Aug 11

El Paso City Council Approves Comprehensive Bike Plan

On August 9, 2016, El Paso City Council approved the City of El Paso’s new Comprehensive Bike Plan, which provides a roadmap for the city to create a comprehensive network of bike infrastructure over the next decade.

The City of El Paso Bike Plan was developed by Capital Improvement Department Planning Division staff and experts from Alta Planning + Design – one of the most experienced bicycle planning firms in the nation. The plan incorporates over a year of community feedback and input from stakeholders, which included five community meetings, two open houses, and numerous meetings held by the Bicycle Advisory Committee. To ensure synergy, the planning process included close coordination with agencies undertaking bicycle planning efforts, including the Texas Department of Transportation and the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The Bike Plan will also serve as a guide in identifying which routes are best for bicycling in order to create an interconnected network of bicycle lanes. The plan will also serve as a guide during the planning and construction of new bike facilities including bicycle boulevards, protected bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, and two way cycle tracks. According to an inventory of existing bike infrastructure, the City of El Paso has approximately 140 miles of bike facilities. The plan recommends between 900 and 1,100 miles of bike infrastructure which can be built over time.

“This plan will allow the city to develop infrastructure which accommodates all users including motorists, pedestrians, mass transit users and bicyclists,” said Fred Lopez, Assistant Director of the City of El Paso’s Capital Improvement Department. “The plan is an important component of improving El Paso’s quality of life by encouraging regional cooperation and recommends key changes to planning processes and land use policies to ensure bicycle infrastructure is more thoughtfully integrated into existing roadways, off-street paths, and new development.”
The plan was developed in a manner that will allow for modifications to adapt to future changing roadway and traffic conditions. To view how the complete Bike Plan, maps of the proposed bicycle routes, and learn how its proposal will make an impact in different parts of the city, visit ElPasoTexas.gov/bikeplan.

This plan is part of the City of El Paso’s commitment to enhance El Paso’s regional comprehensive transportation system. View the complete El Paso Bike Plan.