Proposals for changes on more than 100 corridors, ranging from creekside trail expansions to freeway overcrossings that would make it easier to commute by people power, will be unveiled this week at city workshops.
"I would ride more if there were more alternatives where I felt safer and didn't have to deal with major traffic," said Michelle Bellefeuille, 59, a garden designer who works at home near the junior college.
She took a ride last Sunday along a new,
unpaved trail along Santa Rosa Creek near Fulton Road with her husband, Craig Gaevert, who is president of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club.
"It makes his day if he can ride to work," she said, adding she supports "anything we can do to make it easier to ride around."
Though most of the proposed projects are less than a mile in length, some -- such as a proposal to build a bike lane on Summerfield Road between Montgomery and Bethards drives -- stretch more than
2 miles.
Another proposed bike lane would stretch 3 miles along Sebastopol Road between North Wright Road and Olive Street.
Others incorporate major changes involving several government agencies, such as an already-approved bike and pedestrian Highway 101 overcrossing to provide a route for travel between the junior college area on the east side of the freeway and Coddingtown and a proposed commuter rail station on the west side.
Smaller projects would include creating or changing access to existing paths and trails, such as those along Piner and Paulin creeks. Officials said those routes could provide commuting access for pedestrians and bicyclists if pavement was added.
In all, 86 miles of trails and roadways stand to be developed for pedestrian and bicyclist use.
"There's a lot to consider," said Fabian Favila a city transit planner who is overseeing creation of the Santa Rosa Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. "There's what types of crosswalks are preferred; where sidewalks need to be infilled, if the neighborhood wants them infilled; where bike paths are going to be; where bike lanes are going to be; and what that does to parking."
The updated plan is expected to be finished this fall, but not all of the projects listed on the draft will be on the final proposal, said Steve Frye, Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Board member.
"There are some that are very doable, but others that just won't work because the roads aren't wide enough," he said. "They may look great on paper, but we want to do as much as we can with as little money as possible."
The draft list of projects is an update of the 2001 Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan, which prioritized projects such as the Highway 101 overcrossing, but focused mostly on bicyclists' needs, Favila said.
With those needs well in hand, the 2008 update could focus more on pedestrians, particularly those who are older, Favila said.
Possible projects could include extending the periods of traffic stops to allow pedestrians more time to cross streets, adding countdown crosswalks that tell pedestrians how much time is left before a light changes or adding a pedestrian peninsula at each crosswalk to shorten the distance across the street.
The advisory board is asking for public comment in ranking the proposals and adding projects not currently on the list.
Priority could be given to projects that provide maximum impact with minimum cost or worry, said Mayor Bob Blanchard.
"Major overhauls cost big bucks," he said. "I think instead we'll be looking at ways to share lanes and educate people about making room for bicyclists."
You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.com.
