City staff seeks planning commission members for Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Justin Mills, assistant engineer with the City of Beaumont Public Works capital improvement projects division, told the Planning Commission the city recently began an update to its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and that he will serve as the project manager. "My name is Justin Mills, and I am assistant engineer with the city of Beaumont public works department and the capital improvement projects division," he said, and described the plan’s goals: evaluate collision data, identify gaps in the bike/ped network, and find opportunities to connect neighborhoods, schools, parks, downtown and transit.

Mills said the plan will evaluate modern facility types — including separated bikeways, shared‑use paths and safer crossings — and that recommended improvements will be packaged into projects that can be placed into the city’s capital improvement program or coordinated with other public works work. He invited interested commissioners to participate in a Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) that will include representatives from city departments, community organizations and other stakeholders and is expected to meet approximately quarterly. Mills left business cards at the dais for commissioners interested in participating. The commission took no formal action; staff later offered to connect commissioners with Public Works for BPAC participation.