HighLight Heading
October 2006
CTS to lead nonmotorized transportation program’s research, evaluation, and outreach
Kevin Krizek
Ann Forsyth
CTS has been selected to lead the overall program evaluation of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP), which was authorized by Congress in the 2005 transportation bill. The work consists of the data-collection and analysis phases as well as several outreach activities.
The pilot program provides funding to four communities — Columbia, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Marin County, California; and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin—to construct a network of nonmotorized transportation facilities. It also affords a unique learning opportunity for researchers and other communities.
CTS submitted a proposal for the work in response to a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) request for proposals. The FHWA, along with other members of the program working group—the four communities, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership—reviewed the proposals received, and the pilot communities then selected CTS for the $330,000 grant.
Robert Johns, director of CTS, will provide interdisciplinary leadership and overall coordination for this effort. The technical aspects will be led by two faculty leaders at the University of Minnesota: Kevin Krizek, associate professor of urban planning and public affairs in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and Ann Forsyth, professor and director of the Metropolitan Design Center in the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. They will be advised by Susan Handy, associate professor at the University of California at Davis, and Kelly Clifton, assistant professor at the University of Maryland. Johns, Krizek, and Forsyth will be assisted by Laurie McGinnis, associate director of CTS, who will provide project coordination, liaison, and reporting to the pilot communities and the FHWA.
The pilot communities will provide a living laboratory for research often called for, but rarely conducted, in policy circles: a before-and-after investigation to demonstrate to other communities across the country the specific merits of investing in nonmotorized infrastructure. “Of immeasurable importance to the effort,” says Krizek, “is the creation of a careful protocol that will collect data, analyze such data, and communicate the findings from all four communities in a consistent manner, in order to cast a clear and compelling message to policymakers, analysts, and the public.”
The four communities, found in tremendously varied settings, include a University-dominated town, a string of 11 smaller communities, an entire county, and the largest city in the Upper Midwest. Furthermore, the “interventions” these communities are likely to invest in will be wide-ranging, including substantial “hard” measures such as entire paths as well as “soft” measures such as education and wayfinding.
In conjunction with the FHWA, the project team will draft a final report for submission to the United States Congress, focusing on changes that took place over a four-year period and describing lessons learned.
The project team will also work with the NTPP Working Group to synthesize the research findings into a high-quality communications product appropriate for elected officials, policymakers, planners, and other audiences. This product will make a direct connection between the research and the NTPP legislation, a critical first step in moving from the project team’s technical evaluation to implementing the lessons learned from the NTPP. The synthesis, which will be published by CTS in the spring of 2011, will draw from the findings in all four communities.