Mora developing active transportation plan, to hold walking, bike-along workshops on Thursday

Mora is working on developing an active transportation plan to expand safe and convenient walking, bicycling, and rolling options in the city.

On Thursday, Aug. 21, the city's active transportation planning team — which includes representatives from Mora Public Schools, the city's public works and community development departments, the East Central Regional Development Commission, Kanabec County Public Health, and MnDOT — will hold workshops to audit infrastructure.

"On Thursday, we've got a huge schedule all day long of walking and bike riding and talking, and trying to figure out how to improve the walkability, rollability, jog-ability, whatever, of the city of Mora," said council member Dave Youngquist at Tuesday's meeting.

A walk-along workshop will begin at 10 a.m. at One More Time for a mile walk around central Mora to discuss streets and sidewalks.

Bike-along workshop participants will meet at the Mora Aquatic Center at 3 p.m. to bike three miles around the east side of Mora, stopping occasionally to identify and discuss the safety and comfort of local streets and trails.

According to community development director Kirsten Faurie, Mora received a grant earlier this year to create an active transportation plan with MnDOT and other consultants.

"In the middle of the day is a closed session with the staff and clients at Recovering Hope, because they're a large population that often walks places," Faurie said.

Mora residents can also weigh in via a survey and interactive map on the MnDOT project page.

According to MnDOT's planning timeline, an action plan summit is anticipated for September.