Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Draft city transportation plan uses canal banks

Draft city transportation plan uses canal banks | Western Colorado

Draft city transportation plan uses canal banks

As the city of Grand Junction prepares to update its plan for moving vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians around town, one of the four components of the plan incorporates some travel along canal banks and natural drainage ditches.
The Active Transportation Corridor Master Plan, which identifies miles of routes along ditches and drainages, is intended for commuting through the city and not necessarily recreation purposes, said Kathy Portner, community development manager for the city.
The proposed plan was presented to the City Council during a workshop Monday night, but the document is headed toward rounds of reviews from stakeholders and the public. City councilors expect to adopt a revised version of the circulation plan sometime in 2018.
The plan calls for the city to secure rights to easements for trails as development occurs. If the Grand Junction Planning Commission and the Grand Junction City Council choose to secure easements on other privately owned properties for trail rights of way, those would be negotiated separately, Portner said.
The Active Transportation Corridor Master Plan is different from an Urban Trails Master Plan that was presented in 2013, which listed numerous canal banks as potential travel routes. That proposed plan was sharply criticized by irrigation managers and was denied by both the Planning Commission and the City Council.
The proposed Active Transportation Corridor Master Plan lists routes along canal banks and drainages only in areas where there is no better way for multi-modal travel, Portner said.
"It's not only that it's safer," she said. "You don't want to force a bicyclist to go way out of their way because they're not going to do it."
A new version of the Circulation Plan aims to update the 2010 version that was adopted as part of the overall Grand Junction Comprehensive Plan. That includes an Urban Trails Master Plan adopted by the city in 2001.
The proposed Circulation Plan also includes maps linking important city corridors. It seeks more than 50 proposed changes for the functional classification of roadways.
Other goals of the plan include:
■ Developing strategies to adopt a Complete Street Policy for Grand Junction and develop and adopt a policy for Mesa County.
■ Developing strategies for an integrated transportation system.
■ Providing connectivity maps to make future transportation decisions.
■ Improving connections among Grand Valley Transit, neighborhoods and attractions.
For more information on the city's proposed Circulation Plan, visit gjcity.org and search for the Dec. 4 workshop agenda packet.

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