Regional Bikeway Plan

MVRPC Comprehensive Local-Regional Bikeways Plan (CLRBP)
The purpose of the CLRBP is to create a vision and objectives for improving bicycling in the Miami Valley over the next 30 years.  Our region has focused on creating a fantastic network of trails in the past 30 years, and we treat these trails as the “bike interstate” system in our plan.  But because the opportunities for building new trails are very limited, it is time to shift our focus to the streets; to connecting our neighborhoods into the larger trail system and using our transportation infrastructure for multiple modes.  This plan is designed as a toolkit for local communities, and creates a regional priority model for the local plans to follow.

Regional Recommendations
The CLRBP was put together with a great deal of public input over a 2 year period.  The plan recommends new trail projects, of course.  Also, included is a recommended network of streets to be improved in ways that make them more accommodating of bicycle use.  And, as the plan is “comprehensive,” there are recommendations for encouragement, education and enforcement programs that will enhance the overall environment for cyclists.

Local Bike Friendly Community Plans
At the end of the regional public input process, the project asked which local communities that didn’t already have a bikeway plan would like one.  The response was solid – 11 communities stepped up to work with this project to create their own community plan, based on the Bike Friendly Communities model.  The communities were:

City of Dayton 
City of Troy
City of Riverside
Village of Yellow Springs/Miami Township
City of Miamisburg/Miami Township
City of Springboro
City of Huber Heights
City of Brookville
City of Fairborn
City of Bellbrook/Sugarcreek Township
City of West Carrollton.

The CLRBP and the Bike Friendly Community initiatives are about the local jurisdictions making their own communities bikeable by connecting to the regional network and by using Complete Streets, Safe Routes to Schools, the Five E’s and other tools.  The plan can be found at http://www.mvrpc.org/tr/bikePed.php.

Complete Streets
One of the priority projects in the Bikeways Plan was to explore a Complete Streets policy for the region. 

MVRPC is pleased to announce that a Complete Streets policy was approved in January 2011.  Complete Streets is a policy that encourages transportation planners and engineers to consistently design roadways with all users in mind – so motorists, transit riders, pedestrians, bicyclists, freight drivers, older people, children, and people with disabilities all have safe access to the transportation network.  This is a huge step for the Miami Valley.