Trends in Bicycling and Walking in Minnesota: A Multi-Year Perspective on the COVID Surge

State and local transportation agencies have established bicycle and pedestrian traffic monitoring programs to generate traffic data needed to plan, design, construct, and maintain non-motorized infrastructure. These agencies typically have not cited the need to assess changes in traffic associated with a deadly global pandemic as a rationale for monitoring, but data from these monitoring networks can provide insights into trends and changes associated with exogenous shocks to transportation systems such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have reported surges in bicycling and walking during the pandemic, but few have described these changes in the context of longer-term trends. Here, Lindsey et al describe changes in bicycling and walking in Minnesota from 2017 through 2020, including the period from Mar 2020 through Dec 2020 when social restrictions associated with the pandemic were in effect. They identify differences in trends between bicycling and walking, including differences across types of facilities. They also illustrate the importance of monitoring programs and the need for better data on trends in active and recreational travel.