Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program
The Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program was created in 2005 as part of a six-year United States federal government transportation bill called SAFETEA-LU. According to the law, It provides $21.5 million to each of four communities: Columbia, Missouri; Marin County, California; Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. It will explore how these communities can increase rates of nonmotorized transportation by 2010 through investments in planning, infrastructure, and public education. The communities will also study how these investments will impact traffic congestion, energy use, health, and the environment.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul program, launched in 2007 as Bike/Walk Twin Cities, is administered by Transit for Livable Communities, a nonprofit organization. The third round of funding for Bike/Walk Twin Cities projects occurred in 2009 and included $1.75 million for Nice Ride Minnesota, a Minneapolis bike-sharing program, and $524,000 for a University of Minnesota Bike Center.
