ROGERS -- Bike lanes, racks and pedestrian education are a few goals outlined in the city's portion of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
The plan was approved by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission in December. The City Council approved its portion March 9.
Mayor Greg Hines said the plan helps Rogers be better connected to other cities in Northwest Arkansas.
"If we are going to maximize the potential for the trail system I think it is awfully important that we collaborate together," Hines said. "I am excited about this. I am pleased to see what additional prosperity it brings to Northwest Arkansas."
Seventeen cities in Benton and Washington counties have adopted the plan, said John McClarty, the commission's assistant director. Another eight cities are in the process of adopting it, he said.
The Rogers plan recommends an emphasis on north-south connectors. It states bike lanes or shared-use paths on Dixieland Road, 24th Street and 13th Street could provide better connectivity for the region.
The plan also asks the city complete an engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation and economy project every year, according to the plan. An engineering project could include bicycle parking. An education project could be talking to classrooms. An open street event is an option for encouragement.
Nathan Becknell, city planning engineer, said Rogers is in the beginning stages of implementing some of the plan. This includes early discussions about adding bike lanes to 13th Street, he said.
It could take just restriping some roads to add bike lanes, Becknell said. Some roads in the city have 12-foot-wide lanes, he said.
"We don't necessarily need 12-foot lanes," Becknell said. "You can reduce that to 10-foot lanes and you barely notice the difference. We can then stripe off an extra bike lane."
Implementing the plan will have a small cost over time, Becknell said. Some of the plan can be implemented by businesses, he said. A business that opens along a bike path could be required to add a bike rack, for example.
The plan replaces another pedestrian plan put in place by the council in 2010, Becknell said. This plan provides more focus on bicyclists, he said.
"We have focused a lot on transportation structure with vehicles in the past, and recently we have started to focus on pedestrians, and what this report does is add a bicyclist focus," Becknell said.
Bike lanes and multi-use trails outlined in the plan also will be added to the city's Street Plan, Becknell said. The city is reviewing that plan for the first time since 2008. The plan previously hasn't included pedestrian routes.
The new plan provides an outline for how the city can connect people to key attractions such as downtown and Lake Atalanta, Hines said. The city is developing soft-surface trails around the lake.
"When we talk about tourism opportunities, Lake Atalanta is where Rogers will see its greatest potential," Hines said.
Connecting more of Rogers' trails to the Razorback Regional Greenway is another important part of the plan, Hines said. The greenway is a 36-mile trail that connects from Fayetteville to Bentonville.
Connecting trails in the city could be positive economically, Hines said.
"I think it will drive innovation for new businesses and help support our restaurants in downtown Rogers," he said.
NW News on 03/15/2015