I ride my bike, cross country ski and live with my two cats in Madison, Wisconsin. I am excited to be bringing Alta's expertise and innovative ideas to the Midwestern states. I have been working as a landscape architect since the late 1980s, spending my time on park/open space design and, since 1997, doing more and more bike/ped related projects. My focus will continue to be on bike and pedestrian issues and to keep our hand in open space and park projects as well. I love the landscape of Wisconsin and am excited to get to know more Midwestern states as I travel for Alta.
Ann Freiwald is a project manager with over 20 years of experience focused on bicycle/pedestrian planning and design. She is committed to the development of safe, sustainable and interconnected transportation facilities for nonmotorists. Her expertise includes regional and communitywide bicycle and pedestrian system planning, on-road and off-road bike facility design, grant writing and administration, public process facilitation, report writing, construction document preparation, and construction administration. Her career includes trail development for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Fox Valley Park District in Illinois.
Recent Projects
- Mid-American Regional Council, Train-the-Trainer National Documentation Project
Ann led a one-day workshop to train MPO members on the National Biking and Walking Documentation Methodology. The training included information on counting and survey methods and culminated in an “on-street” experience for workshop participation. - NDSU Bicycle and Pedestrian Study, Fargo, ND
North Dakota State University opened three new buildings in the fall of 2009, located about one mile south of the main campus. The goal of this study was to provide safe and direct routes from the new buildings to the main campus. The study resulted in on-road and off-road recommendations that will help form a “biking and walking village” between the campuses and downtown Fargo. - Rapid City Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, SD
Working with city and MPO staff, Alta is developing an area-wide bicycle and pedestrian plan that will guide development and redevelopment of streets, sidewalks and trails. The plan provides suggestions for education, encouragement and enforcement programs to improve the walking and biking environment in the Rapid City area. - Skokie Bicycle Plan, IL
This plan features detailed recommendations for improving the bikeability of the streets of Skokie, Illinois. The planned bike route system will connect all corners of Skokie to the downtown area, community recreational facilities, neighborhood shopping centers, and the regional bicycle trails that skirt the Village borders. The plan identifies the potential for additional bike paths to complete the system, and makes recommendations regarding priorities and funding sources. The report also includes discussion of ways to increase bike trips in addition to engineering solutions, education of motorists and bicyclists, enhancement of bike parking security, and encouragement of bike commuting through public and private programs. - Geneva Bicycle Route Implementation Plan, IL
Ann lead a team of planners in the development of a bicycle route implementation plan for the City of Geneva. The plan used a previous master routing plan as its jumping off point and dictated exact facility types for recommended routes. The project included several public meetings to gather ideas and input from residents, field work to explore existing conditions and plan review to incorporate the new plan with existing projects being completed by the County Forest Preserve, the Park District, and surrounding municipalities. Several of the projects recommended in the plan have been completed or are on the docket for completion, making Geneva a more bike-friendly community. - Wisconsin Safe Routes to School
Ann was the project manager for a 50-school Wisconsin Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School (SRTS) project with a budget of $600K. Started in 2007-2008, its success led to additional work on the project for the 2008-2009 school year. The project team completed SRTS plans for 50 schools in 20 different locations across Wisconsin. - Kilbourn Water Reservoir Park, WI
In 2000, Milwaukee Water Works decided that the 13 acre site housing a 20 million gallon in-ground tank was no longer needed to serve the water needs of its customers. Ms. Freiwald assisted the Water Works with developing a master plan for the re-use of this important open space in a troubled inner city neighborhood. Once the master plan was adopted, Ann led a team of landscape architects and engineers in the development of construction documents to turn the site from an unused fenced-off blight on the landscape to a new 13-acre park that serves the residents of the Riverwest Neighborhood. The park opened in the fall of 2008. - Root River Trail, WI
This design development project in Racine included detailed design of a route that is both on-street and off-street and included the development of interpretation signs and the crossing of difficult intersections.
Professional Organizations
- Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
- American Society of Landscape Architects
- Wisconsin Parks and Recreation Association
