2019.09.23 Council Agenda Item 10

Summary

Discussion regarding the 2016 Falmouth Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and when and how to re-engage the public to see if there is a demand for changes to this plan.

A public comment period will not be included with this item.

ACTION: Council action is not anticipated.

Description

Background:

The Town developed a 2016 Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan in 2015-16. This plan updated and integrated the 2002 Trails Master Plan and 2003 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan into a single plan that outlined recommended and prioritized infrastructure improvements that will interconnect Falmouth’s pedestrian and bicycle network of trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, and paved shoulders. The plan was informed by extensive public outreach. It is intended to be used over the next 20 years as a guide or reference tool to prepare capital improvement plans and road designs and review future improvement requests from citizens and projects proposed by others.

On May 23, 2016, the Council approved a resolution that stated that the Council:

  • supports the vision of the 2016 Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan, but not necessarily every recommended action and does not commit to the allocation of funding that will be required to implement any specific action,
  • agrees to use the plan as a reference document in developing its Annual Work Plans, operating and capital improvements budgets, and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) development plans, and
  • requests that Town staff prepare and submit a draft Bicycle-Pedestrian Work Plan for Council review that recommends the highest priority actions of the plan for implementation for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

On July 25, 2016, the Council accepted the two year work plan prepared by staff.

Since then, staff has worked on implementing the top priority actions and conducted two stakeholder meetings, one on October 26, 2016 and one on February 16, 2017. A third stakeholder meeting is contemplated for November 2019 (date TBD).

Current status:

The Council is interested to learn the history of the 2016 Plan, how it was developed, a summary of its recommended actions, how priorities were established, and how the plan is being implemented. The Council would also like to discuss when and how to re-engage the public to see if there is a demand for changes to the 2016 Plan.

Attachments:

  • Presentation for September 23, 2019 meeting