Commission explores ways to encourage biking; staff point to multiuse trails and connectivity limits
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Summary
Commissioners discussed encouraging biking citywide. Staff pointed to the multiuse trail system and the active-transportation plan but said on-street connectivity and safety are limiting factors; staff proposed maps, trail signage and pilot programs as possible steps.
Commissioners asked on Aug. 6 how the Parks and Recreation Department could encourage more bicycling in Apache Junction. Staff said the city’s active transportation plan and the multiuse trail network are tools they can use publicly, but they cautioned that on-street connectivity is incomplete and that many neighborhoods lack safe, continuous bike lanes.
Staff described work already under way: GIS-created multiuse trail maps and upcoming folded “z-card” maps for distribution, newly installed trail markers, and a planned paved multipurpose path along US 60 (planning-level work and 15% design noted). Staff suggested low-cost pilot programs such as bike clubs, guided rides on the multiuse trail, family “open-streets” events and revival of a bike rodeo as possible ways to normalize cycling. Commissioners and staff also discussed past walking-school-bus initiatives and that school closures reduced some earlier bike-to-school activity.
Why it matters: Encouraging biking ties to health, recreation and the city’s active-transportation goals, but staff emphasized that agency coordination — especially with Public Works for on-street bike lanes and ADA/accessibility measures — will be necessary for larger street-level efforts. Staff said they will add some of the bicycle-promoting ideas to the strategic-plan outreach and consider programming through the department’s new outdoor-recreation coordinator.