A recent report on bicycle accessibility shows some areas where Colorado Springs biking infrastructure could improve.
The report is part of the city's Bicycle Master Plan. It found that only 0.7% of Colorado Springs residents commute on bikes, compared to 1.3% statewide. Among other things, it also brought up frequent high speed limits as an impediment to safe biking.
Kate Brady is the senior bicycle planner in the city's public works department. She says for many residents, biking isn't just a hobby.
"A lot of people in our community cannot drive, either because they don't have a car or because they are too young or too old or have a medical condition," Brady says. "I think that we want a city that works for everybody."
Brady says the planning department is working with Mountain Metropolitan Transit to coordinate bike trails and corridors with bus routes.
Jessica Fields with Toole Design Group, an outside firm the city has contracted to help create the Bike Master Plan, says one possible area of improvement is extending the biking culture to those who are not already cyclists.
"If that were more of the focus of some of the education and encouragement programs, we think that the city could make some big improvements in terms of having bicycling be part of more the every day identity for Colorado Springs," Fields says.
The public works department hopes to present the plan to city council by the end of the summer.
There will be an open house to discuss the Bike Master Plan on May 3rd at Penrose Library from 5 to 7pm.
