The City’s Public Works mobility team has been selected to receive a 2022 AARP Community Challenge grant that will be used to improve mobility hubs in north and south Minneapolis. Mobility hubs are places where people can conveniently access low or no carbon transportation options including transit, Nice Ride bicycles, shared scooters and Evie electric car sharing.
In 2015, the City of Minneapolis was the first city in Minnesota to be designated by AARP, in partnership with the World Health Organization, as an Age Friendly Community. This designation led to the 2017 City Council adoption of the Minneapolis for a Lifetime Age Friendly Community Action Plan. Within this plan, transportation was one of the three “domains” of livability the City of Minneapolis prioritized. Providing safe, affordable and accessible transportation for older adults is one of this plan’s strategies.
With this grant, the City’s mobility team will focus on increasing safety, accessibility and comfort at mobility hubs and add community ambassadors focused on helping older adults interact with, learn about, and provide feedback on mobility hubs. Ambassadors will also be deployed in areas with high scooter ridership to educate riders on proper riding and parking behaviors. The $32,000 grant will also cover the cost of installing new seating, projectors and signage to make the mobility hubs at North Market, 44th and Humboldt; and Lake Street and Chicago Avenue more welcoming, safe and easier to navigate.
In 2019, the City of Minneapolis launched a mobility hub pilot program at a dozen locations to increase access to new mobility options including transit, Nice Ride bicycles, shared scooters and electric car sharing. In 2020, the City added a dozen more locations and introduced community ambassadors to make users at each hub feel safer and more welcome. Now in its third year, the pilot program has over 30 locations across Minneapolis and additional ambassador teams.
This year’s mobility hub pilot is supported by MnDOT in collaboration with Metro Transit, Hennepin County, mobility service providers and neighborhood organizations. For more information about mobility hubs, visit the City’s website or call 311.
Original source can be found here.
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