Bicycle and Pedestrian Summit Brainstorms the Region’s Future

Bicycle and pedestrian experts, advocates and members of the public from around the region are converging Saturday, May 3 to discuss the latest in planning and implementation of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, education, and advocacy. Part of the Austin Cycling Association’s Bike Month activities, the “Central Texas Bicycle and Pedestrian Summit” is an event to promote improvements in bicycle and pedestrian transportation in the region by sharing ideas and bridging disciplines. The event is planned through a collaboration of the Austin Cycling Association, Austin Yellow Bike Project, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), the City of Austin, Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), and the University of Texas. The entire program is open to the public, and will take place at the University of Texas’ Jester Center at Speedway and 21st Street in Austin. Free, on-line registration is open until April 30, and full Summit details are available at CAMPO’s Bike/Ped website.

City of Austin Council Member and CAMPO Board Member Brewster McCracken is scheduled to introduce the Summit. “When we look at the kind of cities that are magnets for the creative class, it’s cities with amazing opportunities for outdoor recreation. Central Texas has great bicycling facilities, but there’s more we can do to develop a truly world-class active transportation network. This summit will help build the roadmap we need to make that happen.”

Council Member McCracken will be followed by transportation planners, University of Texas engineering researchers, Austin’s Yellow Bike Project, and Sara Krause, Chair of the Austin’s Street Smarts Task Force. Lunch is generously donated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), available to the first 300 registrants.

After lunch, participants will apply all of the morning’s fresh ideas into some active planning workshops. The City of Austin will host a public input session for the 2008 Bicycle Master Plan Update, and showcase their Sidewalk Master Plan. CAMPO plans on an interactive regional workshop focused on making efficient connections between our cities. TxDOT will ask for ideas on bicycle and pedestrian accommodations on state roads. All three organizations will use this opportunity to take home your ideas to improve bicycle and pedestrian plans in the region. The closing message will be from Robin Stallings, Executive Director of the Texas Bicycle Coalition.

Following the program, a short bicycle ride will tour areas of the University of Texas campus and Austin bicycle routes. For those who cannot bring their own bicycles for the ride, Yellow Bike Project can provide up to 20 yellow bikes for the tour.

Participants will leave with great ideas for improving bicycle and pedestrian transportation, some new friends and acquaintances, and hopefully even more excitement about making Central Texas an even better place for bicycling and walking.

On-line: www.campotexas.org/programs_bicped.php

About CAMPO
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is the federally required regional planning organization responsible for the continuous and comprehensive transportation planning process in Williamson, Travis and Hays counties. CAMPO produces a 25-year long-range metropolitan transportation plan and a four-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). To be eligible for federal funding, a transportation project must be included in the Plan and TIP. CAMPO has a staff of 15 who report to a 19-member Transportation Policy Board. A Technical Advisory Committee of representatives from the region’s cities and counties, as well as transportation agencies, assists the Board in developing and evaluating plans.