Type: Tactical Urbanism Workshop and Pilot Projects
Size: Multi-Neighborhood/Multi-City
Status: Complete
With financial support from the Walton Family Foundation and in partnership with the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks, Street Plans was hired by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission to work with the cities of Bentonville, Bella Vista, and Rogers to create a series of month-long bikeway pilot projects. Public outreach for the pilot projects began in late September, with two sets of public meetings for each city. The installation of the pilot projects occurred during the first week of November 2016. Following the installations, the three cities will collect public input and evaluate the usage and impact of the pilots.
In Bella Vista: the pilot project connects the Lake Bella Vista Trail with the Blowing Springs trails via a combination of two-way protected bike lanes and off-road trails.
In Rogers: the pilot project connects the Rogers Activity Center with the Railyard Bike Park, while improving the overall connectivity of Downtown Rogers. The project included two-way protected bike lanes and a neighborhood greenway, complete with diverters.
In Bentonville: the pilot project connects Bentonville’s Public Library with Downtown via a combination of two-way protected bike lanes and shared use lanes.
Across the three projects, Street Plans tested out four different materials for barrier elements including standard flexible delineators, delineator posts, parking curb stops, and Zicla Armadillos. In the neighborhood greenways, Street Plans made large sharrow markings and placed them in the center of the street, noting that they also functioned to slow traffic.
Street Plans made a final report that will soon be available on the Walton Family Foundation website. From the survey data, it was revealed that overall public support for the pilot projects was high. However, in the future, more traffic data will be collected, and public outreach will be done farther in advance to improve community participation and better inform community members of the projects’ possible impact.
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