Minneapolis’ Transportation Action Plan is Missing Discussion of Gender in Cycling

Source: USA Cycling. https://usacycling.org/article/usa-cycling-and-black-girls-do-bike-announce-partnership-to-make-cycling-more-accessible-to-women-of-color

In both the Twin Cities and the United States overall, there is a significant gender gap in cycling mode share. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, men are twice as likely to bike for their commute than women. However, the Twin Cities perform better than many other metropolitan regions in the country, which shows the intense inequality in bike mode share. This trend expands internationally, with bicycle mode share often having the largest gender gap in use out of any mode in a country.

A large reason for the gendered disparity in bicycle use is a lack of protected, safe, and comfortable cycling facilities for cyclists to use. For example, a study of New York City’s Citi Bike program shows that a 1% increase in off-road bike lane length was associated with a 0.46% increase in the proportion of trip arrivals by females. Portland State research found that women are more likely to bike longer distances to use protected paths. In addition, driver behavior around female cyclists is more dangerous, with a University of Minnesota study finding that drivers pass women on bicycles 3 inches closer on average than men. This result shows that protected infrastructure will disproportionately improve safety for gender-minority cyclers. There is a clear and important relationship between bike infrastructure and promoting gender equity in cycling.

Source: MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/06/03/mpls-bike-friendly

The gender gap can be even larger for women of color, with added barriers discouraging their use. A Portland State study interviewed multiple women of color about their experiences cycling. Women cited concerns about police harassment, microagressions, and road rage. For example, one respondent mentioned how drivers are less likely to stop for people of color trying to cross the street, causing an unsafe environment for people of color who use active modes of transportation. In addition, there is a lack of visibility of women of color cycling, making potential cyclers less likely to do so. The perception of cycling as a white space disincentivizes bicycle use by people of color, particularly among women of color.

The City of Minneapolis has become more decisive about promoting bike infrastructure in recent years, with the Transportation Action Plan serving as the visionary document for updates to the streetscape that promote walking, biking, and transit in new ways. The Transportation Action Plan puts heavy emphasis on growing out the “All Ages and Abilities” network, which aims to bring a complete network of low-stress bike infrastructure to all parts of the city. In all, the plan aims to build 141 miles of new or improved bikeways throughout the city by 2030: an ambitious goal to make cycling accessible for all in Minneapolis. However, the Bicycling section of the Transportation Action Plan does not discuss gender, or the intersections of gender and race, in any real way. The Transportation Action Plan provides a lot of context and focus on providing infrastructure that enhances opportunities for cyclists of all ages and abilities, and provides discussion of reconnecting neighborhoods harmed by highway infrastructure. However, a lack of gender discussion and a lacking discussion of intersectionality hampers the Transportation Action Plan, particularly in bicycling.

Future Transportation Action Plans should engage gender in a more meaningful way. With the evidence provided earlier in this blog, the infrastructure the City of Minneapolis hopes to build could already be beneficial to promoting gender equity in cycling. Explicitly promoting the ways in which planned infrastructure can improve gender equity is another selling point on the benefits of this infrastructure, and the City of Minneapolis has an opportunity to do this without significantly changing the overall substance of what is in the plan. Women of color also may benefit from this infrastructure, as infrastructure protects cyclists from road rage and other dangers posed by drivers. Additionally, taking a gender focus allows future transportation engagement work in the city to focus more on gendered issues in bicycling and other modes of transportation, which will lead to better outcomes. For example, issues over racial perceptions of cycling for women of color could be addressed. By centering these perspectives and documenting them as a part of the Transportation Action Plan, it is more likely that concerns from women of color would be addressed in the Transportation Action Plan.

In the Comprehensive Planning process, the city should also focus on non-infrastructure elements that would make cycling more gender and racially equal. For example, the city should provide better opportunities for businesses and employers to have showers or other preparation amenities onsite. A major secondary concern for women around biking is appearance when arriving at a destination. This is largely drawn from gendered notions of how women should look in the workplace, but it is a real concern among a significant number of women. Considering and prioritizing gender justice in bicycle planning can provide extra motivation to improve bike infrastructure, and planners should take action.