Minnesota Department of Transportation State Bicycle Map Project

Workshop Results

Results from the District 3 Community Workshop

Summary

The District 3 Statewide Bicycle Planning Study Community Workshop was held at the Whitney Senior Center located at 1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud, MN 56301 from 4-6 PM on March 14, 2012. Approximately 55 people participated in the workshop.

Findings

Workshop participants completed a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of bicycling facilities in our State. Following the S.W.O.T. analysis, participants worked in small groups to organize their responses in themed categories. The themes were prioritized by the participants, unless otherwise noted, with theme prioritized as #1 being the most important.

Strengths

Theme (noted as Priority #1): Existing Trails

The Lake Wobegon trail and trails in Sartell and St Cloud area
Availability of share the road info – needs to be in schools more
Blacktop surfaces nice to bike on
The number of local government representatives here today
Where possible, bike trails should be aesthetically pleasing
Wherever possible, bike trail should not run adjacent to vehicle travel roadways
Fact that MN has bike trail system
Increasing # of trails, bikeway and signage
Good roads in most parts of the state (compared to other states)
Biking in MPLS/St Paul – availability of routes/infrastructure, etc....
Great trails
Large transportation system already in place. R.O.W.s could all include trail designated areas
Availability of bike trails
Good trails in MN
Signs showing current bike route
New bridge from St Cloud to Sauk Rapids with corkscrew ramp
Good picnic/rest areas
We have great bike trails for recreation
Abundance of trails/paths
Culture of biking
Urban Minneapolis celebrated/recognized as a bike-friendly city
Current trails are great!
Using rail lines and keeping the bikeway in public ownership
Multi-modal connections are easy! Bus/Train/LRT
Diamond interchange plans for access Hwy 15 included bike/ped paths
Great trails – LWT, CLT, Soo Line, Beaner Island, etc
Start of high quality paved trails
All availability infrastructure relating to trails bikeways
Love the rails to trails
Great trail systems
Existing trails are good in city
Stearns Co Trails are great!
Growing trail system with paved trails

Theme (noted as Priority #2): Public Support for Trails

I appreciate that MnDOT is looking into bike trails seriously
Proactive MnDOT bicycle and ped staff
MnDOT is taking one great step forward by starting this effort – kudos
Good public support in MN for cycling and cycling advocacy (I think)
Working together ie. Minnesota Bike Summit
Right culture and desire by public to spend $ to expand
Off road trails, separated from traffic – safest!
Bike racks on buses
Getting public opinion
Starting to make all new projects “user friendly”
There are many bicyclists in this area and would be many more if commuting were made simpler and safer
Talking about bicycling
Staffing – MnDOT has begun to assign adequate staffing to begin the bicycle planning movement
Enthusiasm
MnDOT is asking for input
If streets are wide enough, marking a lane for biking makes it clear to motorists that bikes are okay to be there
Some $ are available for bike lanes from the state and used on county roads
MnDOT has bike and ped department
MnDOT does plan for multimodal transportation
Discussing the need for bike trails throughout the state
Planning for the futures
New multimodal transportation plan
Engaging the local governmental units in the planning process and maximizing collaborative efforts
Support for making trails considering for making wider shoulders on rural roads
Great process to involve interested citizens, partners and supporters
Relatively recent multimodal inclusion/emphasis
Complete Street policies are becoming more popular and accepted

Theme (unranked by participants): Funding

Willingness for the government (MnDOT) etc to talk need, money, etc for bikes and pedestrians
Funding opportunities for trails – more grant opportunities are available than before
Ability to engage federal funding sources

Theme (unranked by participants): Marketing

Central MN Bike Club seems to do a great job promoting Central MN bike events
Office of tourism that recognizes bicycle tourism as a benefit
Private bicycle related companies – Dero quality bike parts

[Ungrouped and unthemed]

St Cloud has and Sterns Co is blessed with very good trail
Some of trails are great! Cuynun, Duluth to St Cloud, Wobegon, etc

Weaknesses

Theme (unranked by participants): Education

Lack of bike safety classes
County engineers typically only think of motor vehicle traffic no consideration of multimodal planning
Fear keeps people from biking on the streets
Educating the population about safe driving in areas where bike trails are being used
Look at education for bicyclists – especially those who might be forced to ride.. which side of the street to ride on, etc
Need to publish or emphasize laws concerning bicycles
Educating drivers about bike laws
Local planning not always consistent with statewide efforts or vision
Lots of different types of riders looking for different types of facilities
Need to educate drivers and bikers about laws – rights and responsibilities of each
“Bicycle” lanes being used as right turn lanes
The lack of a news representative here today
There are many different bike and rail construction standards across the state. I’m looking for MnDOT to create “the” standard and require compliance by everyone as a condition of receiving a state grant
County engineers play a huge role, but many don’t promote or support bike/ped
Lack of rural potential use knowledge base
Political trend toward disrespecting bicycle projects and funding
Technical information on standards is not really available. Cut sheets of standards and specifications would be helpful
How to educate people about respecting bikers
How to find trail and trailhead and parking
Hope not planning without action

