St. Paul was well represented in this year's Commuter Choice Awards, held last month to recognize individuals and organizations for their commitment to promoting and practicing sustainable transportation.

Four St. Paul organizations were recognized as leaders.

The University of St. Thomas: for promoting commuting options to employees and students by increasing the College Pass transit pass subsidy, expanding bicycle parking on both campuses and sponsoring a Nice Ride station.

Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op: for encouraging smart commuting by staff and customers, promoting bike commuting with classes and discounts for customers, sponsoring Bike Walk Week and Nice Ride, and participating in and hosting a hub for Hourcar.

MnDOT: for supporting bike commuting by installing showers, bike lockers and bike racks, for sponsoring Nice Ride's St. Paul expansion and establishing a MnDOT bike club.

Commuter of the Year Russ Boverhuis with Travelers.

City of Saint Paul: for supporting transportation options city-wide, promoting light rail, encouraging bike commuting by endorsing bike boulevards and Nice Ride bike sharing.

Additionally, four individuals were honored.

Russ Boverhuis: honored as the Commuter of the Year for his year-round efforts to encourage colleagues at Travelers to commute by bike. Russ regularly tracks and publishes their ride statistics and organizes an annual event to celebrate their collective impact.

Mike Madden: for his advocacy, co-founding Neighborhoods First to promote multi-modal travel and green space along Ayd Mill Road, and for consistently championing biking, walking and transit use in St. Paul. Madden also commutes by bicycle to worksites for his painting business.

Melissa Wenzel: for organizing commuter fairs and Nice Ride bike-sharing events at her workplace, and serving as a resource for others who want to change their transportation habits. She has been car-free by choice for four years.

Charlie Stark: who for years commuted to downtown St. Paul from Northfield, earned a Lifetime Achievement Award for serving as vanpool driver and advocate, saving more than one million vehicle miles traveled over 10 years. Stark was also commended for his active support of transportation options in his hometown.

Smart Trips hosts the Commuter Choice Awards each year with our partners from Metro Transit, Anoka County Commute Solutions, Commuter Services and Commuter Connection to spotlight the innovative transportation programs, policies and projects in the metro area that make a difference in how people make their daily trips.

See all 2012 winners
List of nominees
More photos on Flickr

MnDOT staff accept an award for promoting bike commuting