Bicycle Plan Approved by Planning Commission

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the adoption of a city bicycle plan at its meeting on Thursday evening.

The approval also included a general plan amendment to revise the Bicycle Facilities Map in the General Plan 2025 Zoning and General Plan Use.

The proposal now goes to the City Council for final approval.

The goal of the bicycle plan is for the city to provide a safe and attractive environment for bicycle travel, according to the commission’s staff report.

Jeremy Lochirco, city planner and project manager for the bicycle master plan, presented the staff report to the commission.  

He said implementing a citywide bicycle plan would make it possible to coordinate various bicycle improvements in a coherent manner in addition to creating a more environmentally friendly network that would be conducive for bicycle use.

“The city also needs a bicycle plan to be available for funding grants that are available through the state,” Lochirco said. “It mandates that in order for funding to be available, that cities have adopted and approved general plans.”

Different projects include bicycle lanes, trails, signs and facilities, with the bicycle plan helping to identify new locations.

“We’re not proposing to build anything right now,” Lochirco said. “(The plan) helps us prioritize when the opportunity comes forward, where we would look to spend resources. There are a lot of locations in Walnut Creek where we can build, and the bicycle plan is intended to help us prioritize those locations.”