Bike Routes Master Plan
Walkable Communities has developed a master plan for bike routes in the city. The Engineering Division continues to increase bike lanes throughout the city as opportunities arise. The division has installed signs to designate the bike routes and painted bike lanes on many of the streets including:
- Elm Avenue
- Ganson Street
- High Street
- Jackson Street
- Mechanic Street
- North Street
- Wildwood Avenue
School Zones
Work within Walkable Communities has included grants for installation of more visible school advanced warning signs, school crosswalk signs, and crosswalk markings on the routes for students walking to Frost Elementary School.
Safe Routes to School
Engineering has worked with Safe Routes to School ensuring the routes that students take to school make necessary safety improvements. Safe Routes to School helped to identify walking routes to schools and made improvements to these routes by the addition of zebra crosswalk markings and signage. A traffic island was installed at Randolph and High to make it safer to cross the street at this wide intersection.
Pedestrian Improvements
- A mid-block crosswalk was installed on West Michigan Avenue between Mechanic and Jackson with signs to pedestrians to cross only at marked crosswalks and to drivers to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk.
- Additional safety improvements have included installation of zebra crosswalks at all signalized intersections.
King Center & Weatherwax Drive
In other efforts to promote a healthy atmosphere within the city, the division has made improvements to the existing non-motorized trail between the King Center and Weatherwax Drive. The city is working with the Fitness Council to apply for grants to install way-finding signs along the trail. The inter-city trail will connect with the Falling Waters Trail.
Central Business District & Armory Arts Project
Another non-motorized pedestrian pathway is being planned that will connect the city's central business district to the Armory Arts Project. The plans call for a connection to the central business district by development of the Urban Arts leg of the city’s Riverwalk. The pathway will feature a variety of both temporary and permanent art installations throughout the project.
