WalkBikeMarin is an initiative by the Marin County Department of Public Works to encourage walking and bicycling as everyday transportation and a way to make Marin more healthy, livable, and environmentally sustainable. Bringing together Marin County's diverse pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects under one WalkBikeMarin umbrella website and initiative will help to make these projects more effective and make it easier for people to learn about them.
The WalkBikeMarin initiative was catalyzed by a $25 million federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) grant in 2005 and supplemented with an additional $8.5 million through extensions of the grant program. Marin County is one of four communities nationally selected by Congress to participate in the NTPP. The purpose of the pilot program was to demonstrate “the extent to which bicycling and walking can carry a significant part of the transportation load, and represent a major portion of the transportation solution, within selected communities.” Read the full Enabling Legislation (Section 1807 of SAFETEA-LU). This funding offered a unique opportunity for Marin to make significant improvements in making it easier and safer to walk and bike in Marin.
A key task of the NTPP was a 'before' and 'after' study to document travel habits in each community. These helped measure the effects of the pilot program investments and the results were reported to Congress. The reports will help inform legislators on the community benefits of bicycling and walking as a mode of transportation and potentially lead to increased funding to more communities in the next Federal transportation funding package.
Because the focus of the program was to encourage use of bicycles or walking instead of driving, projects were targeted in the most urbanized portions of the county and focused on utilitarian and commuting trips. Most of the funded projects have been constructed. A few remain in design or are under construction currently.You can download an informational profile about the program and its implementation in Marin. The profile is updated periodically and contains updates on key projects and activities. Click here to download. To get information about a particular project, visit the Projects and Programs page.
Who is involved
Management and Oversight
The Pilot Program was managed by the Marin County Department of Public Works. Craig Tackabery, Assistant Director, and Dan Dawson, Principal Transportation Planner, coordinated its implementation.
Consultants
Alta Planning + Design was the lead consulting firm for the initial implementation of the Pilot Program. Alta and its team of supporting consultants carried the program through the following key phases:
- public outreach
- website development
- public workshops
- preliminary cost and feasibility analysis
- priority and ranking methodology for projects and programs
- development of recommended list of capital projects and educational/outreach programs
Subsequent contracts were awarded for design, environmental, and engineering services for the selected capital projects. Most education and outreach programs were subcontracted to Alta Planning + Design for implementation while others were undertaken by the Transportation Authority of Marin or the Marin County Department of Public Works
Advisory Committee
The Director of Public Works appointed a nineteen-member advisory committee to assist project implementation. Committee members participated in community workshops, assisted in the development of the project and program scoring and ranking methodology, solicited feedback from their respective constituencies, and presented a recommended schedule of projects and programs to be funded for consideration. To see the summary report of their activities and recommendations, click here.
Community Involvement
Public workshops and meetings were held throughout the process and additional workshops and meetings will be held related to specific projects. To stay informed of upcoming projects, events, and other activities, you can subscribe to this page by subscribing to this website. After subscribing to this site, you will be notified via email of upcoming meetings, workshops, and events.
The Schedule
| | Fall 2006 – November 2006 | Initial Public Workshops to solicit project and program notes. |
December 2006 – February 2007 |
Project and program ranking and prioritization; identification of supplemental funding sources; development of preliminary cost estimates; discussion with local jurisdictions on project feasibility. |
March 2007 |
Presentation of recommended project and programs;
community workshops. |
April 2007 |
Selection of projects and programs to be funded by Board of Supervisors. |
May – June 2007 |
Design and environmental review for selected capital projects begins; program development initiated. |
November 2007 |
Initial report to Congress containing baseline data submitted. |
2007 – 2011 |
Facility usage data collected each September. |
2008 – 2010 |
Outreach and Education Programs conducted. |
2008 – 2011 |
Initial round of infrastructure projects designed and constructed. |
August 2011 |
Board of Supervisors allocates extension funding for additional projects. |
Spring 2012 |
Second report submitted to Congress describing effectiveness of pilot program investments. | 2012 – 2014 | Design and construction of second round of infrastructure projects. |
Spring 2014 |
Final report describing pilot program outcomes.
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