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StatewidePedestrian System Plan

METRO DISTRICTEngagement Summary

Most requested policies for improved walking:1. Improved winter maintenance2. Enforcing traffic laws to make

walking safer3. Lower speed limits4. Repairing cracks and surfaces on

existing sidewalks5.

Preferred types of walking infrastructure:1. Sidewalks in urban and

suburban areas2. Paved shoulders between

rural towns3. Sidepaths in natural areas

Top 3 most requested improvements for walking along state roadways:1. Sidewalks/walkways where none

currently exist2. Wider sidewalks or paths along the roadway3. Easier access for people with differing

physical abilities

Top 3 most requested improvements for walking across state roadways:1. Street designs to encourage drivers to stop

for pedestrians2. Easier crossing for people with differing

physical abilities3. Longer ‘WALK’ signal for more time to cross

the street

Event LocationsSurvey Responses (by density)

Concerns:• Crossing the street• Pedestrian crossing

infrastructure•

•

Poor pedestrian lightingLack of complete sidewalk network

events10+

survey responses

1,000+

of survey respondents completely support improvements for walking

77%Minneapolis

Bloomington

Richfield

Anoka

Brooklyn Park

Golden Valley St Paul

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Statewide Pedestrian System Plan (SPSP) MnDOT Metro District Summary

Overview

Engagement in the MnDOT Metro District involved 14 events. The engagement events were designed to hear specifically from the people identified in Minnesota Walks as facing greater barriers to safe and desirable walking. These included: people of color, people in small rural communities, children and youth, Native Americans, people with low incomes, older adults, and people with disabilities. Engagement events included pop-up events at local festivals and events. On-street engagement was also used in Phase 1 to reach people who were underrepresented in previous events. On-street engagement activities featured a shortened survey and a community context matrix that only featured community contexts applicable to the surrounding neighborhoods. Overall, 345 people filled out surveys in the Metro District at in-person engagement events, and another 726 people completed surveys online, for a total of 1,071 completed surveys.

Event 1: Rondo Days—St. Paul, MN

Event Overview

• Date: July 20, 2019 • Type: Pop-up Event • Location: Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul. This event honors the history, present, and future of

the Rondo neighborhood, which has had an important history as the center of the Black community in St. Paul, despite being divided by the construction of Interstate 94 in the 1960s.

• Priority populations engaged: Children and youth, people of color

Concerns and Suggestions

• People requested more sidewalk lighting and more speed limit signage in the neighborhood. • Street design changes are needed to increase the visibility of people walking. For example,

adding rapid rectangular flashing beacons (RRFB) was mentioned as one possible improvement. • There is a need for more crossings that are either bridges or tunnels to avoid the possibility of

collision with people driving. • Programming ideas included community activities like art attractions and local artists to paint

pavement murals.

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Event 2: CLUES Fiesta Latina—St. Paul, Minnesota

Event attendees complete surveys at Fiesta Latina

Event Overview

• Date: August 10, 2019 • Type: Pop-up Event • Location: Fiesta Latina. Fiesta Latina is an annual celebration of Latin culture through arts,

health, and wellness. • Priority populations engaged: Children and youth, people of color, people with disabilities,

people with low incomes


• More parklet installations could help expand safe and fun walking in the city. • Developers should be required to put in sidewalks everywhere. • More education for all new drivers to create better awareness of safer driving practices.

Event 3: Selby Jazz Festival — St. Paul, MN

Event Overview

• Date: September 15, 2019 • Type: Pop-up • Location: Selby Jazz Festival • Priority populations engaged: Older adults, people with disabilities, people with low incomes

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• Add more sidewalks in suburban areas. • Add more drinking fountains and plazas for people to rest when walking. • Median refuge islands are beneficial to protect people who are crossing the street. Longer

‘Walk’ signals were also desired. • Winter maintenance should be improved. • People described drivers running red lights as a safety concern and wanted increased

enforcement. • Remove parking that is currently located close to intersections to improve the visibility of people

walking. • Educate drivers to acknowledge and respect people walking.

