[BikeLongmont] Multi-Modal Transportation Plan: I WANT YOUR INPUT

[Dave Swenson]

Richard --

Although I personally do most of my cycling on the street, I'm encountering more and more customers (especially baby boomers) who are getting back into cycling and dread riding on the steets.  For them as well as families and many other casual recreational riders, I feel that having a system of interconnecting bike paths is extremely important!  On the other hand, we should continue to address the issue of bike lanes on major thoroughfares.  If funding is the issue, safe riding on the streets is more important than interconnecting bike paths.  Why not both?  It may take some time, but it's worth planning for.

Thanks again for what you're doing to promote cycling in Longmont!

Dave Swenson
Bike-n-Hike

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Richard Masoner 
  To: 'bike at bicyclelongmont.org' 
  Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 4:18 PM
  Subject: [BikeLongmont] Multi-Modal Transportation Plan: I WANT YOUR INPUT


  The first meeting of the Longmont Multi-Modal Transportation Plan steering committee is this coming Monday. Craig Smith was selected to represent Bicycle Longmont in the steering committee. Craig is, unfortunately, out of town, so he asked me to fill in for him at the first meeting.

  The purpose of the MMTP is identify specific transportation facility and service investments over the next 20 years.

  I would like input from the group regarding what YOU want as far as bicycle transportation facilities go. Craig and I share the philosophy that bikes do just fine on the road, but I realize not everybody is comfortable riding on the road.

  One thing I hear a *lot* is a desire for a system of interconnected paths. The path system in the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan (LACP) shows what are essentially several isolated linear parks. There are several dashed green lines, but the lines don't connect with each other. These paths are not interconnected -- the only real way to get from the St. Vrain path to the McIntosh Lake path, for example, is by going on Hover Street, and the LACP does not show any future interconnection between the two except via an on-street bike lane on Airport Road.

  My question: If the city actually spent $$$ on interconnecting the path system (taking the money away from other important projects), would the people who say they want interconnections actually use them? And would they use the interconnected paths transportationally? In other words, is another Boulder-style duplicate transportation grid something that Longmont residents are really willing to spend money on?

  I frequently chat with people on the paths in town who are riding mal-adjusted Pacific Cycle bikes. Almost all of them drive to the trailhead and unload their bikes, in spite of the excellent on-street facilities (bike lanes) in this town. 44-foot roadways and 30 mph speed limits aren't good enough -- many people absolutely must have a completely segregated facility. I realize there are people on this list like this.  PLEASE let me know your thoughts, whether you're an occasional path rider on your Wal-Mart Mongoose, you're a wrong-way sidewalk cyclist, you're the experienced cross-country tourer, or you're a dedicated bike commuter.

  Because there is no pedestrian voice on the steering committee, I'm also interested in any comments from that viewpoint.

  I prefer email comments, but if you prefer you can call me at home at 3O3 - 682 - 3206. I'll be home tonight after the Artwalk, and I should be home most of the day Saturday.

  Richard Masoner




------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Bike mailing list
  Bike at bicyclelongmont.org
  http://www.bicyclelongmont.org/mailman/listinfo/bike

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://picek.bicyclelongmont.org/pipermail/bike/attachments/20040917/ea45c15d/attachment.htm