September 08, 2024
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Biking, walking around Batavia could soon get easier with new plan to improve pathways, routes

By Shane Taylor
A bicyclist rides along Batavia's Island Avenue in a "sharrow," a shared lane for both bicycles and motor vehicles. The pavement marking in the foreground designates a shared lane. The city of Batavia has placed the markings along the length of Island and Shumway avenues to provide cyclists with a better link between the four legs of the Fox River Trail that converge in downtown Batavia.

Shaw Media file photo of a bicyclist riding along Batavia's Island Avenue in a "sharrow," a shared lane for both bicycles and motor vehicles. The pavement marking in the foreground designates a shared lane.

Batavia’s new Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan could soon make it easier to travel around town.

In conjunction with the Batavia Bicycle Commission, the city of Batavia is partnering with the Active Transportation Alliance and Ride Illinois to develop a community-wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

Laura Newman, city administrator for Batavia, said that the plan is part of the city’s strategic plan, which will focus on improving infrastructure that would create walking and biking connections between local destinations, fill in gaps throughout the sidewalk network and make intersections safer for people traveling on foot or bike.

“What we will be creating is an active transportation plan for the city of Batavia that takes a look at our current conditions, identifies what is positive about that and also makes some recommendations for improvements in the future,” Newman said.

Newman said not only are they looking to improve the current infrastructure, but the city is also looking at ways to add additional routes around town.

“We want to make it easy for people to travel from one quadrant to another, from downtown and back home again,” she said. “The idea is for individuals and families to feel safe traveling our sidewalks and our roads.”

Currently, the city is collecting information on preferences for walking and biking routes in Batavia. City officials encourage residents to complete the survey by visiting https://www.walkbikebatavia.com/participate.

“We will take those recommendations, prioritize them and identify funding sources so we can continue to make improvements in the people’s ability to walk and bike throughout our community,” Newman said.

Batavia is currently using its general funds to pay for the work, but the hope is that the city will qualify for state or federal grant funding as they start to make improvements, Newman said.

The city will host two virtual open houses for residents to learn more about the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. Register by visiting https://www.walkbikebatavia.com/open-house.

Kane County