Lincoln Park Pedestrian Plan

About the Study

Lincoln Park Middle School under construction

This summer the MIC and area non-profits have partnered to do a pedestrian study of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood of Duluth. The study focuses on the way that pedestrians (especially school-aged children) move up and down the hill, principally between the site of the New Lincoln Park Middle School and the Duluth Heritage Sports Center and the proposed Cross City Trailhead. The study is being fully funded by a $6,000 grant obtained by the Neighborhood Housing Services of Duluth (NHS Duluth). Other stakeholders participating in the study include Duluth LISC, SVCNDA, Community Action Duluth, City of Duluth, Duluth Public Schools, neighborhood residents, and representatives from Lincoln Park businesses.

The Process

James Gittemeier and Brain Heaton meet with Mimi Stender to discuss the Lincoln Park Pedestrian Plan

I. Creation of a team of stakeholders and experts. Meet for three 2-hour sessions in July and August.
II. Walkability audit of project corridor; identifying improvement opportunities and pedestrian issues.
III. Brainstorming and identifying possible solutions as well as researching the feasibility and costs of solutions
IV. Community outreach through one public input session
V. The composition on a list of recommendations for infrastructure and other improvements
VI. The development of a future implementation plan

Walkability Audit

Walkability is the ease and safety that a pedestrian experiences as he moves through an area. A walkability audit, therefore, is the process through which a certain area is explored and vetted to determine its walkability. For this study three distinct routes between the Heritage Center and the site of Lincoln Park Middle School were developed and agreed upon. They were chosen because they represent both the ways that middle school students are likely to transit the corridor (the most direct route, possibly crossing though the woods) and the routes that appear to be the safest to the planners conducting the study (complete sidewalk network, crosswalks and signals). By understanding both the ‘descriptive’ and ‘prescriptive’ routes the planners seek to ultimately be able to recommend the best possible route. To perform the actual audit itself the group of stakeholders will be divided into three smaller groups and each will walk their respective route and make note of its walkability, paying close attention to possible safety issues along the route.

After the Study

At the conclusion of the study the group will have developed a set of recommendations and a plan for the implementation of those recommendations, which will include: 1) a timeline to see implementation of the recommendations, 2) identification of implementation partners’ roles, and 3) potential funding sources. This project is intended to be the first phase of a longer-term process to create a corridor in Lincoln Park that allows for students, residents, and visitors to travel safely without a car from key destinations like the Duluth Heritage Sports Center, Duluth Children’s Museum, and the Cross City Trail to Wheeler Field, the new Lincoln Park Middle School, and Skyline Parkway.

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