The Utah Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback through August 28 on the agency’s overall Active Transportation Plan, so it can “better understand” the community’s needs for more bike lanes, trails, multiuse paths, crosswalks, and sidewalks for state roads.
[Above photo by the Utah DOT]
“Community input is essential in making sure we build projects the right way,” Heidi Goedhart, Utah DOT’s active transportation manager, in a statement. “Our emphasis is to build a complete transportation system where people can choose how they travel.”
The agency added that public input will help it develop active transportation plans to provide better access to trails and paths on state routes. Active transportation is human-powered transportation like walking, biking, using a wheelchair, or hand cycling and provides more options for people to access jobs, education, and other services within their communities, the Utah DOT noted.
The agency said state residents could provide feedback in several ways: By visiting its active transportation project website at publicinput.com/udotplanning and responding via a quick survey and/or pin a location on a map; sending an email to planning@utah.gov; or phoning in comments to 385-360-1900.
Utah DOT’s active transportation efforts are the latest in a series of similar initiatives launched by state departments of transportation across the country.
The Ohio Department of Transportation, for example, recently unveiled a bicycling and pedestrian “framework” to advance statewide development of active transportation over the next five years.
The agency said its new Walk.Bike.Ohio plan – constructed over the last two years based on input from local governments, other state agencies, and the public – seeks to improve mobility, safety, and quality of life as part of “equitable investments” statewide in walking and bicycling infrastructure, maintenance, programs, and policies.
In May, the Washington State Department of Transportation made sections of its new “Washington State Active Transportation Plan, 2020 and Beyond: Part 1” available online as part of its efforts to support more transit, bicycle, and pedestrian options.
That plan assesses the needs for accessible pedestrian and bicyclist facilities, highlights safety concerns and provides the first-ever examination of state right of way and its suitability for active transportation.
In December 2020, the Kansas Department of Transportation began gathering public feedback on the state’s first active transportation plan in 25 years. The agency noted that funding for active transportation investment is included within the state’s 10-year Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE, signed into law in early April 2020.
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