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The Minnesota Department of Transportation invites public feedback on the agency’s first Statewide Pedestrian System Plan. The plan provides policy and investment guidance to improve places where people walk across and along Minnesota highways.

The plan identifies priority areas for investments and lays out specific strategies to improve walking availability and accessibility now and for the next 20 years to help communities plan for the future.

“Our state’s quality of life depends on creating safe places for people to walk—to work, to the doctor, to the grocery store, anywhere. We know safety is a priority every time you walk,” said Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “MnDOT’s first Statewide Pedestrian System Plan serves as a framework for how we plan to meet pedestrian needs and interests in our state, and we welcome public feedback on the plan.”

The Statewide Pedestrian System Plan offers policy direction, identifies investment need and provides technical guidance to improve the state transportation system for people who walk. It also sets performance measures to track progress towards creating a better pedestrian system and identifies strategies to protect people walking from the effects of climate change.

The plan is open for public comment through Jan. 11, 2021 on the MnDOT Statewide Pedestrian System Plan website.

Work on this plan began in February 2019 and included two public engagement efforts that reached 2,700 people statewide. MnDOT also installed seven pedestrian safety demonstrations projects across Minnesota to show certain safety measures in action. All of that feedback went through an internal process of evaluation to help MnDOT achieve better outcomes for people walking.

“This effort will help MnDOT identify opportunities and implement the right strategies on projects to make walking safer and more convenient for Minnesotans,” said Jake Rueter, MnDOT pedestrian and bicycle planner. “The plan doesn’t tell us exactly what to do in every situation, but it provides the tools we need to make those decisions and create better places for people to walk statewide.”