GC&SU plans bike route

A public meeting was held Tuesday to discuss the regional bicycle and pedestrian plan.

The downtown west-campus connector project was created by the Regional Development Center.

Phil Clark, director of the project, has high hopes that the students will accept this project as a positive addition to the community.

“Students should understand that we are not trying to take away their cars,” he said.

“Upon completion of the facilities, students (as well as faculty, staff, and community residents) will have more choices for the short commute between Bobcat Village and Main Campus,” Clark said.

The Regional Advisory Committee, which consists of fifty members who each have a specific interest in the project, walked the approximate mile commute this summer.

Clark said that the pedestrian route is basically complete because of the existing sidewalks but that the real task will be the bike route.

” To create the bike route roads will have to be resurfaced and bike lanes will have to be marked,” he said.

Clark also addressed the safety issue. He reinforced that safety was a primary concern of the committee.

“People should be able to feel safe when walking or riding their bicycles on the connector,” he said.

The plan calls for a five-year completion strategy.

Clark says that it will take a lot of work but with the help of various groups it will get completed.

“The majority of the people (in the region) want to see the project moving forward,” he said.

Clark plans to involve students.

“Student input would be a valuable asset to the committee,” he began,” I hope to add students to the committee in the near future,” he added.

“The primary focus of the project is to create less air pollution and to provide community members with alternative more physically beneficial modes of transportation,” Clark concluded.

The next step is finalizing the plans and drafting a written document.

Any questions concerning the meeting or the project may be directed to Phil Clark at (478) 751-6160.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 15 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry