UO students pitch ideas for bike trails

Featured in the Albany Democrat-Herald:

The city of Albany’s off-street bike trails are few, and those that exist haven’t been maintained or reconfigured in years. It’s no surprise, then, that people just aren’t using them.

But that may change. Through a Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) planning class taught by Marc Schlossberg, University of Oregon students have provided Albany city officials with proposals to update their bicycling infrastructure, and in turn, create a network of trails and on-street improvements to better connect the city.

Mindy Schlitt, one of Schlossberg’s students, expressed her concern for the lack of bike culture in Albany.

When Schlitt’s group was researching the area’s streets and paths, they discovered that some led cyclists into areas of heavy car traffic, some even ending abruptly.

“If you’re going to have bike lanes, they shouldn’t just … end,” she said.

Schlitt’s group focused on the benefits for families with children, creating an outreach plan for the city to inform citizens of safer riding routes to school.

Morgan Murphy, also a student in Schlossberg’s class, considered ways to encourage kids to get on their bikes when school is out this summer.

The students created a colorful map of bike pathways for Albany kids titled, “Where to go on your bike this summer!” The map notes landmarks like public libraries, the Swanson COOL! Pool and Periwinkle Park. It even includes the estimated time it would take to ride those distances.

“There are two big pieces: connecting people, and connecting current infrastructure,” Murphy said.

Beyond that, Murphy, a senior in public policy management and political science, said she and her group wanted “to make bicyclists feel like they belong on the street.”

“We want to allow residents to get from residential Albany to downtown Albany,” Murphy said. Her vision for Albany’s transportation includes increased bike and foot trips, rather than car-exclusive transportation.

Schlossberg, the course professor, believes it’s necessary for communities to start rethinking how they set up their transportation.

“My motivation for teaching this class, and the work that I do, is around creating sustainable, happy, economically viable, accessible and equitable community,” he said. “It just so happens that transforming transportation systems—so that more people can walk, bike and use transit— accomplishes all of those things.

In the end, this field of planning is about tangibly addressing society’s most pressing needs,” Schlossberg said.

Mayor Sharon Konopa, a lifelong Albany resident, was excited about the fresh perspective and creativity that students brought as outsiders to the community. She noted that, what she knew earlier as the “Thurston ditch” is now recognized as a canal and “could be an esplanade.”

“I think what you have done has really come up with some concepts that now we can take to the next level,” Konopa said. “I really think we can start moving that project forward.”

Regarding the City’s participation in SCYP, Konopa added, “It’s been a wonderful partnership between the city and the U of O.”

Josie Fey is the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative journalism fellow. She recently graduated from the UO’s School of Journalism and Communication with an M.S. in journalism.