Statement in Support of the City of Columbus BikePlus Plan
Transit Columbus leadership and its members stand in support of the city’s BikePlus plan, and would like to see its full implementation. This plan, as written, will save countless lives, help residents shift to healthy and sustainable modes of transit, provide greater accessibility to those using mobility devices, and begin to shape our built environment to center people and community.
While every aspect of this plan is crucial, there are key elements therein that will enable its success — or act as barriers if they are not implemented properly. These elements are:
Adopt a complete streets policy (Draft Programs and Policies, Item A). This policy must ensure roads and streets are designed and maintained in an equitable manner so that people of all ages, incomes and abilities can use them safely. Such a policy must meet high standards based on the Smart Growth America scoring matrix in order to truly be effective.
Establish Dedicated Bikeways Staff (Draft Programs and Policies, Item E). In order to take on such a transformative project, the Department of Public Service must have the capacity to work on this essential infrastructure and avoid neglect of the program/an implementation gap.
Standardize Process for Quick Build Projects (Draft Programs and Policies, Item N). There must be short term solutions that can be implemented quickly and cheaply in order to keep people safe while long-term changes are being made.
Align Bikeway Investments with Affordable Housing Goals (Draft Programs and Policies, Item U). Transportation equity should be a key component in every housing development project that the city encounters. The city’s work on housing should include accessible, convenient and secure bike and ebike parking and facilities for all new multifamily housing developments.
Form a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (Draft Programs and Policies, Item X). There must be feedback and accountability from those who use these facilities. Even if planners themselves are bicyclists, it is unreasonable to assume they ride in every part of the city. Lived experience can highlight issues and opportunities that may not otherwise arise in planning.
These elements must be addressed with the utmost urgency, and challenges to their implementation must be met with the due resources, determination, and imagination to see them through. We commend the work that has already been done by the Department of Public Service, City Council, and the larger community of bicyclists, micro-mobility users, and the disability community to advance these and other efforts to increase our mobility options and reduce deaths and injuries in our streets. The adoption of this plan is a hopeful beginning, but will not be enough by itself to ensure real change.
As our friends and partners over at YayBikes! have pointed out, The Columbus Bicentennial Bikeways Plan of 2008 is a cautionary tale. The 2008 Plan called for several improvements that were never realized — some of which are included in the new BikePlus plan.
If we are telling the truth when we say we want to reach zero crash deaths or serious injuries on Columbus streets by 2035, then we need to be serious about reshaping the way our streets work. We cannot let inertia, historical processes, or past priorities stand in the way of effective policy when so many lives are at stake. We urge city leadership to take concrete and lasting action in order to ensure the effective implementation of the Bike Plus plan, including but not limited to:
Binding policy changes that have real impact:
City Council adoption of a robust Complete Streets Policy that scores a 90 or above on the Smart Growth America scoring matrix.
Reestablish and fund the legislatively-required (City Code 2103) Columbus Transportation and Pedestrian Commission to advise the Department of Public Service and City Council on multimodal transportation, bike and pedestrian safety, and implementation of any bike and pedestrian plans.
Long term, dedicated funding:
Increase the annual capital budget funding for bike/ped projects to at least $25 million dollars from the current $6 million dollars. This additional funding would go toward new staff capacity, new quick build projects, building out the highest priority projects that the plan commits to over the next 5 years, and ensuring thorough and timely maintenance of the city’s bikeways.
Remove institutional barriers to safe infrastructure:
Reorganize and restructure the Department of Public Service to ensure micromobility safety, comfort, connection, and convenience is prioritized as a fundamental part of every public right-of-way project.
Develop a co-jurisdictional plan and process with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to solve key network gaps and breakdowns near highway infrastructure.