Event 4: Listening Session at Anoka Senior Center—Anoka, MN

Visitors to the Anoka Senior Center complete project surveys

Event Overview

• Date: September 17, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: Anoka Senior Center • Priority populations engaged: Older adults, people with disabilities, people of color, people with

low incomes


• Off-street trails help people to stay active as they age. It is important that trails have benches for older adults to rest while walking. More benches could increase trail use and comfort.

• Desire for more sidewalks and improved sidewalk maintenance. • Construction and parking can make walking and accessing destinations difficult.

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Event 5: Creekside Community Center Fare for All —Bloomington, MN

Event Overview

• Date: September 19, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: Creekside Community Center Fare for All. This event provides a way to purchase

healthy food at a reduced cost. • Priority populations engaged: Older adults, people with disabilities, people with low incomes


• People discussed how incomplete sidewalk networks, including sidewalks only on one side of the street, limit walking.

• Sidewalk maintenance should be improved, including snow clearance in winter or removing branches that block travel.

• Walking-only bridges were preferred solutions for crossing intersections with heavy car traffic.

Event 6: Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Center — Golden Valley, MN

Event Overview

• Date: October 15, 2019 • Type: Listening Session • Location: Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Center. The Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Center

provides rehabilitation and community services for a wide range of ages and disabilities. • Priority populations engaged: Older adults, people with disabilities


• The ‘Walk’ phase of signals needing to be longer at signalized intersections • Separation of people walking from people driving is important. People mentioned adding

boulevard space, street trees, or other means to add separation.

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Event 7: Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Maze — Brooklyn Park, MN

Event Overview

• Date: October 19, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Maze. This is an annual fall celebration that brings

families together for autumn-themed activities. • Priority populations engaged: People of color, people with disabilities, people with low

incomes, children and youth, older adults


• Desire for new sidewalks and wider sidewalks. • People would like to see new innovation in street design. • At signalized intersections, people mentioned a desire for shorter wait times for people walking

and more time to walk across the intersection.

Event 8: Farmers Market — Richfield, MN

People visit the project booth during the Richfield Farmers Market

Event Overview

• Date: October 19, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: Richfield Farmers Market • Priority populations engaged: People with disabilities, people of color, people with low

incomes, youth and children, older adults

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• People would like to new sidewalks added where they do not already exist. • Members of the public mentioned a need for improved access for people with disabilities.

Event 9: Hmongtown Marketplace Farmers Market — St. Paul, MN

Event Overview

• Date: October 19, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: Hmongtown Marketplace Farmers Market. This market is located in a predominantly

Hmong, Karen, and Vietnamese neighborhood and brings in people from all over the Twin Cities. • Priority populations engaged: Older adults, people with disabilities, people of color, children

and youth


• The top priority from respondents at the Hmongtown Marketplace was a need to build new sidewalks or multi-use paths where none currently exist.

• Several people who supported the idea of lengthening the crossing time available via ‘Walk’ signals. Other ideas included to beautify walkways, add warming shelters near outdoor public seating areas, and to increase separation between people biking and people walking.

Event 10: Pop-up at West Broadway McDonalds — Minneapolis, MN

Event Overview

• Date: October 22, 2019 • Type: Pop-Up Event • Location: West Broadway McDonalds. MnDOT staff shared project information with patrons,

collected feedback, and answered questions. • Priority populations engaged: People of color, people with disabilities, people with low

incomes, older adults, children and youth


• Stricter enforcement of the hands-free driving law would increase feelings of safety while walking.

• Reduce police harassment of black people who are trying to enjoy being outdoors. • More space between the sidewalks and car traffic would provide comfort for people walking. • Wider sidewalks would increase comfort, as would fixing cracked sidewalks.

