MnDOT appoints first scholar-in-residence

Greg Lindsey

Professor Greg Lindsey was recently appointed as the first scholar-in-residence at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).

Lindsey, who is spending his sabbatical from the U of M’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs on bicycle and pedestrian counting research projects, will be working in the MnDOT Office of Transit’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Section until June 2016.

Since Lindsey was going to be spending much time at MnDOT conducting his research, the agency invited him to be a scholar-in-residence and also to office at MnDOT part time.

“We’ll be working on institutionalizing bicycle and pedestrian counting—so local engineers and planners have evidence for planning and investing in new facilities and establishing priorities for investments to increase safety,” Lindsey says.

Lindsey will help MnDOT develop a district-based plan for permanent and long-term bicycle and pedestrian monitoring following new guidance in the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Monitoring Guide.

Lindsey’s appointment expands on MnDOT’s existing partnership with CTS and builds on his work for the Minnesota Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Initiative, a collaborative effort between MnDOT and the U of M (see article in the October 2014 Catalyst).

“We are excited about this new collaboration with the University and believe it establishes an important precedent for the future,” MnDOT Commissioner Charles Zelle stated in a letter to Lindsey.

This is believed to be the first time MnDOT has appointed an in-house scholar.

Lindsey specializes in environmental and transportation planning, policy, and management. His current research involves nonmotorized transportation systems. Partners in his research include MnDOT, the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, Transit for Livable Communities, and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

biker

“I’m excited about this opportunity to work more closely with the transportation professionals who are working hard to provide transportation options that are safe and efficient,” Lindsey says. “My residency at MnDOT will advance a variety of initiatives, including my work for the Roadway Safety Institute on nonmotorized transportation monitoring and measurement of exposure to risk. One of our goals is to develop tools that practitioners can use to prioritize investments for infrastructure to increase biking and walking safety.”

“[Lindsey’s] work to institutionalize bicycle and pedestrian monitoring throughout Minnesota is central to our efforts to establish the evidence we need to maximize the efficiency of our investments in infrastructure and the safety of our transportation facilities,” Zelle wrote.

(Adapted from an article published on the joint MnDOT/CTS Crossroads blog.)

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