Regional Bikeway System Planned for Sacramento Area

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) is starting public outreach for a project that would create an interconnected network of bikeways in the region, reports Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee.

An online survey asks local residents to "submit their bike travel interests" to help the agency formulate a plan for the bike network. "The region already has a disconnected patchwork of off-street biking corridors that will serve as a starting point. It includes the 32-mile American River Bike Trail, the off-street bike trail systems in Folsom and Davis. There are also levee-top and creekside trails around the region and the blustery Yolo Causeway bike path that connects Davis with West Sacramento." Additional bike projects are in the works in Sacramento, Citrus Heights, and Orangevale.

"SACOG plans this summer to design a better-linked system that fills in the blanks and will make it easier and safer to travel on bikes - both for long and short rides." Connecting the region would require an estimated additional 300 miles of trail. "The plan would make it easier for cities to win funding for more localized bike routes, such as one in Yuba City and Marysville that would take advantage of an unused Union Pacific rail corridor to link residential areas, shopping districts, parks, medical facilities, and offices." The plan would also focus on ensuring equity in bike infrastructure and improving safety for cyclists in densely packed central business districts.