Theme (unranked by participants): Safety

Projects that are bike focused don’t seem to get funding example (ped/bike bridge in Sauk Rapids to cross Hwy 10
Excepting the Twin Cities we have poor commuter routes – routes marked or safe for bikers
It’s hard to ride between crossroads and downtown safely
Have not been able to find a publication on the rules of the road for bicyclists separate from drivers booklet, but should also be rules for cars on how to treat bicycles
Some areas of bike trails aren’t as scenic as they could be.
Some bike riding is done too close to highways. Safety!!!!
Forcing bicycling into other modes of transportation when it may not be the safest thing to do
Bike lanes are not as safe as off road trails example is Co Rd 151 where it could have had off road room is 6 ft shoulders
Economy and need to fund and keep up what we already have
Lack of openness to suggestion by MnDOT staff
Difficult to get a hold of share the road people – link on website broken
How do we know how public opinion has shaped the final project
Conflicts across governing agencies regarding stenciling on roadways

Theme (unranked by participants): Infrastructure

Design and configure trails in communities in mid-MN. Technical data is hard to come by Autocad drawing, R.O.W. maps are not ready available
Bikeway infrastructure in out-state MN (non-Twin Cities)
In St Cloud there are many streets/bridges where there is no place for a bicycle to ride safely
St Cloud needs major cross city routes – N-S, E-W routes. eg. There needs to be a Hwy 15 bike route to get from Sarter to St Cloud parallel and separate and on both sides of 15.
Need to develop more trails separated from roadways or with barriers separating the trail/lane
Need better signage on city trails, especially where they end
Lack of connections
Education
Safety
Bicycle trails in construction areas get NO consideration

Theme (unranked by participants): Maintenance

Poorly maintained paved shoulders
Trails/walks that end at illogical terminal points
Intersections with no pedestrian signals and/or not working
Repaving trails when needed
Aging infrastructures in downtown areas (congested streets, no room for bikes)
No point in having shoulders if they are not maintained and cleaned

Theme (unranked by participants): Bike Racks

Places to lock your bike in small towns
Not enough bike racks available by restaurants, shops....

Theme (unranked by participants): Lack of Connections

Many existing roads are nearly impossible to bike
It is often difficult to bike to trails
Bike safety
Fragmented implementation/administration among 8 MnDOT Districts
In the St Cloud area we have trails that stop short of a problem – like Hwy 15 or they do not connect areas of interest – schools, shopping, etc
Lack of connections
Transportation connections seem to fail locally
Lack of dedicated milestones to improve access and bikepaths
Is DHS and their large transportation funding at “this table” of discussion as well?
Some bike and pathways are disconnected – some have been located in areas seen as unsafe (predators?)
Construction projects that announce bike route to no where (who made this id?)
Lack of connection between segments of trails and bike routes
Trail linkages – NW cities – Plymouth-Fridley-Maple Grove – so many trails – some of the best but no maps showing links between trail system – Elm Creek-Rice Creek-Medicine Lake-Fish Lake-etc
Lack of connection of Wobegon to St Cloud
Rochester, Duluth, etc have trail that start at the city
Connectedness of trails within state, county, township and city
Some bikeways around St Cloud stop as soon as they get to an obstacle like a bridge. Hwy 15 or Hwy 10. Bike commuters need to cross too
Gaps in connections of trails
Need to support communities efforts to make connections between communities and to regional trail connections
Lack of infrastructure/info connecting trails
Need to connect more city trails
Not always connected
Lack of coordination between plans (improving though)

Theme (unranked by participants): Rumble Strips

Rumble strips are too wide and in some cases doubled up on like Hwy 10 between Motley and Staples
Shoulder width is lacking on most state rural roads like Hwy 64 North of Motley
Motorized vehicles on trails
Rumble strips on shoulders in bad spots
Rumble strips
Safety on highway trails – rumble strips etc

[Ungrouped and unranked]

