The Columbus Plan Commission has approved the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan update, forwarding it to the city council with a favorable recommendation.
The document includes information on current conditions of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, takeaways from public input, different bicycle facility types and recommendations for future projects and improvements.
“It’s certainly our (planning staff’s) belief that the plan is complete and ready for adoption,” said Columbus/Bartholomew County Planning Director Jeff Bergman. The city council is to consider the document at the April 5 meeting.
The commission discussed an earlier draft of the plan in January. According to Senior Planner Emilie Pinkston, who is the project manager for the update and the city’s bike pedestrian coordinator, a few minor changes have been made since then, including clarifying certain details.
Pinkston also presented officials with a “Bicycle and Pedestrian Network Wayfinding and People Trail Visual Identity” document, which was not included in the materials at their previous meeting. This piece is intended as both an appendix to the plan and a standalone document, she said.
Graphic designer Brooke Hawkins and landscape architect Rachel Kavathe created the design plan with input from city staff and other stakeholders. It includes information on wayfinding elements for the bicycle and pedestrian network as well as the People Trail, which officials define as a subset of the overall network. The document also outlines branding for the People Trail to distinguish these paths from others.
“It (The People Trail) is comprised only of shared use paths, serving both bicyclists and pedestrians, and consists of low-stress, family-friendly recreational routes throughout the city,” the appendix states. The bicycle and pedestrian plan provides further criteria for the definition.
Pinkston also noted that, following officials’ previous discussion about equity, the wayfinding document was amended to include the following recommendation: “In order to promote inclusivity and ease of network use by all residents and visitors in Columbus, the use of multilingual text should be considered for all signage at the time of implementation.”
She also told the commission that the use of wayfinding symbols and the new People Trail branding will be helpful as well, regardless of language.
In discussing wayfinding, commissioner Laura Garrett asked Pinkston if these elements will be considered when an area is updated or “if funds allow.”
“I think it’s both,” said Pinkston. “It’s both. Absolutely, when a new facility is constructed, we’ll be considering wayfinding, how to implement that with that. But then we’re having ongoing discussions now about how to kickstart wayfinding and how we make sure that gets implemented along the network.”
Figuring out where to put trailheads, improvements and signage are among the city’s next steps, said Parks Director Mark Jones.
“This whole wayfinding thing is new,” added commissioner Dave Hayward, who is also City Engineer/Executive Director of Public Works. “And so it’s going to take a little start-up, where the rest of the trail, we’ve got some momentum already. So this is going to take some thought to really implement.”
