Non-Motorized Transportation Grants

Today, the Council voted to apply for the 2008 round of Non-Motorized Transportation grants. Our list of projects includes some important opportunities for the Second Ward:

• A better pedestrian connection between Seven Corners and Downtown along Washington Avenue, across the I-35W trench.


• Pedestrian upgrades to three important intersections on the West Bank, including Cedar and Washington, Cedar and Riverside (one of the worst intersections in the city for pedestrian/auto crashes), and Cedar and 5th. This last idea is especially exciting, because it will include a long-awaited new public sidewalk connecting Cedar to points east on vacated 5th.


• Turning 29th Ave S into a "bike/walk street" between E Franklin and Minnehaha Ave. This could include some modifications to the physical layout of the street, including “throating” and traffic circles, and would likely include extra signage, reduced speed limit, and could potentially include removal of stop signs. This facility will connect planned bike lanes on Franklin and Riverside to existing bike lanes on Minnehaha and the Greenway, and connect Seward Montessori and Matthews Park to all of the above. My office submitted one of the proposals for this project.

The purpose of these projects is to help shift mode share away from automobiles and towards biking and walking, and to explore innovative strategies like bike/walk streets, also known as "bicycle boulevards" in other cities where they have been used to great effect. I'm excited about this round of applications, and I hope that Transit for Livable Communities chooses to fund them all.