The Norwalk City Bike Walk Commission on Monday detailed a draft strategic plan for 2026 that centers on expanding safe-cycling education, reaching Spanish-speaking residents and building partnerships with local organizations.

Emily Burnhaman, who called the meeting to order, said the commission aims to continue training League-certified instructors and to host safe-cycling classes in both English and Spanish. "One of our big feats this year was to get a new league certified instructor," Burnhaman said, noting training is a weekend course that costs "about $500." She urged the commission to identify candidates or partner organizations to sustain the city’s push toward bronze-level recognition from the League of American Bicyclists.

Commissioners discussed making the classes more hands-on. "The second part to that was much more engaging — you got on the road and did obstacle-course things," one commissioner said in praise of a prior session led by an instructor referenced as Chaz. Several commissioners volunteered to pursue certification or to work with outside partners; Brian Clark said he would consider pursuing the certification himself.

The commission also prioritized bilingual outreach. Julia of the Norwalk Health Department offered translation support for social posts and materials: "If there's any post that we want to translate, I'm happy to send it to my colleagues to look over it before we put it out there," she said. Commissioners proposed a workflow where draft posts are shared internally for translation and review before publication.

Commissioners identified several possible partners to host courses, promote events or supply volunteers, including REI, Cannondale, Smart Cycles and the Norwalk Community Health Center. Emily said the commission would explore collaborating with the public schools for safe-route programming and with local bike shops to provide mechanical support and outreach.

The commission asked Manny Salgado to schedule an education subcommittee meeting early in 2026 to formalize the proposals and invited interested commissioners to join. Burnhaman said the full strategic plan will be circulated to commissioners for comment and returned in January for finalization.

The meeting closed with a reminder that the commission intends to present an annual report and its strategic plan to the common council after the new mayor and council are seated.