It’s back to school at the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

University of Minnesota Professor Greg Lindsey was recently appointed as MnDOT’s first Scholar-in-Residence.

Lindsey, who is spending his sabbatical on bicycle and pedestrian counting research projects, will be working in the Office of Transit’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Section until June 2016.

Since Lindsey was going to be spending much time at MnDOT anyway conducting his research, the agency invited him  to be a Scholar-In-Residence and also office at MnDOT part-time.

“We’ll be working on institutionalizing bicycle and pedestrian counting — so local engineers and planners have evidence for planning and investing in new facilities and establishing priorities for investments to increase safety,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey will help MnDOT develop a district-based plan for permanent and long-term bicycle and pedestrian monitoring following new guidance in the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Monitoring Guide.

Lindsey’s appointment expands on MnDOT’s existing partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Center of Transportation Studies and builds on his work for the Minnesota Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Initiative, a collaborative effort between MnDOT and the university (see Final Report (PDF) ) .

“We are excited about this new collaboration with the University and believe it establishes an important precedent for the future,” MnDOT Commissioner Charles Zelle stated in a letter to Lindsey.

This is believed to be the first time MnDOT has appointed an in-house scholar.

A former Humphrey School of Public Affairs associate dean, Lindsey specializes in environmental and transportation planning, policy, and management. His current research involves non-motorized transportation systems. Partners in his research include the MnDOT, the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, Transit for Livable Communities and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

“[Lindsey’s] work to institutionalize bicycle and pedestrian monitoring throughout Minnesota, is central to our efforts to establish the evidence we need to maximize the efficiency of our investments in infrastructure and the safety of our transportation facilities,” Zelle wrote.