Jeff Pearson, Richfield Transportation Engineer, manages projects from planning to construction. Richfield, a first-ring Minneapolis suburb, is part of the regional story of burgeoning attention to non-motorized transportation.

Joan: Are many Richfield residents interested in transportation issues? Is there a vision of where the city is headed?

Jeff: Richfield is effectively an island surrounded by freeways. In my position, I might be dealing with a sidewalk issue one day and then planning for a highway interchange the next. On the local side, we completed an arterial roads study in 2009, funded by Bike Walk Twin Cities, focusing on Penn, Lyndale, Nicollet and Portland Avenues. When those major arterial roads are reconstructed, we’re hoping to do a three lane section with wider sidewalk and bike lanes. The phrase “complete streets” is being used by the commissioner’s staff and the city council. Recently, the Richfield City Council decided to turn a section of Portland Ave into a three lane road as a pilot project.  This would provide 6’ shoulders and provide more space for pedestrians. Clearly policy makers are open to pedestrian and bicyclist issues.

We also have an advisory Transportation Commission that is very involved in transportation issues throughout the city. The Transportation Commission is a twelve-person commission of residents, business owners, and liaisons from the Planning Commission, Community Services Commission, and City Council members. They are out-front in terms of researching different options –like roundabouts.  

Joan: Do you have a bicycle task force?

Jeff: Yes, the bicycle task force is a subset of the Transportation Commission. The task force includes transportation commissioners, a planning commissioner, a community service commissioner, and residents. Their goal is to come up with a bicycle master plan for the city. We liked what Edina did with their bicycle task force. However, with no money available for a consultant, we went with a more resident-driven approach. The group meets once a month.

Joan: Last year Richfield applied for STP (Federal Surface Transportation Program) funding from Metropolitan Council for work on the arterials.  

Jeff: We weren’t funded but we’re applying again. In the mean time, we are focusing on 66th Street .  Hennepin County has tentatively put the street on the schedule for a 2015 reconstruction. We’ll be pushing them to highlight the condition of both the roadway and the sidewalk. Another great reason to focus on 66th is that it is identified as a bikeway on the 2009 Hennepin County Bicycle Gap Map.  With the exception of Lyndale Ave, all of the roads in our 2009 Arterial Study are also county roads. We have to coordinate and encourage cooperation between the city and the county levels. We plan to submit Portland Ave. again for STP funding; eight foot sidewalks and bike lanes would make that whole area more cheerful.

Joan: Where is the excitement for 4-to-3 lane conversions and more sidewalks coming from in Richfield?

Jeff: The ideas really follow the recommendations of the transportation commission but it’s important to note that they make those recommendations partly based on considerable public input.  The bicycle task force will also play a role in future plans. We had 23 applications for vacancies on the bicycle task force when it was started. I was truly surprised by the enthusiastic response.  Many of these members are your “average residents” that have never been  involved with the city planning process in the past but have a real interest in bicycling and making Richfield more bike friendly. They made it clear that they weren’t happy with the infrastructure in Richfield and then took the initiative to be part of a taskforce to create change.  

Joan: When you take a project to the public, what are some of the reactions?

Jeff: Parking and right-of way changes are the biggest issues. The right-of-way issue comes into play when we’re extending the curb. Property owners assume that their property goes right up to the curb, when in reality there is this public right-of-way that extends past the curb. That is an issue that can be solved through education and addressing the property owners individually. In terms of parking, people generally don’t want to lose the on-street parking in front of their homes.  On a recent project, the original plan was to use a state standard street section for a bikeway that would reduce the parking on one side of the street to keep a wide vehicle travel lane. The response from residents was overwhelming. There was even a petition against the plan strictly due to the parking issue.  Because the context of the street didn’t really call for the restrictions, the consultants submitted for a variance to the standard and the plan now includes parking in front of homes. On another bikeway project, we still have about 3.5 blocks where we’re proposing to restrict parking on one side. That area is Bloomington Avenue which has much higher car traffic and can already have 60 or more bicyclists per day.  We didn’t want to compromise the bicycle facilities in that area.  The good thing is that by going through this process on other bikeway projects before we’ve finished the bicycle master plan, the task force will be aware of the hot button issues and be able to plan ahead.

Joan: When is the plan due? And will it address year-round bicycling and walking?

