During the 01/24/2022 Municipal Services Committee, the committee received a report on the Annual Update To The 5-Year Bike Lane and Trail Plan.
Traffic Engineer Eric Lom told them that this plan is updated every year just as the 5-year paving plan and 5-year utility plan are updated. It is meant to show the work that is either planned in the next 5-years or budgeted for in the next 5-years. Each year they look at what transpired during the budgeting process and update the plan accordingly.
He noted that this was a tough year for capital improvement project budgeting, so there were not a lot of projects planned for the next 5 years. For the most part, bike lane and trail projects got pushed back because the corresponding paving projects got pushed back. Broadly speaking, the budget constraints the city is experiencing has caused projects to be put off. He pointed out that the trestle trail which had originally been budgeted for 2023 was now off the 5-year plan entirely due to budget issues, and there were many other similar situations.
Alderperson Joe Martin (District 4) asked if they thought about possibly funding trails and bike lanes through sponsorships and naming rights.
Traffic Engineer Lom was not familiar with any conversations having taken place about that. He said there had been some funding for the trestle trail project tied to naming rights.
Alderperson Martin applauded the overall work being done on the bike lane and trail plan.
Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) echoed that appreciation. He thought they had a good plan and vision of how to build a safer, more connective, more efficient way to allow people to move around via foot and bike. It was just a matter of being able to implement the plan.
He also wanted to clarify that most of the projects on the plan were tied to road reconstruction projects.
Traffic Engineer Lom confirmed that was the mostly the case with the exception of the bike lane retrofit projects. Those happen to already constructed roads and usually involve removing parking and replacing it with bike lanes. He said there were a number of those projects and specifically pointed out South Telulah Avenue, North Oneida Street, and some sections of Capitol Drive. He noted that those projects tend to be somewhat controversial. They’ve also been difficult to fund for the last few years because they come out of operations funding.
The committee had no further questions, and the item was an information item so there was no vote.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=922394&GUID=E81A6D7F-2946-47B6-9BE7-69850ED8D892
Be the first to reply