Biking and Pedestrian options for Oskaloosa discussed
Mark Wyatt of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition talks with community members during a workshop in Oskaloosa November 17, 2010
Main Street of Oskaloosa head a public workshop at the Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation Center, 2055 238th St on Wednesday, Nov. 17, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. covering bicycling and pedestrian strategies that could benefit the Main Street District by improving those capabilities locally.
The workshop was led by Mark Wyatt, the Executive Director of The Iowa Bicycle Coalition. The coalition based out of Coralville, Iowa. “The Iowa Bicycle Coalition builds partnerships, educates Iowans, and helps to establish safe and enjoyable bicycle transportation and recreation networks throughout Iowa.” is their mission statement.
The object to this is also how to create better connectivity for bicyclists and pedestrians between the district and other destinations such as trail networks, shopping, and schools.
Attendee’s listened to examples of how other cities and towns have used bike and pedestrian traffic to help build their economy, provide better access to services with better utilization of road space. Some idea’s suggested were painted lines to help designate area’s for riders and pedestrians.
I asked Mayor Krutzfeldt his feelings who he would see as beneficiaries of any proposed changes to bicycling or pedestrian lanes or walkways? Krutzfeldt replied “There may be a benefit to parents of kids and drivers. Folks in the room expressed concern about kids riding their bikes in higher traffic areas and that could give both parents and drivers heartburn. A driver just can’t be sure what a kid will do as they approach a bicycle. It would be good to have the bike traffic controlled.”
Bike parking, cross walks and many more related subjects involving best utilization of resources. Many of these idea’s to help improve can be done with little cost and would add greatly to the experience of the community. Once again I turned to Mayor Krutzfeldt if he seen Oskaloosa implementing any of those items discussed last night, and what might they be? “There were some good ideas presented last night. I don’t want to hazard a guess yet on what will happen, but it increased awareness of solutions other communities have implemented certainly helps us in knowing ahead of time what works. I would expect changes to be initiated through the streets department.” is what Krutzfeldt feels on the subject currently.
“I was thankful to have this information presented to us last night. Frequently this kind of workshop is held during the day and folks have to take the time to drive to it. Having it done this conveniently certainly made it more likely to be attended. I also appreciated the different point of view from a bike enthusiast. More often than not I hear from motorists and tend to think of our transportation issues from that perspective.” speaking of last nights meeting.
sullivan
