Green Mobility

When we built the Community Climate Action Plan, we started by taking an inventory of local Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The data we collected will help measure the success of our efforts to reduce emissions.

The inventory taught us that transportation is the largest non-industrial contributor of carbon dioxide in Cedar Rapids. For this reason, the Community Climate Action Plan focuses on ways we can reduce GHG emissions caused by transportation. The Plan identifies a goal for a 15 percent reduction in vehicle miles traveled per resident by 2030 — and a goal of 84 percent of vehicle miles to be traveled in electric vehicles by 2050.

The planning process also showed us that focusing on green mobility can help the City take steps toward a more equitable, inclusive future.

IMPROVED TRAVEL: Complete Streets

Whether on foot, wheels, or another method, we all need ways to get around the city! By reducing the amount of traveling we do in automobiles, we can improve air quality and the health of our residents.

We all like to have choices for how we get from point A to point B. Our Community Climate Action Plan recognizes that we can all improve our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of driving we do in single-passenger vehicles. To ensure other options are viable, the City recognized a need to design other modes of transportation into our system — and to ensure these other options are safe and desirable.

In 2014, Cedar Rapids became the first city in Iowa to adopt a “Complete Streets Policy.” The policy ensures city streets are built to balance different ways people like to move around our community. It helps our engineers incorporate best practices for street design that prioritize all options for transportation: cars, buses, wheelchairs, bicycles, feet, rollerblades, scooters, and more! These design elements are automatically considered on any new streets or major street rehabilitation projects.

Studies have shown that when people have safe and accessible options for walking, biking, and using public transit, they are more likely to choose these modes over driving. This can lead to a reduction in vehicle miles traveled — and thus a reduction in the emissions that contribute to climate change. This is also why the City of Cedar Rapids is focusing on mobility and micromobility programs, like our bike and scooter share system provided by Veo. Micromobility options can be more affordable than automobile travel, providing residents with additional economical and efficient ways to travel.

By improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, providing complete multi-modal transportation networks, and investing in public transit — the City of Cedar Rapids is working to create a more sustainable transportation system that helps mitigate the impacts of climate change.