SUMMARY: PLAN COMMENTS and RESPONSES Spring 2016
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SUMMARY: PLAN COMMENTS AND RESPONSES Spring 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Comments & Responses .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Local Connections ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 State & Regional Bicycle Routes ......................................................................................................................................................................... 65 Separated Bicycle Facilities ................................................................................................................................................................................. 73 Funding ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 79 Safety ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83 Education & Encouragement ............................................................................................................................................................................... 91 Engineering .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 95 Enforcement ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 102 Evaluation .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 104 District 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 104 District 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 106 District 3 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 108 District 4 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 109 District 6 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 110 District 7 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 111 District 8 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 112 Metro .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 113 All Comments ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Appendix 1. Commenter ID Reference ......................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Appendix 2. Social Media archives ............................................................................................................................................................................... 45 OVERVIEW The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) released the Draft Statewide Bicycle Plan for formal public review and comment on October 5, 2015. Regional coffee chats were held around the state for plan input and questions, and the comment period closed on November 16, 2015. MnDOT developed a social media plan with messages that were shared with over twenty partners to help get the word on out and generate responses. This document summarizes the comments received throughout this process and provides MnDOT’s responses to each point of feedback, where applicable. The coffee chats were held between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the following dates and locations: November 2, 2015: Grand Rapids – Bixby’s Itasca County Family YMCA November 2, 2015: Mankato – Tandem Bagels November 3, 2015: Bemidji – Harmony Natural Foods Co-op November 4, 2015: Minneapolis – Freewheel Bike Center November 5, 2015: Rochester – People’s Food Co-op Fifty-eight individuals attended the coffee chats held throughout the state. Throughout the comment period, seven key partners and over 150 individuals submitted email or written comments on the Draft Statewide Bicycle System Plan. Names of individuals and MnDOT’s key partners who submitted comments on behalf of themselves and their respective organizations can be found in Appendix 1. Many comments demonstrated supportive of the Plan; while other comments raised concerns. With social media, partners were encouraged to use the #pedalmn to track messages. Through tracking the hashtag, there were 20 tweets, 62 retweets and 53 likes about the bike plan on twitter. There were 7 facebook posts, resulting in 64 shares, 11 comments, and 533 likes. Screen shots of social media found through the #pedalmn archive can be found in Appendix 2. How to use this document The main text of this document consists of Plan comments and MnDOT responses organized by theme. Thematic responses provide a summary of what was heard and of changes that may have resulted from comments. Please note each comment is linked to a unique commenter ID. A list of commenters and respective IDs can be found in Appendix 1. Changes were made to the Plan following the public review and comment period and included overall changes to the language used and structural flow of the document. Below is an overview of revisions made to plan based on the public comments received. Specific responses to comments can be found in the within each theme. Revisions related to language and writing Have a more affirmative tone with plan direction and implementation Where possible, plain language was used Chapters were retitled to clarify purpose Stakeholders were identified as partners, and where possible clearly identified The terminology “bikeways” was changed to “bicycle route” to increase consistency with national and local language Revisions related to structural flow of plan Created a two-page, visually appealing executive summary Added an introductory letter from MnDOT leadership Develop a new introductory section (Chapter 1) Moved the “Planning in Context” chapter and merged it with Appendix B of the plan Moved the local connections chapter before the state bicycle route chapter to emphasize priority Created a next steps chapter, which provides an overview of implementation activities Added online participation summary as Appendix C Modified the vision statement Added new images to better reflect content Updated the Regional Bicycle Transportation Network map and language for the Twin Cities metropolitan area Balanced conversation related to planning partners in the appendix for Planning in Context The public comment period provided input that validated the direction of the Statewide Bicycle System Plan, and also provided suggestions for improvement. MnDOT values input from partners statewide on creating a state where bicycling is a safe, comfortable and convenient transportation option for all people. Summary: Plan Comments and Responses 54 COMMENTS & RESPONSES LOCAL CONNECTIONS Response Response to comments about Local and Regional Connections Local and regional bicycle connections are consistent with what was heard during the public engagement for the Bicycle System Plan, along with separated facilities. The plan proposes that 70% of MnDOT's Bicycle Investments prioritize these kinds of projects that would be within MnDOT's right of way. Several comments identified and noted specific locations for bicycle routes and / or facilities. Where appropriate,