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Ocean Springs aldermen agree to workshop to update bicycle safety plan after residents urge action
Summary
After multiple public commenters urged education and infrastructure changes for e-bikes and cyclists, aldermen agreed to schedule a workshop to update the city—s 2018 bicycle and pedestrian plan and invited police, public works, planning staff and community groups to participate.
Residents and board members pressed Ocean Springs aldermen to take practical steps on bicycle and pedestrian safety, and the board agreed to schedule a workshop to update the city—s 2018 plan.
Liz Elmore, president of OSPREES (Ocean Springs Pedestrian Residents for Exercise and Youth Safety), urged the board to include education in the city—s approach and offered her group's assistance. "We believe that education comes before enforcement," she said, noting community concerns about e-bikes and a desire to avoid cutting trees for sidewalks. Other residents described near-misses with motorized bicycles and urged that homeowners associations be included in planning.
Aldermen said the 2018 plan provides a useful base but acknowledged changes since that date, including annexations and increased e-bike use. One alderman asked the city to invite key staff and stakeholders to the workshop and said the city should overlay the plan with upcoming road projects to avoid duplicative spending.
The board directed staff to circulate several possible dates and to include police, public works, planning and community groups (including OSPREES and heritage-trails organizations) in the session. No formal vote was necessary; the item was placed as a work-session scheduling matter.
What happens next: staff will send several proposed dates and include invited departments and community organizations in a workshop to review and update the bicycle and pedestrian plan.
