The recently released “KATS Pedestrian, Greenways, and Transit Plan” provides intriguing guidelines for “a network of both on-street and off-road bicycle and pedestrian facilities” that would more than double the existing infrastructure and link it more closely with transit routes. As noted in the plan document, the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study (KATS) plan “lays out a prioritization and implementation guide that KATS can use to track completion of projects. The public can use this plan to understand where and when new non-motorized projects will be constructed in the future.” As members of “the public,” KBC members are encouraged to read (and savor!) the plan and then do what’s possible to encourage local municipalities to allocate funding and apply for grants to help make the dreams put forth in the Plan become reality. Boosting bicycling infrastructure from 250 miles to 525 miles would be well worth the effort. The Executive Summary is available here (KATS Plan Summary pdf file 2.7 mBytes) and with the entire KATS Pedestrian, Greenways, and Transit Plan at http://katsmoves.org/documents/.
Life is better on a bike!
