List the name of the organization applying for planning assistance and the application lead’s contact information. This person will be notified of final decisions and will be expected to communicate award announcements to the rest of the Active Transportation Program partners. The project lead will represent the planning team during project submission and will be invited to participate in development opportunities during the planning process. This section is not scored.
Provide details on the type of plan and communities that will be involved in the planning process. Brief descriptions of each plan type are included in the application.
- Active Transportation Plan: A combined plan focused on walking, bicycling, and other types of human-powered or human-speed mobility
- Bike Plan or Bicycle Master Plan: A plan focused on bicycling
- Pedestrian Plan: A plan focused on walking
- Active Transportation Corridor Plan: A plan focused on active transportation modes within one transportation corridor.
- Parks and Trails Master Plan: A plan focused on active transportation related to parks and trails
- Active Transportation Plan Update: An update to an existing active transportation plan. If requesting an update, provide rationale for why the update is needed.
- Other plan update: If selected, describe the type of plan you are proposing.
Provide any details on the need that a planning process could help fulfill for people walking and bicycling. If there are any plans, policies, or construction that would adversely affect the progress of Active Transportation Program work in your community, list those in the follow up questions about policies that affect people walking and biking. This section is not scored.
A) Equity: Reaching Priority Populations
MnDOT’s Active Transportation Program aims to achieve equitable outcomes by funding initiatives that prioritize communities who are more likely to rely on active transportation, are more vulnerable to unsafe traffic conditions, or have experienced historic disinvestment.
The Active Transportation Equity Score uses 15 indicators to identify locations in Minnesota that likely have a greater need for Active Transportation investment. The maximum score awarded to a hexagon in the analysis was 13 points. Points will be awarded to applicants proportionally compared to the maximum awarded score based on the applying community’s equity score.
Calculations of equity scores will be conducted by MnDOT Office of Transit and Active Transportation staff. The scores to be used can be viewed on MnDOT’s Active Transportation Equity Score Web App. This app allows viewers to preview scores throughout the state and develop an understanding of how scores will be calculated.
As an example, the table below shows scores and the percentage of the total area for a hypothetical application. OTAT staff would calculate an area-weighted average to arrive at an overall score for the area in question. For this example, assume the applying area is 2.5 hexagon area units. The following table shows how the area-weighted average would be calculated.
Hexagon Score |
Percentage of Total |
Final Score |
4 |
20% |
0.8 |
5 |
20% |
1 |
8 |
20% |
1.6 |
9 |
40% |
3.6 |
Total |
100% |
7 |
For corridor planning projects, the length of the corridor will be used in the weighted average calculation instead of area.
B. Narrative Response
Applicants will be asked to provide information about how the proposed plan will address equity in any way that would not be readily identified by the Active Transportation Equity Tool. This could include finding ways to mitigate barriers within the community, provide broader access to a community resource, address historic disinvestment, or invest in communities that have been historically marginalized.
A) Describe the unique barriers and needs your community, city, or county have that makes walking and biking challenging for people, especially priority populations. Priority populations include People of Color, children and youth, Native American people, people with low incomes, small rural communities, older adults, and people with disabilities. Describe how this planning process will engage the community and key stakeholders to identify policy, systems and built environment changes to improve walking and biking conditions for all.
B) Describe how this plan fits into and/or supports larger community goals. Applicants might consider comprehensive planning efforts, city/county transportation plans, local public health initiatives, school district wellness policies, traffic safety goals, complete streets policies and active living plans in the answer.
A robust, well rounded and engaged Active Transportation Program team is critical for the successful development and implementation of an Active Transportation Program Plan. The applicant should aim to demonstrate individual commitment to the team from a variety of sectors.
- A) Provide a team leader who will co-lead the planning process with the statewide consultant and assist with organizing meetings, local engagement, and tracking progress on the plan.
- B) Provide the Active Transportation Program with the following information in the question A table:
- a) Provide names and/or titles of active/committed team members
- b) Provide their role on the team and how they will contribute to plan development and implementation. Examples of roles may include team lead, city planning support, community outreach, etc. Consider the skills, knowledge or connections that could be valuable for during the planning process that is unique to each of these individuals. More ideas on how various team members can contribute to an Active Transportation Program team.