Mapping a bike-friendly future
Active transportation like biking to work or walking to school adds movement to daily life. While many bike for fun, fewer use bikes for errands or commuting. With e-bikes making longer trips easier, the City saw an opportunity to rethink mobility. The first step? Assessing bike parking through a partnership between Bloomington Public Health and the City’s sustainability team, with support from the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership.
Three interns were hired to enter data into a GIS-based inventory of racks across Bloomington, Edina and Richfield. Over three months, they visited 690 bike racks and biked hundreds of miles in all kinds of weather, experiencing firsthand the challenges of bike commuting.
“I noticed that resource allocation is not always equitable and some areas that could have bike racks didn’t,” said Bloomington Intern
Lynn Reynolds.
This data will help guide future planning, ensuring bike projects are prioritized with the environment, equity and connectivity in mind.
