The kickoff meeting for both the Urban and Rural Steering Committees for the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Project is scheduled for Tuesday January 29 at 7PM in Conference Rooms 1&2 of the Portage County Annex Building (1462 Strongs Ave). This meeting is open to the public.

This joint meeting of the two Steering Committees will provide committee members with an introduction to the efforts they will be engaged in during 2013 and early 2014. The agenda covers items such as introductions, expectations, background, overview of the plan approach, schedule, goals, and next steps.

The county has setup a website for the Portage County Bike/Ped Planning Project. You can visit it directly at http://portagecobikepedplan.wordpress.com, or you can find a link to it on the Portage County Dept of Planning and Zoning webpage.

A recent post on the bike/ped plan website announces Tuesday’s meeting and provides links to the agenda and an introductory document. A menu near the top of the page contains links to pages listing the members of each committee.

One really cool feature of the website is an interactive WikiMap that allows users to identify notable routes and intersections and to comment on how wonderful or terrible each is for bicycle and/or foot traffic. I’ve taken it on a little spin, and I know this WikiMap will be an outstanding resource for the project. I will have more to say about this WikiMap in a future post.

Another post on the website discusses the genesis this bike/ped planning effort. In 2010, Portage County was awarded $141,000 of Transportation Enhancement funds to create a bike/ped plan. The subsequent search for a consulting team to facilitate this project resulted in hiring Toole Design Group and SAA Design Group, both from Madison. I will learn more on Tuesday of the precise role of the consulting team, but I anticipate they will make sure each Steering Committee maintains its focus in order to create a quality plan on schedule. In September 2012, all paperwork was completed to allow the planning project to move forward. The project formally began in October 2012.

If you want to learn what the Portage County Bike/Ped Planning Project is all about, come to Tuesday’s meeting. As I mentioned in my earlier post on this project, I will be serving on the Urban Steering Committee. I am eagerly looking forward to engaging with committee members, staff, and the general public to generate a quality bike/ped plan that will encourage local governments to build both balanced transportation facilities and exceptional recreational paths in the years to come.

Disclosure: Bob Fisch, Chief Bike Fun Officer of Poky Pedaling Stevens Point, is a member of the Urban Steering Committee for the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Project. Posts about this project appearing on the PPSP website are part of a broader PPSP effort to keep readers informed of bikey news in our area. Nothing posted on the PPSP website should be considered to be official communication from the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Project. The official website for this project can be accessed at http://portagecobikepedplan.wordpress.com.

Send feedback on this post by e-mail: