Dayton’s active transportation plan gets green light. Can officials get people out of their cars?

The group will be the “champions” of the Active Transportation Plan, and members will help establish an annual work plan based on the document’s recommendations, Vincent said.

Recommendations include education, programs and policies that support people who rely on the community’s transit and mobility networks, she said.

The plan seeks to encourage people to choose to leave their cars at home, Vincent said.

The plan calls for significant infrastructure upgrades, including to the city’s sidewalk and bike-path networks.

“These culture-shifting strategies need to be paired with actual infrastructure improvements that make our environment physically safer for pedestrians, cyclists and those using our public transit systems,” Vincent said. “The ATP’s prioritized infrastructure list will help the city secure funding for these instrumental projects while creating a clear guide for which projects to submit for funding opportunities.”

Vincent said the city has a small budget for one or two active transportation projects next year.

The plan, which started being developed in the spring of 2021, seeks to ensure that getting around the city is safe and accessible to everyone, no matter if people are cycling, walking, riding scooters or using wheelchairs or strollers, city staff said.

The plan identifies gaps, needs and potential improvements to the community’s more than 1,800 miles of sidewalk, 350 miles of paved trails and 22 miles of bike facilities, including bike lanes and paths, said Katie O’Lone, a senior planner with Toole Design who was the primary project manager for the plan.

Some recommended projects would close gaps in the sidewalk, trail and bike facilities networks that connect destinations like parks, transit stops, schools and community amenities.

The plan identifies higher-risk intersections for pedestrian and bike crashes and calls for upgrades like improved pedestrian crossings.

Dayton’s Active Transportation Plan recommends infrastructure improvements including 252 intersection upgrades and adding 124 miles of on-street bikeways, 12 miles of shared-use paths and 10 miles of sidewalks.

One of the proposed priority projects noted in the plan calls for creating a protected bike lane along West Third Street that connects the Historic Wright Dunbar Business District to other destinations farther west, including the Westown Shopping Center and the VA Medical Center.

Another priority project proposes changing East Monument Avenue at North St. Clair Street, by RiverScape MetroPark, to a three-way stop with a raised intersection.

The plan says the street could be converted from one-way to two-way traffic and the speed limit could be lowered from 35 mph to 25 mph, which would support a proposed bike lane and new traffic calming features.