A few thoughts about the Bike/Pedestrian Master Plan.
It’s not done.
It’s not even started, in fact, because no one has been hired to create it.
In other words, it doesn’t seem worth squabbling over – at least not yet.
The nonexistent plan was the topic of sometimes heated discussion at every one of the last five town hall meetings on the city’s proposed $919.9 million capital improvements package.
As currently configured, the proposal includes $4.2 million to implement the plan once there is one.
That won’t be for at least another 15 months, according to officials at the Indian Nations Council of Governments. INCOG is gathering the public and private dollars committed to create the plan and expects to hire a consultant soon.
Putting the master plan together, officials say, will be a public process, with public meetings and consultations with the City Council, the Transportation Advisory Board and other public bodies.
And keep this in mind: Whatever plan is created, it will become part of the city’s comprehensive plan.
That means it would have to 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.
And councilors have already agreed to require that the implementation of the plan be approved by the City Council.
All of this should put to rest concerns that the plan will leave the city awash in on-street bike lanes or some other abomination.
The truth is, we just don’t know yet.
At least that’s my understanding of the process.
A process, by the way, that left me with one lingering question: If there is no plan, how did the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee know to ask for $4.2 million to implement it?
Turns out that’s not what the committee asked for. They wanted more: $14.75 million.
But that number, BPAC leaders say, was drawn from a list of potential projects – including 50 miles of on-street bikeways – that could possibly come out of a master plan.
They weren’t specific project requests, the BPAC says, just food for thought with price tags attached.
Councilors ended up proposing $4.2 million in funding for the master plan, knocking out $10 million listed for trails and $500,000 for pedestrian safety measures.
The $4.2 million was the total cost listed for the 50 miles of on-street bikeways, including five miles of protected bikeways, 40 miles of painted bike lanes and five miles of bike boulevards.
But the details of what is appropriate for Tulsa will be the work of the Bicycle/Pedistrian Master Plan
By the way, the city has approximately 4,300 lane miles.
So even if all 50 miles of on-street bikeways were installed, they would cover just more than 1 percent of the city’s lane miles.
So there you have it.
What am I missing here?
Why all the controversy?
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