Expert in bike-friendly cities to speak here Oct. 5

In the next few months Northfield residents have a chance to be involved in many important decisions about how to make travel easier for bike riders and pedestrians.

Plans for trails, paths, sidewalks, intersections and parking will be developed. The results will affect workers, shoppers, tourists, school children and those just taking a quick ride or walk for fun.

To help people get up to speed on the issues–and how other communities are addressing them--RENew Northfield is organizing a day-long visit on Oct. 5 by Steve Clark (above), the Walking and Bicycling Program manager at Transit for Livable Communities (tlcminnesota.org) in Minneapolis. Clark will make a presentation entitled “How Biking and Walking Will Renew the Northfield Area” at 7 p.m. at the Northfield High School auditorium. Earlier in the day he will lead a tour to conduct his own analysis of local bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. He’ll also speak with a wide variety of government and community leaders at Northfield City Hall.

Participants in the 7 p.m. community meeting also will get to view plans for the development of the Mill Towns Trail and a draft of the Greater Northfield Area Greenway Corridor System, which will be on display in the lobby.

Clark is a nationally recognized expert on nonmotorized transportation and currently manages the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program for Minneapolis, which is one of four areas around the country to receive a $25 million grant for the pilot project from the federal government.

Clark, who has written bike/pedestrian plans for many U.S. cities, started working for Transit for Livable Communities in February. He was the first manager of the bicycling and walking program in Boulder, Colo., and is a past president of the League of American Bicyclists. He also oversaw development of the northern portion of the Ice Age trail in Wisconsin.

“We’re really excited to have Steve here for a whole day,” said Bruce Anderson, executive director of RENew Northfield, who is coordinating the event with a broad group of sponsors. They include the Carleton Environmental and Technology Studies Program, the Mill Towns Trail, Northfield.org, Xtreme Bikes, St. Olaf Environmental Coalition, Wishpipe Studios, Goodbye Blue Monday Coffee House, Northfield Public Schools Community Division, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, and the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation.

“Biking and walking are great ways to get around in a town like Northfield. Steve should offer many ideas on ways the community can make it as easy and safe as possible for kids and adults to bike and walk for recreation and basic transportation.

Anderson credited the idea for the event to Bill Ostrem, a local resident who had seen the many benefits of bike-friendly policies when he lived in Davis, Calif. Ostrem, who had wanted to bring in an expert that the community could learn from, says that fellow RENew Northfield volunteer Charlie Stark encouraged him to contact Clark.

“A lot of cities are out ahead of us on this issue,” Ostrem said. “In our own region we can learn from what Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin, are doing. And there are so many reasons to be doing this—to save energy, to prevent pollution, to encourage more physical activity so people will be healthier. It could help the city save money on parking and other auto infrastructure, and it’s also a question of fairness for people who can’t afford a car or can’t drive one or just don’t want one.”

Ostrem and Anderson say one pressing issue in Northfield is the extension of the Mill Towns Trail from the trailhead near Hwy. 3 through downtown. The trail is expected to draw as many as 100,000 cyclists a year, bringing great opportunity for local businesses and great challenges in finding safe routes, adequate parking and coordination with roads, waterways and rail lines.

The city also is working on plans and budgets for the park systems, trail requirements for new developments and improvements to local roads. All those plans will have implications for pedestrians and cyclists. There also are successful established programs, such as “Safe Routes to Schools,” which can be adapted for use in Northfield.

The 7 p.m. event is free and open to the public. Organizers are hoping it will be the beginning of long-term community efforts to make Northfield a friendly community for pedestrians and cyclists.

For information on Steve Clark’s visit or bike-friendly efforts in Northfield, go to www.renewnorthfield.org or call 645-7133.

If you have any questions or comments, post them at the end of this story and we'll share them with Steve Clark and RENew Northfield.