Oxford updates bike-and-pedestrian master plan; staff to seek council approval for cost estimates

Mister Perry (City staff) presented the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, a $150,000 project funded via federal transit grants and delivered with BCRTA as a pass-through. The plan links priority walking and biking routes to transit, schools and employment centers and includes construction cost estimates to make projects shovel-ready for grant applications.

Why it matters: Staff emphasized that providing cost estimates increases the likelihood of securing funding. Perry reported 160 survey responses and door‑to‑door outreach in neighborhoods with high shares of zero‑car households. "There was a 160 surveys completed," he said.

The plan identifies tradeoffs in retrofitting corridors — for example, narrower green buffers may be required to accommodate protected bike lanes or wider sidewalks — and may require removing parking on one or both sides of some streets. Staff aim to present priority routes and cost estimates to the city council at a December 16 work session, then send engineers to produce schematic (about 30%) designs and cost estimates for grant applications.

No formal vote was taken; commissioners asked for further studies (a Locust Street focus study was requested by the parking and transportation board) and discussed mechanisms to require proportional improvements from adjacent private development where applicable.