As Dubuque seeks to make its streets more accessible to bikers and pedestrians, it is especially interested in ways to make several major thoroughfares safer. One of these is JFK Road, a major north-south arterial road.

As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students designed sidewalk and trail improvements to increase non-motorized connectivity in Preston, Iowa. 

Civil & Environmental Engineering students created a design for replacement of a pedestrian bridge for the Cedar Prairie Trail in Waterloo, Iowa.

Combined with the effort to create the Church Row neighborhood plan, a course in the School of Planning & Public Affairs assessed the walkability and accessibility of the Church Row neighborhood, particularly focusing issues of equity that include safety, access to employment and basic needs services, public transportation, parks and open space, and more.

Graduate students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning, in conjunction with the City of Iowa City and National Advance Driving Simulator, completed a plan to help Iowa City prepare for the anticipated impacts of automated vehicles on the built environment and community.

As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the School of Urban & Regional Planning created a plan outlining potential opportunities for conversion of low-traffic residential streets to non-vehicular greenways, in addition to developing bicycle and pedestrian routes, for the city of Keokuk, Iowa.

As part of the Planning Sustainable Transportation Course at the University of Iowa School of Urban and Regional Planning, students examined possible design alternatives for Main Street (US Route 218) in downtown Keokuk.

Working in collaboration with the City of Webster City Parks & Recreation Department, graduate students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning completed a Parks & Recreation Master Plan for Webster City that promotes appropriate land use, active lifestyles, equity, accessibility, environmental protection, and tourism.

As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created complete street designs for Pennsylvania Avenue in Mason City.

Students from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication developed a strategic marketing and communications campaign to attract new riders for the Mason City’s public transit system, using creative outreach materials and various communications platforms to reach target audiences.

In a report to the City of Mason City, students in the Entrepreneurial Management Institute: Business Consulting class conducted market research and provided recommendations to attract new riders for the City’s public transit system. 

By appealing to new target groups and individual riders of the metropolitan public transit system, Mason City officials hope to enhance the quality of life in the community, promote sustainability, and encourage workforce mobility and access to more entrepreneurialism and small business.

Students conducted walkability assessments in two rural Woodbury County Communities. Using data from the assessments, students used ArcGIS Online to create a map of each community’s walkability strengths and weaknesses.