City of Columbus Bike Plus Draft Vision Network Ready for Public Feedback

 Residents have an opportunity through June to share their comments on an interactive map of the draft vision network developed by the City of Columbus Bike Plus planning initiative. The Bike Plus Plan, led by the Department of Public Service, will improve and expand connections that support safe and comfortable travel in the city by biking, scooting and rolling.

The draft vision network outlines proposed route improvements for safe and equitable city bikeway infrastructure that includes separated bikeways such as shared-use paths and protected on-street lanes, bike lanes or buffered lanes, bike boulevards and trails. A glossary that defines these types of bikeway infrastructure is available on the Bike Plus website here.

“We are eager to hear from the public on the Bike Plus draft vision network—shaped largely by earlier community engagement—to help the city advance a bikeways plan that connects neighborhoods and increases safe access to work, school, entertainment and other amenities and services,” said Public Service Director Kelly Scocco. “Bike Plus will make it more convenient and comfortable to get around Columbus without a car, for equitable and sustainable transportation.”

The Bike Plus planning process launched in 2023. An initial interactive map sought residents’ input to help identify locations where they face challenges and barriers to biking, scooting and rolling, such as safety concerns due to fast-moving vehicle traffic and missing bikeway or trail and path connections.

In addition, the Bike Plus planning team gathered community input through an online survey, pop-up events, a workshop with stakeholders, a series of public office hours, and four open houses this spring where residents could mark up maps to help develop the draft vision network with potential priority projects and policy recommendations.

All of this community engagement helped to shape the draft vision network. Now, residents can provide feedback again on the proposed bikeway projects shown on the draft network’s interactive map.

The final Bike Plus Plan will consider this public feedback and the city’s technical review and feasibility analysis that is currently in progress. Bikeway infrastructure projects will be identified where they are most needed for completion in the short term, and other connections will be completed as the full network is built out over the coming years.

The draft vision network focuses on City of Columbus bikeways infrastructure. Connections with neighboring communities will be coordinated with those jurisdictions.

A finalized Bike Plus Plan will be presented to City Council later this year for proposed adoption.