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On-Street Engagement— Metro Area, MN

Event Overview

• Date: October 22 and October 25, 2019 • Type: On-Street Engagement. Members of the project team spoke with people at several

locations within Minneapolis. • Locations: Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis, Lake Street & Hiawatha Avenue, Cedar

Avenue & Riverside Avenue, and University Avenue at the University of Minnesota • Priority populations engaged: People of color, people with disabilities, people with low

incomes, children and youth


• Among those who spoke to members of the project team, improving crosswalks was a top priority.

• There is a need for improved accessibility features at intersections with state roadways and to improve walking along State roadways.

• People expressed support for street designs that could improve walking safety.

Statewide Pedestrian System Plan Survey Results In total during Phase 1 in the Metro District, more than 1,000 people completed the Statewide Pedestrian System Plan Survey. The results are summarized below.

Survey Question 1:

The first survey question asked respondents to share their support for improvements for walking. The majority of people who took the survey, 77%, said they “completely support improvements for walking”. This is higher than the statewide average of 74 percent.

Metro District responses to a survey question regarding support for walking improvements

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Survey Question 2:

The second survey question asked respondents about improvements for walking along state roadways. The most popular responses from the Metro District were “sidewalks, or other walkways, where none currently exist” and “wider sidewalks or multi-use paths.” There was also support for “easier access for people with differing physical abilities (e.g. level sidewalks)”. Several choices received similar levels of support.

Desired improvements along state roadways

Survey Question 3:

The third survey question asked respondents about improvements for walking across state roadways. Survey respondents in the Metro District’s top choices were “street designs that encourage drivers to stop for people walking”, “easier access for people with differing physical abilities (e.g., corner curb ramps)”, and “a longer ‘Walk’ signal to provide more time to cross the street.”

Desired improvements across state roadways

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Survey Question 4:

The fourth survey question asked respondents to share their support for various policies to improve walking. The top choices for respondents in the Metro District were “improved winter maintenance” and “enforcing traffic laws that help make walking safer.” Several other responses received a lower but similar rate of support.

Desired policy improvements

Community Context Matrix

A community context matrix was used throughout the first phase of engagement. The matrix gathered public input regarding preferences for types of walking infrastructure within various community contexts. The matrix asked the question “What types of infrastructure would help you walk in your community more often?” Options for walking infrastructure included shared roadway, paved shoulder, sidewalk, and sidepath. Community contexts included in the matrix were natural area, connection between rural towns, suburban residential area, suburban commercial area, industrial area, urban residential area, and town center/downtown area. A simpler version of the matrix was used to support on-street engagement events.

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Example community context matrix

Responses were gathered for the Metro District in-person at Fiesta Latina, Rondo Days, Brooklyn Park Fall Festival, Richfield Farmers’ Market, and the on-street engagement. Responses to the matrix showed a strong preference for more separation between people walking and people driving. This was indicated by the support for sidewalks and/or sidepaths in every community context. There was also support shown for paved shoulders in natural areas and connections between rural towns. The highest ranked response per infrastructure type is identified in dark green. The second highest ranked response per infrastructure type is identified in light green.

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Metro District Community Context Matrix Results

Infrastructure Type

Natural Area

Connection Between

Rural Towns

Suburban Residential

Suburban Commercial

Area

Industrial Area

Urban Residential

Town Center/

Downtown Area

Shared Roadway

71 54 55 33 90 50 11

Paved Shoulder

142 306 21 24 90 16 57

Sidewalk 50 43 351 476 307 589 567

Sidepath 446 237 300 235 193 186 140

Conclusion

Engagement efforts at local events and online revealed support for improvements to street and walkway design that could make them more comfortable and accessible for people walking. High participation online through the survey posted on the website shows that there are many people ready to share input and ideas via online platforms. However, on-street engagement and engagement events were great ways to receive responses from more diverse populations in the Metro District. Across the Metro District, improving winter maintenance is a priority, similar to other districts. This is also true for adding walkways where they do not currently exist and improving street designs with a focus on safety.

metro district round 1 engagement summary › wp-content › uploads › 2020 › ... ·...

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