“It’ll encourage cyclists to interact and to come into our downtown,” Heck said.
The markings bring people around the core block and downtown Fountain Avenue, he said.
“They’re the growing corridors downtown in terms of office and retail components,” Heck said.
The road markings were paid for by money leftover from fundraising for the Miami Valley Cycling Summit, held in Springfield last spring.
They are designed to alert road users of locations bicyclists are likely to occupy, encourage safer passing of bicyclists by motorists and reduce wrong-way bicycling.
“It’s supposed to increase the comfortability of the cyclists on the roadways,” Heck said.
This week, the city also will hold two events to unveil the first phase of the Springfield Bike Plan, a document designed to improve bike accessibility in the community. A Bike Task Force will show the city’s current cycling inventory, detailing the assets in place.
“We’re not starting from scratch,” Heck said. “We have a great cycling infrastructure to build upon for the future.”
A cycling open house will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall Forum, 76 E. High St.
The event will allow residents to speak with task force members to complete the first phase of the bike plan. Residents will also have the opportunity to offer suggestions and complete a brief survey about cycling. Other community stakeholders and local cycling groups also will attend.
For residents who cannot attend, the survey can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/s/2TYL7L7.
Then National Trail Parks and Recreation District will host the first Bike to Work Day event from 7 to 9 a.m. Friday at City Hall Plaza. It will include free breakfast, music, ample bicycle parking and other activities.
“(Cycling) is not just a recreational opportunity,” Heck said. “It’s a mode of transportation in our community. We really want to encourage people to look at biking to work.”
The event is sponsored by the city of Springfield, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and the Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital.
Both events are free and open to the public.
The task force will hold a work session from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 26 at the NTPRD Chiller, 300 W. Main St. The session will allow community members to provide additional input on the future of the bike plan and cycling infrastructure.
The more community input received at the events, the better, he said.
“It’s important to get feedback from the community,” Heck said.
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