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Draft Active Transportation Plan advances as committee agrees to study Pheasant Branch options
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft Active Transportation Plan updating the 2009 bicycle-pedestrian plan; committee members asked for protected-bike-lane language for school routes. A contentious proposal to address safety on Pheasant Branch Road — including an alternate trail alignment through the conservancy — drew strong debate and will be included as a study option in the plan.
City planning staff presented a draft Active Transportation Plan that updates the 2009 bicycle and pedestrian plan and lays out policy actions, a revised bicycle network map and appendices on practice and funding.
Associate planner Scott Heacock told the committee the draft pulls together public-survey input, regional plans and internal project lists to create a consolidated resource for staff, elected officials and the public. The plan highlights completed ‘‘missing links,’’ an anticipated 2027 underpass under Century Avenue, and a proposed implementation approach organized around five goals including safe route design and promotion.
During review, members asked for stronger language on protected bike lanes for routes to schools. One committee member said explicitly adding protected facilities for school corridors would make it easier to justify such infrastructure during project design and grant-seeking.
A separate but related agenda item prompted a heated exchange about Pheasant Branch Road. Alder (District 6) introduced a concept to treat the corridor as a ‘‘missing link’’ and to consider either improving the trail along the conservancy or urbanizing the roadway. He cited a past pedestrian fatality and rising pedestrian and bicycle demand with nearby development; he said the issue should not be left unaddressed in the new plan.
Kiersten Cloughner, vice chair of the Ped Bike Transit Committee, urged committees to consider vulnerable users and year-round school routes, saying the committee must not let the conversation be sidelined by a single constituencys concern. ‘‘We need to be able to get kids to school safely year round,’’ she said.
Conservancy advocates and some committee members urged careful outreach and raised environmental concerns: unpaved trail users often prefer gravel and vegetated surfaces, and paving inside a conservancy raises habitat and hydrology concerns. Staff and utility representatives explained constraints related to a large sewer interceptor and heavy utility vehicles, and discussed design compromises such as boardwalk segments where necessary.
Committee members and staff agreed the plan should not be silent on Pheasant Branch Road. Staff suggested adding the corridor as a tier-2 priority and documenting a range of options in an appendix — from improving the existing trail to urbanizing the road — so the choices and trade-offs are transparent ahead of public open houses and further stakeholder engagement.
What’s next: Staff will collect committee feedback, finalize the draft for public open houses, and include the Pheasant Branch corridor as an option with described trade-offs for public comment and further technical review.
