Published March 17 2016
If you're interested in improving the city's bicycling network, an upcoming open house offers a chance to shape project ideas to create a safer, better-connected system.
The open house will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, at City Hall, 450 110th Ave. NE. A short presentation followed by an instant-feedback polling exercise will run from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Other open house resources will include display boards, project maps, and Transportation Department staff available to answer questions. Light refreshments will be served.
Transportation Commission members will use feedback from the open house, as well as from an online, interactive wikimap, to make budget recommendations for citywide investments in bicycling infrastructure. Officials want the public's help to evaluate and prioritize the project ideas.
Residents and others can use the wikimap, available now through April 30, to comment on specific project ideas and understand the tradeoffs that sometimes are needed to improve the bicycle system. Examples of possible improvements include conventional bike lanes, separated bike lanes and off-street paths.
The wikimap builds on a similar effort last fall when more than 700 participants identified locations where they have noticed conditions making it uncomfortable for people walking and bicycling. Ideas presented in the current round of outreach respond to the feedback.
In all, 52 projects ideas covering 57 miles citywide, will be available for review at the open house, and via the wikimap. The project ideas, if implemented, would help connect bicyclists to where they want to go. All are designed to be completed over the next five years, pending funding.
The open house and wikimap are part of a wider effort called the Pedestrian and Bicycle Implementation Initiative.