Any organized trail ride is hard to provide support on the trail (no motorized vehicles allowed)
Too many places in city where bikers must ride through parking lot etc to get to destination
Lack of youth representation involved in planning process. I will be 80 years in 20 years
Requirements on Federal Grant Projects are too cumbersome for these size of projects. Too much money wasted
Need more coordination in development
MnDOT should understand 1st what its bikeway assets are before implementing an overall plan! Asset inventory 1st – “Legacy Lesson”
Financial support
Lack of shoulders on many state highways
Lack of driver education concerning bicycle rights to the road
MnDOT staff that is more receptive to bike/ped (seem to have rules but not forthcoming with solutions)
Mapping
Lack of current maps
Lack of integration of bicycles and St Cloud MTC. Won’t allow motorized bikes on buses

Opportunities

Theme (noted as Priority #1): Education

Bicycle laws enforced (ie riding on the wrong side of the road, etc.)
Lights on bikes!
More people, more enthusiasm, more voice, more money
“Start seeing cyclists” campaign similar to start seeing motorcycles
Perhaps community support and volunteers
Need to put out more publicity about our state trails. Best kept secrets aren’t good
Inform more bicycles about the laws and which affect them
Educate public re usage
Alive 55+ should include bicycle rules and regulations
Opportunity kiosks of bikeway on to bike part vending machine
Advertise trails around towns with events to encourage people to attend community events on bikes to cut back on congestion
Rising fuel cost making bicycling more attractive, necessary
Having easy to print maps on internet of all state, county, and township tarred roads
Having several meetings around state to keep MnDOT informed to what is working
Need to educate bicyclists about laws and proper etiquette for bikers
Driver Education should include bicycle rules and regulations
The forthcoming new bike map
This project!
A bicycle safety class to check fit of helmets also laws, common courtesy, simple repairs, seat height
Ordinance/law that bikers cannot ride without helmets
Ordinance – bikers cannot be “plugged” into radar, etc
Ability to look at our demographics and shape the improvements to fit those who may benefit the most
Educate the public to reassure us about costs of trails
Public campaign to promote biking and driver behavior relative to cyclists
Include several questions about bicycle laws in the driver license test
We need to educate motorists in St Cloud about bicycle
Letting public know how valuable trails are for communities – including bike lanes on highways in rural communities
Adding bicycle signage to alert motorists on rural roads
Linking health initiatives and bicycling
Think of bicycling as a way of transportation (not just recreation)

Theme (noted as Priority #2): Connectivities

Connecting existing trails and identifying safe, low traffic streets and roadways for bicycles
Existing trails should be reviewed and connections considered to destinations throughout the state
Lots of existing trails – minimal additional trail needed to make connections
Link existing trails together and have state parks be destinations
Create loops and work within cities for commuting from residence to schools and work places
Opportunities safe, purposeful connected bikeways within as well as to/from destinations/cities
Connect trails to one another – build infrastructure
Designate commuter bike routes in all cities along safe routes
Coordination of promoting trails for increasing visitor $ to Minnesota
When roads are going to be resurfaced or utilities replaced, add bike/ped paths
Connect to businesses good for them
Changing the “standard” in the MUTCD design book to keep in mind standards in metro areas are different than out state
Need to sit more people on bikes
Need to promote/advertise/PR to get motor vehicles to accept bikes and to get more people to ride
Uniting statewide trail system for continuous travel from system to system
Work with area groups to host rides on trails
Extend the Wobegon Trail into St Cloud
Connect trails that exist
Trails should go somewhere connect with other trails
Connections
Be #1 bike state – most connected trails
MTC/Integration
In area lots of opportunities to connect bike facilities
Priority routes can be determined that can create a “backbone” to spur local routes
Construct bridges over high-volume streets/highways for bicycles
Connecting the major trails in the state would be good for tourism
Mapping to link roads to trails – opportunities to do circle routes

Theme (noted as Priority #3): Planning

Plan and build multimodal transportation infrastructure
Bicycle facilities and planning that allows cyclists and train usage as seamless
Whenever possible, bike trails should run along side rivers and lakes
Include bikes in community event planning: parking (bike racks), routes, special deals
Modify existing roads to improve safe bike use
More coordinated and consistent bicycle improvement approach for entire state
Utilize local entities and planning groups to obtain information about locating trails in their areas
Build the trails first – hold the fancy rest stops for later
New projects (roads and bridges) will include safe bike use
Major main travel bike routes in cities (St Cloud) should be “separate but equal” by that I mean bike routes should be independent (parallel to roadways)
Trails to schools
Plan for streets wide enough to accommodate vehicles, bikes, pedestrians
Think of/create bike paths/routes that go through cities, not just around
Lots of RDC’s/counties/LUG’s have bike in PED plans in place
More bikers means less cars – are projections including this fact?

