol and criteria to determine priorities for park and trail acquisition and development. To learn more about the $175 Study, go to gmrptc.webs.com.
For more information on regional and statewide trails planning, contact Lindsey Knutson at the UMVRDC at 320-289-1981 ext. 7 or email her at lindsey.knutson@umvrdc.org.
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