About the Plan
Federal legislation officially recognizes bicycling and walking as modes of transportation. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) states that "Bicyclists and pedestrians shall be given due consideration in the comprehensive transportation plans developed by each metropolitan
planning organization." Three sections of the bill stipulate that transportation plans and programs must "provide for the development and integrated management and operation of transportation systems and facilities (including pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities)…"
Furthermore, the goals of the National Bicycling and Walking Study, produced by the Federal Highway Administration, are to double the current percentage of total trips made by bicycling and walking while simultaneously reducing the number of bicyclists and pedestrians killed or injured in traffic crashes by ten percent. In order to meet these goals,
"coordinated and committed effort must be put forth at every level of government."
Purpose of the Plan
Study Advisory Committee
Existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans—Evaluation and Summary
Data Compilation and Summary
Bicycle and Pedestrian Existing Conditions / Suitability Map
Recommendations and Implementation
Study Documentation
Purpose of the Plan
The purpose of this study is to develop a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan for Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse. The primary goals of this Plan are to preserve and enhance the area bicycling and pedestrian network and to improve the safety, attractiveness, and the overall viability of cycling and walking as legitimate transportation alternatives and adjuncts to
the transportation system in the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) area.
The SMTC will take the lead role in sponsorship of this project. The project will be completed utilizing SMTC staff, with support, input and participation from SMTC's member agencies, as well as citizens who will be represented through the Study Advisory Committee (SAC) and a separate stakeholders group. The study area will encompass the entire MPO region. The
project, commencing during the 2001-2002 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) year, is to be completed over the course of two years, with completion estimated for September 2003.
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Study Advisory Committee
A Study Advisory Committee (SAC) will be formed to assist the SMTC throughout the project. The SAC's role will be to advise the SMTC on the technical content of deliverables, and to provide needed input and decision-making throughout the project. The SAC will include selected representatives from affected local and state governments and agencies, as well as community
representatives.
It is critical that the SAC be kept to a manageable size and therefore, a stakeholders group will be formed to satisfy the heavy citizen interest in this project. The stakeholders group will consist of a broader group of interested individuals who will receive information regarding meetings and study progress at stakeholder meetings to be held at various points
during this project.
For more information on the SAC and/or the agencies represented, view the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan's Public Involvement Plan.
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Existing Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans— Evaluation and Summary
The SMTC will perform a comprehensive literature review of relevant plans, studies, and analysis in respect to the bicycle and pedestrian transportation needs of Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse. Where appropriate, the SMTC will build upon the information included in such studies. The existing plans and studies would include, but not be limited to:
- Bikeway System Plan for Onondaga County, SMTC (1976)
- City of Syracuse Element of the Onondaga County Bikeway System Plan, SMTC (1980)
- Pedestrian Circulation System Study Syracuse, NY, SOCPA (1981)
- Downtown Syracuse Pedestrian Study, SMTC (1986)
- Onondaga County BikeNet, Daniel Edelstein (1994)
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Data Compilation and Summary
All relevant existing bicycle and pedestrian transportation data and conditions inventory data shall be compiled by the SMTC with assistance from the SMTC's member agencies as well as SAC and stakeholder members. These items are identified below:
- Review and utilize pre-existing information from the aforementioned bicycle and pedestrian studies, if information is still current. If information is not current, update and/or add necessary components, as determined by the SAC, for inclusion in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.
- Identification of current bicycle and pedestrian system and facilities, including:
- Shared-Use facilities (such as off-street multi-use trails)
- On-street bicycle routes
- Pedestrian facilities
- Roadways
- Any other type(s) of bicycle and/or pedestrian facility
- Utility of current bicycle and pedestrian system, as well as any other bicycle/pedestrian activity in the SMTC MPO area.
- Compilation of a bicycle and pedestrian awareness survey given throughout Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse to assess residents' knowledge of safety in regards to bicycle and pedestrian activity.
- Identification of bicycle and pedestrian related accident locations (including type, quantity and known factors) obtained from the NYSDOT Centralized Local Accident Surveillance System (CLASS) system for the latest three years. All accident data will be requested from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and summarized into a format that best describes the
data. No analysis of the individual accident locations will take place as part of this project.
- Identification of transit routes and hubs. Utilizing existing data sources, relevant transit routes and hubs will be mapped and located within Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse.
- Identification of system-wide barriers that may exist to bicycle/pedestrian access to transit stops.
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Bicycle and Pedestrian Existing Conditions / Suitability Map
A map portraying the conditions/suitability of the existing transportation network for bicycle and pedestrian utility in Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse will be produced as part of this project. Utilizing GIS, the SMTC will prepare a countywide, city inclusive map of the existing conditions and/or suitability of the bicycle and pedestrian transportation
system, including bikeways, designated paths, multi-use trails, recreational trails and any other bicycle and pedestrian related paths and/or trails. Selection of such trails/routes will be determined for inclusion in the map by reviewing Federal-Aid eligible roads, routes from previously completed studies, and any other logical and/or relevant routes. As a rule, minor
neighborhood streets will not be included in the suitability map. The SMTC will utilize GIS for tracking and recording the information that will then be transmitted to a map publication company for final printing of publication quality hard copy and electronic maps.
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Identification of Known and Perceived Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues
This task involves reporting known bicycle and pedestrian transportation issues facing those who utilize bicycle and pedestrian systems, drivers, and the general public. This task does not involve the SMTC making any judgment of those issues nor does it involve the SMTC drawing conclusions from those issues. This task is merely the summation of perceived and known
bicycle and pedestrian issues reported to the SMTC directly or found in the literature and study review process.
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Recommendations and Implementation
Following the development and evaluation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues, a series of recommendations will be developed using the "4E" approach to planning. The SMTC will evaluate recommendations through the following categories: Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Encouragement. The SMTC will also evaluate recommendations through a fifth category,
Economic Development.
As part of the Implementation process, action items will be developed for the proposed recommendations. The action items will describe the specific action necessary in order to implement the proposed recommendation.
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Study Documentation
All the aforementioned activities will be condensed into a Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan document. In addition, the final document will include the liberal use of charts, tables, graphs and maps to facilitate its use by a non-technical audience. The Draft Final Report will be presented to the public, as well as the SMTC Planning Committee for review. Following
the Planning Committee's endorsement, the Draft Final Report will be submitted to the Policy Committee for final endorsement.
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For more information on the SMTC's Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, email Project Manager Danielle Krol (dkrol@smtcmpo.org).
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