Title
Bike Corridor Pilot Project Update
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive the update. Briefing only; No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Receive the briefing on the Bike Corridor pilot project.
Staff Contact:
Michelle Swanson, AICP, Senior Program Specialist, Public Works Transportation, 360.753.8575
Presenter(s):
Michelle Swanson
Background and Analysis:
People have asked for an easier way to travel around Olympia by bike. In 2014, the City Council funded a pilot Bike Corridor project.
Bike Corridors are considered a "low-stress" bicycle facility and are intended to be inviting places to bike for people of a wide range of age and ability. They are streets that do not have much car traffic, yet they easily connect people to destinations. On Bike Corridors, people biking and people driving share the same lane.
The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) worked with City staff throughout 2014 to identify possible routes for the pilot project. The BPAC and staff evaluated the whole City for potential Bike Corridors. Several possible routes emerged from that process, which are good candidates for future Bike Corridors. In early 2015, the BPAC recommended the pilot project route that connects Lions Park to Sylvester Park, shown on the attached map.
Most of the pilot project was built in May 2016. The City added signs and pavement markings to the route. We changed some intersections to make them easier for people to bike through them. We also made those intersections easier for pedestrians to cross.
The last two blocks, between Jefferson and Washington Streets, will open this winter, once the apartment building at 7th Avenue & Jefferson Street is complete.
This is the first time the City has built this type of infrastructure. By building a pilot project first, people have a chance to see what a Bike Corridor is before moving forward with future routes. Because this ...
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