Be Active! Be Green! Bench Initiative
Active Living Ramsey Communities works to place benches on trails and pedestrian corridors throughout Ramsey County to create a more walkable environment for people of all ages and abilities.
The goal of the Be Active! Be Green! Bench Initiative is to have benches placed often enough that when people sit on one bench, they're able to see the next one — with the thought that seniors, people with disabilities, or small children can more easily make it to the next bench.
Currently, benches are located throughout the county, along many of Ramsey County's trails, as well as within the cities of Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Maplewood, Mounds View, New Brighton, Roseville, Saint Anthony Village, Saint Paul, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake, and White Bear Township.
Through a partnership with and funding from the Environmental Health Division of Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, Active Living Ramsey Communities grants free benches made from recycled plastic with a Be Active! Be Green! message to governmental units in Ramsey County. The benches must be located in Ramsey County.
Grantee responsibilities:
- Complete application and submit map with the bench locations.
- Schedule a tour of the proposed bench route.
- Plan and secure bench locations and right-of-way agreements.
- Sign the Be Active! Be Green! Bench Contract.
- Install concrete bench pads meeting ADA requirements.
- Pick up, assemble, install, and maintain the benches.
- Send Ramsey County the GIS bench coordinates.
- Publish bench route articles in municipal communications.
How to apply for a bench initiative grant
We are now accepting applications. The following steps must be completed by Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
- Complete the on-line application form.
- Email a simple map of the proposed location to [email protected].
- Email Connie Bernardy to schedule a bench tour and complete it.
Bench tours can take place before a route has been decided and may help determine the final route. Just be sure to complete the tour by the July 9, 2025 deadline.
Grant schedule
- Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Last day to complete the application, map and bench tour.
- Monday, July 28, 2025. Estimated day to award grants, contingent on right of way permit approval.
- Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. Last day for grantees to sign and submit contract agreement and right of way permits, if applicable.
- Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Estimated earliest day benches will be available to grantees. Victorian style benches may take an additional eight weeks.
Mission
Active Living Ramsey Communities will facilitate the placement of benches made of recycled materials in a series of corridors connecting destinations and creating loops and accessible pathways throughout the County.
Vision
The Be Active! Be Green! Bench Initiative will help to create a physically active friendly environment by facilitating "pathways to health," which will especially help the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with small children.
Objectives
- Use the remaining dedicated funds to create pathways that promote physical activity by placing benches on trails, in parks, and on corridors that connect destinations or create loops.
- Place benches throughout all geographic areas of Ramsey County.
- Strengthen the participation in the Be Active! Be Green! Bench Initiative and the Active Living Ramsey Communities Initiative.
Bench criteria
- Routes should be considered new bench corridors in Ramsey County that are designed to connect destinations, create loops or make a trail a more accessible pathway.
- Destinations include community-gathering places like parks, beaches, schools, shopping areas, workforce centers, government centers and other key destinations.
- Benches, when possible, should be placed in a visibly continuous corridor, so people can see the next bench.
- Benches should have a distance apart ranging from 50 feet - ¼ mile apart.
- Benches will be the design and materials specified by Active Living Ramsey Communities.
- Applicants need to provide GIS coordinate of the bench placement and a photo of the bench including its surroundings.
- Benches shall be accessible and without barriers and be placed in a manner to assure accessible use and must meet ADA requirements.
- Each bench shall be installed as outlined in the contract agreement between the Grantee and Ramsey County.
Grantees will be responsible for:
- Assembling the benches, constructing the concrete slabs, and installing the benches according to grant specifications and all related costs.
- Transportation of the benches from a Ramsey County distribution location and secure in a safe area until such time as they are installed.
- Funding for the local expenses can be public, private, or a combination of sources. For example, a city may decide to fund the local cost in its entirety or solicit donations from individuals or organizations to sponsor a bench in an approved corridor or the entire corridor. There is no special recognition of sponsorships.Future maintenance, repair, upkeep, and/or replacement of all benches installed.
- All approvals, permits, access permissions, and other necessary actions to allow construction of the bench area.
- Must have a legal right to the trail, path, sidewalk, or other right-of-way upon which the benches will be installed. The legal right may be in the form of fee title, permanent recorded easement, or lease with a remaining term of no less than 20 years.
- Signing the Be Active! Be Green! Bench Contract.
- Sending Ramsey County the GIS bench coordinates.
- Publishing bench route articles in municipal communications.
Bench site recommendations
Planning a path
When planning a ''pathway to health," consider where people live, and where they might be going (destinations). Think about where they may want to walk for physical activity and recreation. You may want create bench routes along a path in a park or lake or to connect:
- Apartments
- Transit stops
- Churches
- Coffee shops, restaurants
- Community centers
- Health care facilities
- Libraries
- Neighborhoods
- Parks
- Retail stores
- Schools
- Senior housing
Use the list above to help plan your route, but keep in mind that your destinations will be site specific. Your goal is to connect people with common destinations or create other opportunities for physical activity. Your route can support walking as a form of transportation or physical activity as a form of recreation. The elderly and people with young children or a disability should be taken into consideration. The benches must meet ADA requirements.
Placing the benches
Once you have a route, you'll also want to consider how to position the benches. Keep in mind the following:
- Comfort and safety are the biggest factors in how much people will use the benches. The space behind a sidewalk (and further from the street) is often in city right-of-way and so the city can site a bench there.
- People feel safer and more relaxed when further away from traffic. Between the sidewalk and street can be too close for comfort.
- Face the bench in the direction of what's interesting to look at, like other people, scenery, architecture, anything that moves or changes, including traffic. A bench placed behind the sidewalk next to buildings facing the street gives seated people the ability to see pedestrians and buildings on both sides of the street.
- Keep the bench away from things that are unpleasant to be near (like fast traffic).
- Must have a legal right to the trail, path, sidewalk, or other right-of-way upon which the benches will be installed. The legal right may be in the form of fee title, permanent recorded easement or lease with a remaining term of no less than 20 years.
- Keep travel zones for pedestrians or vehicles clear.
Other considerations
- Someone sitting on a bench can feel nervous if people are walking directly behind them. It is better to avoid having a bench backing up to a sidewalk unless you can leave a bit of a buffer.
- In an area with a crime problem, consider placing benches near lighting. You can also try to place benches within sight of an occupied building with ground floor windows and doors.
- If a community group or the city is willing to landscape, consider deciduous shade trees, or planted flowers around the bench site.
- Buffers between benches and traffic increase comfort and safety. A row of parked cars, bushes, a grassy boulevard, flowers, raised planters can all form a buffer.
Forms and legal documents
Forms will need to be printed and signed after grant approval.
- Park Series bench specifications. (PDF)
- Victorian Series bench specifications. (PDF)
- Sample contract. (PDF)
- Sample project resolution. (PDF)
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