COS Bikes!
Colorado Springs Bike Master plan
Adopted April 2018
The Colorado Springs Bike Master Plan was unanimously passed by the Colorado Springs City Council January of 2018. This was be the first update to Bike Master Plan since 1996. Now that it has been adopted, this plan acts as a guide for all future bicycle infrastructure development throughout our city. Providing citizens with the facilities they require to get where they need and want to go safely, regardless of their chosen form of transportation. The Bicycle Master Plan has established a vision and roadmap for how Colorado Springs can provide a level of programming and bike infrastructure across the entire city that accommodates the range of users who want and need to bicycle around our great city.
Providing citizens with the facilities they require to get where they need and want to go safety is a core function of local government. This applies for all citizens, regardless of their chosen mode of transportation. The Bicycle Master Plan will establish a vision and roadmap for how Colorado Springs can provide a level of programming and bike infrastructure across the entire city that accommodates the range of users who want/need to bicycle
Kate Brady – Colorado Springs senior bicycle planner
The purpose of the Plan is to establish a vision and roadmap for how Colorado Springs can provide a level of bike infrastructure across the entire city that accommodates the range of users who want/need to bicycle. It is also to inform and educate the general public, government staff, and elected officials of the current conditions of bicycle infrastructure and the potential of bicycling in Colorado Springs to build support for the implementation of this plan. The Plan also guides and provides strategies for the implementation of bicycle infrastructure, policies and programs for all City departments, partner public agencies and the private development community. The ultimate goal of the plan is to enhance safety, viability, integration and accessibility/inclusivity for people on bikes.
The City hired a consultant team who worked with city staff and community stake holders for sever months to develop the plan. Based on research, interviews and intensive public input, there was a clear understanding of where we the city was when the plan was developed (the current conditions) and where the community wants to be in the future (the vision and goals).
The heart of the plan, Linked below, includes a recommended bike network covering the entire city and recommendations on the policies and programs that will get us from where we are today to where the community wants to be. The best, most-likely-to-succeed recommendations resulted from the consultants filtering their international experience through the local expertise that only citizens of Colorado Springs possess.
Creating Greater Support for Bikes – Chapter
Chapter 2 of the bike master plan ”Creating Greater Support for Bikes” speaks directly to Culture and improving the envoirnment and community related to riding a bike in Colorado Springs.
A great bicycling city includes many elements—residents who are supportive and positive about bicycling, on-the-ground bikeways themselves, and supporting elements such as bike parking and informational signage – Chaper 2 COS bikes!
BikeCOS is also called out as a direct partner for some aspects in chapter 2 focused on generating enthusiasm and excitement for bicycling. Our goal as BikeCOS is to reach all types of bicyclists, but especially providing the help needed who need a little encouragement to ride.
2.02 Increase Partnerships with Community Bicycle Organizations
2.05 Create a Bicycle Loving Business program
2.06 Develop a Bike Ambassador Program
Our Education program is also helping to achieve the goals outlined in this part of the Bike Masterplan.
Bicycle priority areas
Identified in Chapter 4 of the COS Bikes!
The bike master plan explains that the City should focus in Bicycle Priority Areas as these are the areas where the bicycling environment is strong. These areas should be the City’s focus, but network implementation can also occur in other neighborhoods that did not score as well as but have demonstrated public support for bike facilities. Additionally, infill development presents a good opportunity to implement bicycle facilities.
The red indicates the highest priority for implementation of the Vision Network, while yellow indicates a medium priority. Green areas are the lowest priority.
Neighborhoods include:Downtown, Old North End, the city’s westside, and Pikes Peak Park neighborhoods
These areas were identified using the following criteria:
- The most streets and street connections
- The most people
- lower income neighborhoods
- Neighborhoods with trails nearby
Bike Master Plan – Vision network
As part of the COS Bikes! – The Colorado Springs Bicycle master-plan, a plan which went through an extensive public input process.The bicycle Vision Network—a selection of streets in Colorado Springs on which to implement appropriate bicycle infrastructure—will improve connectivity and access to destinations across the city. An interactive vision network can be accessed at the link below.
Bike Master Plan – Bicycle Facility Tool Box
As part of the COS Bikes! – The Colorado Springs Bicycle master-plan, which was unanimously adopted by city council in April 2018, The Toolbox was developed to guide the City and its partners in selecting and designing appropriate bicycle facilities. The Toolbox is research-based and uses nationally-accepted best practices, including the following standards and guidelines.
Bicycle Facility Overview
A visualization included in The Toolbox that shows the relative comfort of different types of bicycle facilities.