Back in 2008, a group of volunteers and City of Santa Cruz staff put together our last Bike Plan update. That plan included a long list of projects, many of which have been completed; the Arana Gulch path, San Lorenzo River Levee Bike & Pedestrian Bridge, Levee Path extension to the Tannery, and bike lanes on Morrissey have all been built since 2008.
The plan was due for an update, and over the past year City staff have developed a draft Active Transportation Plan (ATP) for the city, which includes both bike and pedestrian projects. Staff received hundreds of comments from the public on projects they would like to see, and Bike Santa Cruz County staff was involved in the stakeholder group for the plan. We are thrilled at the outcome: the draft ATP contains 263 bike and pedestrian projects that, when built, will form a complete network of facilities throughout the city.
Here are a few things we’re especially excited about in the ATP:
· Wayfinding: the ATP recommends implementing wayfinding signage for bicyclists within the city. Signage can help new cyclists find the safest streets, and direct them to lesser-know bike routes.
· Neighborhood Greenways: The ATP lays out a network of Neighborhood Greenways, or low-stress neighborhood streets that prioritize cyclists. These streets would receive traffic calming and signage indicating that cyclists will be using the street.
· Bicycle Parking: The ATP recommends designating funding for 30 new bicycle parking spaces per year. We all know places that could desperately use more bike parking.
· Bicycle Safety Report: The ATP recommends producing an annual Transportation Safety Report, which would provide data to guide investment towards streets with high collision rates.
Read the full Active Transportation Plan here.
There will be two upcoming community meetings to review the Active Transportation Plan project list, and it will come back to the Transportation and Public Works Commission in November. We need your support to get it approved! To receive updates, join our email newsletter list at bikesantacruzcounty.org/get-involved