Shenandoah commission plans for new on-road bike routes

A new proposal from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission states that every time a new street is built or road improvement is made, a bike lane also will be included in the project.

The CSPDC’s plan is to integrate the central portion of the Shenandoah Valley with bicycle paths. The area includes Rockingham, Augusta, Bath, Highland and Rockbridge Counties.

"The bike plan is regional in scope. We are working closely with the city to ensure that there is cooperation, connectivity and a seamless bike plan in place when both [greenways] plans are implemented," said Bonnie Riedesel, senior planner for the Central Shenandoah Planning District.

"We have basically adopted the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan, implemented some of its policy and rewrote our own proposal," said Drew Williams, transportation planner for the City of Harrisonburg.

As far as funding for the plan goes, "different localities will definitely have to chip in," Williams said. "But we are hoping that this is one of many innovative ways in which the private businesses will be able to partner up with the city."

Riedesel said the recently completed "Greenways Plan," which promotes open space projects, had a recommendation to develop a regional bicycle facility plan that would "identify on-road bike routes," or routes running adjacent to existing roadways.

Riedesel is very interested in the input of JMU students. "Another point we are trying to make is that we want to hear from both cyclists and non-cyclists alike to get input into the planning process." There are surveys available at www.cspdc.org. These surveys will help determine where the bike paths will most likely be constructed, as well as how much attention should be placed on this project.