Bicycle advisory committee releases updated city bike‑route map; committee favors separated multimodal paths over painted lanes

The Bicycle Advisory Committee presented an updated Norman bike‑route map and discussed next steps to publish and promote it.

David (identified in the meeting as a Bicycle Advisory Board representative) and committee members said the map had not been comprehensively updated since 2014. The updated draft shows existing bike lanes, multimodal paths and signed routes, and removes some routes the bicycling community deemed unsafe. Committee members said the draft still contains errors and that the board will review it again before release.

Staff and committee members said they plan to make the map available online and through the city GIS system and to print brochures and posters. The committee secured an initial print funding arrangement with the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) to pay for initial prints in brochure and poster sizes, and staff explained they plan to use a QR code linking to the most current map online so printed materials remain useful as the map evolves.

Council and staff discussed infrastructure preferences. Several speakers said the city is moving away from unprotected, in‑street painted bike lanes (the green‑paint treatment will not be widely reinstalled as it proved costly and problematic) and instead prioritizing separated multimodal paths (10–12 feet where feasible) or protected lanes with physical barriers.

The committee also discussed outreach to local cycling clubs and businesses that host rides, the potential to export map data to route apps, and opportunities to integrate new trail funding and planned projects (for example, planned multimodal work along Tecumseh where an I‑35 interchange project is anticipated).

Why this matters: an up‑to‑date, accurate bike‑route map helps residents plan safe trips, supports grant and project applications, and guides where infrastructure investments should be made.