MnDOT's Separated Bike Lane Guidance: When and How to Implement 

November 18, 2026 at 3:00 pm ET

Presenters: 

For many, the bicycle facility design guides will tell you when to separate bicyclists from motorists, but not when to physically separate bicyclists from pedestrians. That’s where the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and their consultant, Bolton & Menk, started. Through national research, workshops with blind and low-vision pedestrians, mobility device users, and a variety of bicycle users, and a MnDOT advisory group, we’ve assembled design guidance to assist practitioners and agencies. These guidelines will help determine when to pursue separated bike lanes versus a sidepath, and when separation is chosen, detail how to separate bicyclists from pedestrians through a variety of roadway contexts. Throughout the presentation, we will discuss engaging with underrepresented transportation users, determining potential bicycle and pedestrian conflicts when no counts exist, and how a state DOT was able to coalesce around bicycle facility designs along corridors as well as at intersections.