This page shows news articles related to specific greenways and communities.
All News Clips
| Back to List | |
| Easy riding around Batavia | |
| Mar 2, 2007 | |
| Eric Schelkopf eschelkopf@kcchronicle.com | |
| Kane County Chronicle | |
| Pertains to Batavia | |
| BATAVIA —œ Bicyclist Deb McGrath does not like battling the increasing amount of traffic as she rides around the city. “It’s not as safe to ride your bike on the streets anymore,” McGrath said. But she is hopeful that will change as the city prepares to adopt its first bicycle plan. Residents had the chance to review the plan Thursday. “I think it will help educate motorists to the fact that we should all be sharing the road,” McGrath said. The plan recommends a mixture of on-road bikeways and off-road trails to provide a network of bicycle routes linking various areas of Batavia. One of the recommendations is to stripe roads for dedicated bike lanes, with no parking in those lanes. The city hired Ed Barsotti, executive director of League of Illinois Bicyclists, to prepare the plan. The group promotes bicycle access, education and safety. Barsotti worked with an advisory committee comprised of city staff and other officials along with residents. “We want to make bicycling available as a transportation option,” Barsotti said. “We want to improve conditions to encourage other residents to bicycle.” There were several suggestions for improving existing trails, such as widening Fox River Trail East and Fox River Trail West because they are heavily used, and striping the center of the trails to encourage bicyclists to stay on the right. The plan has several recommendations to improve the safety of children walking and bicycling to schools, such as instituting a citywide crossing guard program, finishing crosswalk installation and increasing enforcement of school zones. Federal grants could fund such improvements, Barsotti said. Sid Tobias of Batavia finds it a challenge bicycling across major roads like Randall Road. “We definitely need something on Randall,” Tobias said. “Some of the streets are worse than trying to cross the river. You are taking your life in your hands trying to cross Randall.” The plan suggests building a bicycle bridge over Randall Road, at the north edge of Braeburn Marsh. The draft plan will be revised and a final plan will be submitted to the Batavia Plan Commission for a hearing and recommendation to the Batavia City Council. After adoption by the City Council, the plan will become part of the Batavia Comprehensive Plan. Want to read the plan? Visit www.cityofbatavia.net |
»»»»»
Greenway Trails
» » »Existing
» » »Project
» » »Potential
Greenway Maps
» » »by Agency
» » »by Scope
Community Systems
» » »Active
» » »Typical
» » »Sedentary
» » »Dead-end
Grade Separations
» » »Existing
» » »Needed
Trail Development
» » »News
» » »Events
Greenway Advocacy Materials
Bicycle Underpass/Overpass Gallery
About Greenway Planning Database
About Steve Breese
PalatineRoad.com
Contact Steve Breese
Greenway Links
ArlingtonTrotters.com
Fast Track Racing Team
COGO
Technical Corner