Planning the Mississippi River Trail in Iowa Using Geographic Information Systems

Bicycle transportation in the U.S. has been increasingly supported through cooperation for new bicycle facilities among all levels of government. A prime example is Millennium Trails, a federal program devoted to trail development to recognize America’s history and future. The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) is a Millennium Trail, envisioned to begin at the Mississippi headwaters in Minnesota and to end at the Gulf of Mexico. Iowa’s rural MRT portion is being planned to provide economic and recreation opportunities, but also presents potential planning issues. The MRT includes urban and regional trails over varied terrain, includes off-road bicycle trails and on-road bicycle lanes, currently planned or programmed bicycle facilities, and must be aligned to maximize use of Iowa’s riverside amenities while providing safe cycling conditions. Geographic information systems (GIS) were used to effectively analyze the trail planning factors of the Iowa MRT. GIS allow many levels of information to be simultaneously analyzed, and may process large datasets required for the bicycle level of service analysis used to determine safe trail routings. The bicycle level of service analysis outlined safe MRT on-road bicycle lanes, and also directed where off-road trails should be used instead. Verification of results with public officials and the public is key to validate the trail planning effectiveness with GIS. This process to develop the MRT has proven effective for Iowa and may be applicable to analyze trail development feasibility in other states. Key words: bicycle facilities—bicycle level of service analysis—bicycle trails planning—geographic information systems—multimodal, alternative transportatio