Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan: Making Bicycling Safe and Comfortable
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Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan: Making bicycling safe and comfortable April 14, 2015 Hennepin County, Minnesota Hennepin County Hennepin County (county), Minnesota encompasses 544 square miles within the Twin Cities metropolitan region, and its geography ranges from the dense urban core of Minneapolis to smaller suburban communities and rural conditions. It is the most populous county in Minnesota, home to 1.15 million residents, and the 35th most populous county in the nation. Nearly one third of county residents live within the City of Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota. The mission of county is to enhance the health, safety and quality of life of its residents and communities in a respectful, efficient and fiscally responsible way. Three Rivers Park District Three Rivers Park District (park district) is a special park district that serves the west suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area of Minnesota, including western Hennepin County. The Minnesota State Legislature established the park district as an independent, special park district in 1957 with the charge of acquiring, developing and maintaining large park reserves and regional parks and trails for the citizens of suburban Hennepin County, the metro area, and the state. The park district manages almost 27,000 acres of park reserves, regional parks, regional trails, and special-use facilities. The name “Three Rivers” comes from the park district’s geography, situated within the watersheds that flow into three significant rivers to this region: the Mississippi, the Minnesota and the Crow. The mission of Three Rivers Park District is to promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system The Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan Partnership The county and park district collaborated on this planning process to update the county’s 1997 bike plan as well as the park district’s regional trail master plan. The partnership is a natural fit given the long-standing collaboration between the agencies on bikeway implementation projects. This partnership illustrates a commitment of the agencies to work together to continue to develop a world class bikeway system, and it formalizes the relationship by starting to work together earlier in the bikeway development process. Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan: Making bicycling safe and comfortable Hennepin County Board of Commissioners Three Rivers Park District Board of Commissioners Mike Opat, 1st District Penny Steele, 1st District Linda Higgins, 2nd District Jennifer DeJournett, 2nd District Marion Greene, 3rd District Daniel Freeman, 3rd District Peter McLaughlin, 4th District John Gunyou, 4th District Randy Johnson, 5th District John Gibbs, 5th District Jan Callison, 6th District Larry Blackstad, Hennepin County Board appointee Jeff Johnson, 7th District Steven Antolak, Hennepin County Board appointee Hennepin County Administrator David J. Hough Acknowledgments Project Advisory Group (PAG) Hennepin County Bicycle Advisory Committee Hennepin County Board of Commissioners City engineering and planning staff Mike Opat, 1st District Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee Linda Higgins, 2nd District Corporate bicycle representatives Marion Greene, 3rd District Metropolitan Council Peter McLaughlin, 4th District Metro Transit Randy Johnson, 5th District Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Jan Callison, 6th District Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Jeff Johnson, 7th District (MnDNR) Nice Ride Minnesota Three Rivers Park District Board of Commissioners Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition Penny Steele, 1st District Jennifer DeJournett, 2nd District Internal Working Group (IWG) Daniel Freeman, 3rd District Transportation (Roads and Bridges) staff John Gunyou, 4th District Planning, Policy and Land Management staff John Gibbs, 5th District Community Works staff Larry Blackstad, Hennepin County Board appointee Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority staff Steven Antolak, Hennepin County Board appointee Hennepin County Facilities Services staff Three Rivers Park District staff Hennepin County Administration City of Minneapolis staff David J. Hough, county administrator Debra Brisk, assistant county administrator for Public Works Consulting team Jim Grube, Transportation (Roads and Bridges) director Alene Tchourumoff, Planning, Policy and Land Management director Project Working Team (PWT) Bob Byers, project co-manager, Hennepin County Public Works Kelley Yemen, project co-manager, Hennepin County Public Works Dan Patterson, Hennepin County Public Works Kayla Bromelkamp, Hennepin County Public Affairs Mark Brill, Hennepin County Bicycle Advisory Committee Kelly Grissman, Three Rivers Park District Jason McGrew-King, Three Rivers Park District Rose Ryan, Hennepin County Public Works Hennepin County 2040 Bicycle Transportation Plan Contents Executive summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������x 1� Vision, Goals, Context and Purpose ����������������������������������������������������������� 3 The value of a bikeway system �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 Building the bicycle plan ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 Attitudes toward bicycling ............................................................................................................................................................. 6 Community engagement themes ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Goals, targets and indicators ........................................................................................................................................................10 Existing bicycling conditions ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 Local ridership ...................................................................................................................................................................................14 Existing bikeway system ................................................................................................................................................................16 Hennepin County’s role ..................................................................................................................................................................17 Background: The 1997 Hennepin County bicycle transportation plan ........................................................................17 Three Rivers Park District’s role ....................................................................................................................................................17 Cities’ roles ..........................................................................................................................................................................................18 What has changed since 1997 .....................................................................................................................................................19 Planning process ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Community engagement and participation ..........................................................................................................................23 Living document/plan updates ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23 2� The 2040 Bikeway System �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27 Defining the system ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������27 Bikeway types ....................................................................................................................................................................................28 The 2040 bikeway system �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������35 Summary of Three Rivers Park District regional trail system ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������38 Bikeway corridors and gaps .........................................................................................................................................................38 Building a bikeway system to serve all users ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40 Designate an enhanced bicycle network ...............................................................................................................................40 Attention to detail ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������41 Support facilities ...............................................................................................................................................................................41 Improve connections between transit