Farmington Metropolitan Planning Organization Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update

Challenge

To help solidify outdoor recreation opportunities for the future, the Farmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) needed to update its bicycle and pedestrian transportation plan to better serve multimodal users. The MPO represents the communities of Aztec, Bloomfield, Farmington, Kirtland and San Juan County in New Mexico.

Solution

Through a series of public engagement/community outreach sessions, the project team developed an updated bicycle and pedestrian plan for the City. The project team banded together at events like National Night Out, July 4th celebrations and the County Fair to meet with the community to gather public opinion — a historically challenging task. The plan will tie in with neighboring cities’ plans to help boost outdoor recreation in the area. Using technology like Strava, a social network for athletes, the team was able to pinpoint areas where people like to run and bike. The app syncs with phones, watches and other devices to track athlete performance and geo-location, giving the team data about the most used trails in the area.

The team worked with the Farmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to identify opportunities, solutions to problems, project priorities and creating planning level estimates to address any deficiencies on current trails and walkways.