GCE is looking for Gray residents who have a passion for on- and off-road bike riding, trail running, or walking to help with the creation of a first ever bike/pedestrian plan for the town. The first meeting of the group will be Tuesday, April 17th, at 7PM upstairs at Pennell Town Hall. No experience in planning is necessary, and everyone is welcome! If you can’t make the first meeting, don’t worry, you can plug in at the next one.
The purpose of a bike/pedestrian (“bike/ped”) plan is to help make bicycling and walking a more attractive, viable option for transportation. Biking and walking are fun and healthy activities, and can be enjoyed for their own sake. They can also be a way to get from place to place. There are people in Gray who commute by bike to their jobs in Portland, for example. Other people ride their bikes for local errands, like going to the bank, the library, or a quick trip to the grocery store. Kids can ride their bikes to school or to friends’ houses. The bike/ped plan can help make doing this safer for everyone.
For example, the plan might call for striping the sides of major roads to create bike lanes, creating more visible crosswalks to make crossing streets safer, or adding sidewalks to high traffic areas so that people don’t have to walk in the street. Bike/ped plans can also map out routes and recommend better signage so it’s clearer how to get from place to place.
Once the plan is finished, which will take about 6-12 months, the town council will need to formally approve it. At that point it can be used as a basis for funding requests to Maine Department of Transportation, Safe Routes to Schools, and other sources.
If you’re interested in promoting safe biking and walking in Gray, contact Anne Gass at 657-4935 or agass@maine.rr.com, or come to the meeting on April 17th.