Theme (noted as Priority #4): Funding

Redesign funding for trails from grant to project ready status – ie trail grubbed out and foundation laid – on list to pave first done first paved
Cleaner shoulders on the roads would be nice – less gravel, etc
1$ gas tax increase to provide $s to expand bike paths
Constitutional amendment to support increased bike and ped specific funding
Have one location to access information about funding local planned trails

Theme (noted as Priority #5): Greenways

We must provide an opportunity for all our people to cross the river
Think of bikeways as regional parks – therefore getting ownership from a larger constituency
Look into acquiring land to build bike trails that are safe and away from traffic
Look to areas of land that could be acquired for this purpose, it should be along the Mississippi River whenever possible
Mississippi River Trail – Camp Ripley Trail
Utilize easements and abandoned RR tracks and other utility corridors
Locate facilities along utility corridors where easements exist already
With the Mississippi River in the heart of St Cloud, what a great opportunity to include that area in bicycle planning

Theme (noted as Priority #6): Trends

Interest in greener methods of transportation
More people are interested in biking for health and transportation
Changing trends in favor of more bike commuting? (higher gas prices, etc.)
Utilize high gas prices to promote trail design and installation
The future should bring increased opportunity for funding bike and ped projects – SAFTELU and Legacy
High gas prices could cause more people to recognize biking as viable transportation

Theme (noted as Priority #7): Signage

More bike signs indicating bike routes
Simple addition of signs or stripes can add to safety and acceptance of bicycles
More clearly marked bike lanes
Stripe bike lanes on streets as they are redone
Street signage re bikes

Theme (unranked by participants): Amenities

Any road rebuilding project offers the chance to improve ped/bike facilities
Improve bike facilities will result in more riders (Portland, OR)
With Northstar Rail, have bike racks, at stops and on cars for commuters and families
Separate bike curbs with a raised curb

[Ungrouped and unthemed]

Gas Prices
MTC integration

Threats

Theme (unranked by participants): Attitudes

Can we meet all of the regulations required by law that serve to protect diverse interests?
Roads that are unrepaired are threats to the safety of cyclists
Car-centric society/thinking
St Cloud has unsafe and very limited routes for bicyclists. I live in Avon and commute to Sartell for work and avoid St Cloud streets
If we don’t connect existing trails we risk losing future connections
“Road people” old school conservation minded MnDOT folks or local officials – “why do we need that people”
Right of way issues
Oil companies that are in the business of selling oil – tax support
Possible costs and negativity from (negative) people ie non bike riders
Snow/winter weather (odds challenge to bike infrastructure planning)
Multiple agencies that can stop or never allow a project to go forward
Population voting out Legacy Funding.
Trail funding at all levels drying up
Bicycling becoming unpopular
Narrow streets and highways
Our area lots of cities that need to work together
From members of the population who condone bike trails
Cities in MN are not concerned about trails in winter, even if there isn’t any snow
Private property denial of expansion on widening roads
Motor vehicles attitudes toward bikers
Most engineers are oriented almost completely to roads
Public image of bicyclists
Failure to deliver on smart streets
Negative attitude about cyclists
Gas prices
Gas prices
Outlaw the use of texting phones and any headphone use for music on bicycle riders where motorized traffic is allowed

Theme (unranked by participants): Money

Although bike trails are not old, many are in poor state of repair. I look for MnDOT to create maintenance standards for trails showing the best solution to problems
Too much money will continue to go to more and faster auto roads
Land will not be purchased to anticipate off road trails.
Railroads will not allow bike paths next to tracks
Fed funding
Low revenue
Future trail funding could be in jeopardy in future
End result is the need is great but funding is none! for bike and ped
Competition for funding and maintenance
Funding, funding, funding
“NIMBY” attitudes
Current state of government and the likelihood of cuts in funding
Budgets
State wide budget cuts
Lack of funding will make vision difficult to attain and frustrate advocates
Lack of will to spend money on routes that aren’t for cars or trucks
Competition for building and maintenance funds
Budgets, budgets, budgets – anti-biking enthusiasts working against this effort
Economics
Money
Not enough money
Money
Funding is not adequate to build infrastructure
Lack of funding
The greatest threat is the lack of funding
Funding
Poor funds management

Theme (unranked by participants): Maintenance

The “no taxes” attitude
Tax support from citizens
Republicans
Lack of state and federal funding to cities and counties to build bike trails
Political commitment of our elected leaders – puppets
Funds diverted to fixing crumbling infrastructure
Ongoing maintenance costs – more trails = more maintenance
Trail maintenance cleaning is important and sometimes forgotten. A gravel/branch covered trail is not safe sweep-plow-brush off as needed

[Ungrouped and unthemed] Federal funding

Republicans
Gas prices

Additional comments may also be provided to Greta Alquist through March 30, 2012.