Jeff: We’re hoping for the end of the year –it might bleed into 2011. I’m suggesting an in-depth plan that would go beyond the actual infrastructure to address issues such as education and enforcement. One idea I threw out there was the creation of a citizen’s advocacy group that is separate from the city – to ensure more attention to education.

Joan: Richfield has a lot of commuter activity with people traveling to and from Minneapolis. Are you seeing people bicycling or walking to destinations within Richfield as well? Is there demand for that type of transportation?

Jeff:  The majority of day to day riders in Richfield are either commuters or higher-level recreational riders.  We see a lot of bike traffic that passes through between Minneapolis and Bloomington.  However, there are also other recreational riders including families who are just out for a ride and quite a few kids riding to and from school. Richfield has a lot of low volume residential streets that have fewer than 500 cars per day on them. The major thing we lack for recreational riders is safe connections to the Minneapolis park system and through Bloomington to south of the Minnesota River. Currently, those paths are blocked by highways and most crossings are uninviting.  For example, several older residents who participate in the community center rides contacted the bicycle task force and said they often have to load their bikes on a car and drive to the ride location. They don’t feel safe bicycling on the roads in Richfield and want to see something change.  If we improve the infrastructure, we will also see more inner-city destinations and new riders.  We just have to get the facilities in place.

The Nine-Mile Creek Regional Trail will really be the backbone of our bicycle infrastructure. It might spur more people to ride than a bike lane would. We want to capitalize on the trail to capture economic value to the community – to visit restaurants and businesses. Linking the trail to more points within Richfield will be important. We also want people to be comfortable biking the 6, 7, or 8 blocks to the trail rather than putting their bikes in the car and parking next to it.

Joan: What is bike parking like in Richfield? Is there a policy concerning new developments?  

Jeff: Any new development that goes through the administrative review committee gets scrutinized for bike parking. Bike parking must be installed at their expense. That being said, we’re working to make sure businesses are aware of groups like 494 Commuter Services to help them obtain bicycle racks. The task force is also working with businesses that aren’t up for review to help them obtain free or reduced priced bicycle racks. Richfield also partnered with SHIP to provide bicycle parking for schools and city properties. We already maxed out the $5,000 that could be used through that fund, but there will be more demand –especially at the schools. It’s all well and great if you can bicycle to a destination, but if you don’t have a safe place to park your bicycle, you won’t want to bike there.  
Editors Note: BWTC is establishing a new bicycle parking program that will help to meet the demand in Richfield and other communities in the pilot area.

Joan: Richfield received a Safe Routes to School grant. What did that grant help accomplish?

Jeff: The plan for the Safe Routes to School grant was completed in 2009 and SHIP is acting as a liaison between school administrators and us. We’re working on implementation as funding is available. For example, we’re doing a mill-and-overlay on 12th, which goes by one of the schools. We’re able to implement a few things from the plan because we’ve already selected that area for construction. To redo the sidewalk is part of the street project. Now that we have a plan, we can piece together the implementation as the funding is available.

Joan: There are numerous projects underway in Richfield. Some are planning projects, others are bicycle projects. What are the timelines for some of those projects?

Jeff: We’re starting construction on the bookends of the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail/76th Street Reconstruction project this year. As part of a Met Council sewer project, 76th Street will go from a four lane to a two lane road with bike lanes and a new side walk on the south side. We’re able to make 76th a two lane road because 77th street was reconstructed to be a four lane road with medians. That project has received positive feedback from residents and has greatly reduced the traffic on 76th Street. The whole project should be completed by fall of 2011.

Joan: BWTC funded the connections to transit study. My understanding was that Richfield used the study for your planning purposes around bus stops and connections to transit stops.

Jeff: The route for the ‘West Connection’ project was selected largely because of the connections to transit. That route was also funded by BWTC.  It will follow Humboldt and Girard Avenues along I-35W and Highway 62 providing several important links to transit, including the future BRT (bus rapid transit) stop at 66th Street when the Crosstown Highway construction is complete.  The route eventually connects to Penn Avenue at 62nd Street.  Metro Transit has expressed interest in a Park and Ride at this location.  It would be a very unique Park and Ride in a more urban area that would target not only vehicle users but walk-up and bike-up users as well.

Joan: Thank you, Jeff. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jeff: Things are slowly moving forward and we’re seeing the demand and desire from residents. Now it’s a matter of moving forward with planning and implementation. If the funding policy and sources continue, we’ll have solid plans and be in position to apply for more implementation grants.