The proposed Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan - now a source of some public debate - is rooted in the 1999 Trails Master Plan.
The Trails Plan called for developing 283 miles of paved, multiuse paths connecting communities throughout the region.
So far, about 105 miles of the trail system have been constructed, including about half of the 127 miles of trails planned for Tulsa.
The Trails Plan also envisioned the creation of 207 miles of on-street bikeways or lanes - only a fraction of which have been put in place.
Fourteen years later, the City Council is proposing $4.2 million in funding to implement the Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan when it is completed late next year.
The master plan would address the same area covered by the Trails Master Plan. The proposed city funding would cover implementation only within the city limits.
James Wagner of the Indian Nations Council of Governments said the Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan would not repeat work done in the Trails Master Plan - it would expand it.
Wagner noted that the Bicycle/ Pedestrian Master Plan would provide two things the Trails Master Plan lacks: links from the trail system to neighborhoods and a comprehensive assessment of the city's sidewalk inventory.
"East of Yale (Avenue), there is almost nothing in place that is connecting the neighborhoods," Wagner said.
Two forces were behind the push to develop a Bicycle/ Pedestrian Master Plan: the city's Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which included creating such a plan among its 2012 goals, and the city itself, which called for the creation of bike and pedestrian master plans in its latest comprehensive development plan.
The Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee proposed in May that the City Council include $14.75 million in the upcoming capital improvements package to implement a Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan.
Councilors ended up cutting the proposed funding to $4.2 million.
That figure was based on the cost - as presented by the Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee - to put in place 50 miles of on-street bikeways, including five miles of protected bikeways, 40 miles of painted bike lanes and five miles of bike boulevards.
The city has approximately 4,300 lane miles, meaning 50 miles of on-street bikeways would cover just more than 1 percent of the city's lane miles.
The proposed bike lanes are what some people questioned during the city's recent town hall meetings on the proposed capital improvements package.
But Shannon Compton, chairwoman of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said those concerns are unfounded.
"The projects listed are simply examples of what other cities have done, and what might be possible in the Bike/Pedestrian Master Plan process," she said.
Compton said the pedestrian portion of the plan is just as important, noting that it will look at ways to improve sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and pedestrian signals as well as address other issues.
"People really care about sidewalks," she said.
The bike portion of the master plan is not focused strictly on bike lanes but would look at items such as neighborhood bikeways and "just putting up Share the Road signs," Compton said.
"We have an excellent trail system for recreational purposes, but for everyday trips to the store, to the doctor, to school, to work - that trail system doesn't provide the best access," she said. "So we want to help with those day-to-day activities.
The Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan will cost approximately $300,000 and address the needs of the entire region. It is being paid for with federal, local and private dollars.
Wagner said the plan will be created with public input and reviewed by the Transportation Advisory Board and other public bodies.
"In the scope of work for the consultant, there is language that says each of the communities will be able to review and comment on the proposed master plan for their area," he said.
Because the plan would become part of the city's comprehensive development plan, it must be recommended for approval by the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission after a public hearing and adopted by the City Council after another public hearing.
Councilors have already agreed to require that the implementation of the plan be approved by the City Council.
Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: A road more traveled
