The City of Alameda is seeking public comment on its draft Active Transportation Plan, which the city released on Monday, Oct. 3.

The plan provides a roadmap for making walking and biking safe and desirable everyday transportation options for people of all ages and abilities, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities. It implements transportation and greenhouse gas reduction policies and actions in adopted city plans, including the General Plan and the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan. The draft plan includes a pedestrian design strategy, a low-stress bicycle network, a set of projects and programs to complete by 2030, and it defines the future of the Slow Streets program.

Goals of the plan are to increase the safety of all people using active transportation; prioritize active transportation investments in underserved communities; promote and inspire safe and fun walking, bicycling and rolling; and increase the percentage of walking and bicycling trips by Alameda residents in the city. According to the draft plan, just five percent of trips around Alameda are completed by walking or bicycling, while 67% are made by automobile.

Monday’s release marks the city’s third major public engagement campaign for this plan, which builds on all of the community input and data gathered to date. In late 2019, the city gathered public input about what it was like to walk and bike in Alameda and in summer 2020, the city sought feedback on draft recommendations such as a bicycle network and pedestrian improvements. These outreach efforts included multiple public meetings, interactive web maps, outreach and presentations to community organizations, mailings, and more. The city also conducted a citywide survey that revealed how community members felt about walking and biking, including what types of infrastructure would most encourage people to walk and bike more.

The draft plan addresses the active transportation concerns and problems raised by community members, incorporates previous feedback on the draft recommendations, and addresses needs identified in the survey. For example, the survey found that nearly half of Alamedans are interested in biking more but would only do so on low-stress facilities like separated bikeways or very low-volume streets. The draft plan includes a low-stress citywide bicycle network which incorporates transitioning most of Alameda’s current Slow Streets over time into a new facility type of traffic-calmed bicycle- and pedestrian-priority streets.

The city is offering residents several opportunities to share feedback on the draft plan. There will be a virtual workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 5. To attend the Zoom meeting, visit https://alamedaca-gov.zoom.us/j/84430683153. There will also be a booth at the Alameda Pride event on Oct. 8, an information table at the Alameda Farmers’ Market on Oct. 18, and an Open House hosted by the Alameda Chamber & Economic Alliance at Almanac Beer Co. (651 W. Tower Ave.) on Oct 19. Residents can also attend multiple Alameda commission meetings. For a list of meetings and events, visit https://www.activealameda.org/Get-Involved. Send comments via email to activealameda@alamedaca.gov or call 510-747-7442.

The read the draft plan, visit www.ActiveAlameda.org.