City begins update of bicycle and pedestrian plan
<p>A bicyclist rides along the path in Riverside Park. Heidi Desch / Whitefish Pilot</p>
Do you walk or ride your bike through Whitefish? Do you have suggestions for how the city can improve its paths, walkways, and roads in the future?
Then the city of Whitefish wants to hear from you as it updates its bicycle and pedestrian master plan.
The city is holding a group bike ride around Whitefish Friday to gather suggestions and two community meetings in May to also get input.
The document will help guide city decision makers in creating and maintaining bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Whitefish over the next 20 years. The plan looks at the current state of bicycle and pedestrian options, uses input from the community to choose priorities, and then offers suggestions on how to achieve the selected goals and priorities.
“The bike and pedestrian plan attempts to look at where we’ve come from, where we are now and where we want to try to go,” Public Works Director Craig Workman said. “We want to talk to people that are out there biking and walking to see what their needs are, and also those who aren’t and find why they’re not.”
The city adopted its current bicycle and pedestrian master plan in 1998 and has adopted amendments to the plan in 2003 and 2007. WGM Group has been hired for the current update, which is expected to be completed this fall.
Workman said since its been so long since the last update to the plan, this update is an all-inclusive look at the plan rather than just an amendment.
“As the world changes and technology changes people are getting around in different ways,” he said. “With that our priorities change and we need to look at our priorities and how we spend our resources.”
The goal of the plan update is to provide the city with a series of actions that can be strategically implemented, including adding to the city’s existing system of trails to create a complete walking and bicycling network throughout the city.
The group bike tour is Friday, April 29 at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning at interim City Hall. Citizens, city staff and the consultant from WGM Group will ride around town with the goal of doing a visual inventory of the existing characteristics and any problem areas. There will also be two community workshop meetings at the Whitefish High School cafeteria on Thursday, May 19 and Monday, May 23 from 7-8 p.m.
“We wanted to get the experience from the bikers perspective,” Workman said of the Friday bike ride. “We hope people will take the time to bike around with us and show us their concerns.”
An online survey has also been set up through the city’s website to get input.
For more information, visit the city’s website at www.cityofwhitefish.org and click on bicycle pedestrian master plan updates on the left side under City News or call 863-2540.