Consultants to present proposals for city bicycling

In parts of New York City, potted plants separate bicyclists from traffic.

In Copenhagen, bike lanes raised a few inches higher than the roads give riders a sense of safety.

As Wichita continues to link up its bicycle paths piece by piece, it also is looking for new ways to keep riders safe while providing more routes through the city, some that might even link up with trail systems in other communities.

On Wednesday, city officials will get their first look at proposals from consultants who hope to spend the next year developing a bicycle master plan.

The idea is to spend up to $195,000 in federal stimulus money on a plan that evaluates old bike path ideas while considering new concepts that have proven successful in other cities.

Surveys show Wichitans want improvement.

The city says that a draft copy of the 2010 National Citizen Survey, which isn't publicly available, ranks Wichita 21 out of 29 comparable cities for the ease of bicycle travel.

Meanwhile, Wichitans ranked trail corridors and bike paths second only to neighborhood parks as what the city parks system needs most in a 2007 parks survey.

"Anecdotally, when we went out during PROS (parks, recreation and open space) plans meetings, they'd express that 'yeah, we like the trails system but we don't know where they are, where they go and they don't connect much,' " said Scott Wadle, a senior planner with the city.

A consultant provides expertise in the best ways to keep bicyclists safe and staff time to focus intensely on the plan, he said.

For example, a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that riders have 28 percent less risk riding in bicycle-exclusive paths along the roads than mixing in with street traffic.

Wichita already has 54 miles of bike paths (both on street and off street) as well as 9 miles of bike lanes.

About 220 miles of bike routes have been recommended, but the master plan is expected to prioritize those plans and eliminate ideas that may not work.

City Council members are expected to vote June 14 on which consultant will create the master plan. The plan is expected to be ready by the end of September 2012.

"I think a huge benefit of this is that it will provide citizens an opportunity to weigh in on what the most important aspects are for them," Wadle said.

Doug Kupper, director of parks and recreation, said that people's feedback will be key.

"The plan is only as good as the citizen involvement," he said.

Barry Carroll, a representative from the Bike/Walk Alliance-Wichita who has been involved with the city's planning process, said the master plan will help local cycling groups better connect with City Hall.

He said Wichita, like many other midwestern cities, has fallen behind in providing safe places for bicyclists to ride.

"In a lot of cities, traffic engineers made the streets as wide as possible and the speed limit as fast as possible to get motorists from Point A to Point B without considering the safety of bicyclists and walkers," he said.

Recently painted bike lanes on First and Second streets east of downtown are a great start, he said, but Wichita still lags in miles of bike lanes.

"It's hard to go back and retrofit bike lanes," he said. "It's important to be in on the planning end of things as well."

Mountain bike trail

While the city and its consultant work on a master plan for traditional bike lanes and paths, a group of mountain bikers plans to construct an off-road course in southwest Wichita, Kupper said.

Under the plan approved by the park board and the District 4 Advisory Board, the Kansas Single Track Society would build a nearly 2-mile course in a wooded area of Air Capital Memorial Park south of Kellogg and west of Tyler.

The mountain bike group plans about $12,000 in construction labor, along with roughly $2,000 worth of maintenance each year.

The city's role is simply allowing mountain biking in the park — off-trail riding is illegal in most Wichita parks — as well as posting some signs.

It should also help cut down on illegal riding at the nearby Pawnee Prairie Park, where people often ride horses.

The trail would give the city a third mountain bike path.

One path on private land, called Miller's Meadows, is near Pawnee and 143rd East. The other, also built in collaboration with the Single Track Society, is at Chapin Park on MacArthur east of Hydraulic.

But the path at Chapin Park is considered too tame for many riders, Kupper said.

The path at Air Capital Park wouldn't provide competition-grade riding, but it would challenge riders.

"There's large piles of concrete and debris they think will be perfect for them to lay the track over," Kupper said. "It gives them something to climb and jump and go through."

This story was originally published April 26, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Consultants to present proposals for city bicycling."