The “Feet in the Street” event on Sunday, May 17th in Downtown Yakima should provide lots of family fun along with important information on bicycle and pedestrian safety. The event will begin at 11:00 am on North 3rd Street near the Yakima Farmers Market.
The Yakima Police Department will host bicycle safety classes, Yakima Transit will demonstrate the proper use of bike racks on city buses, and walking tours will emphasis bicycle and pedestrian safety. Other activities will include the popular “Tour de Farce” bike race, a mini-bike rodeo, and a bicycle repair station.
The event will run until 3:00 pm and is sponsored by the City of Yakima, Yakima Valley Conference of Governments, and the Yakima Health District.
On Thursday, May 21st the kick-off event for development of Yakima’s Bike Master Plan will be held at the Yakima Convention Center from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. During “Voices for Our Streets”, the public will learn about the “complete streets” concept from several nationally- renowned experts and have an opportunity to provide comments on current and future bike facility needs in Yakima. Informational booths will also be set up at the event to allow visitors to connect and engage with representatives of agencies involved in local and regional transportation planning efforts.
The “Voices for Our Streets” meeting is just one of several ways the public can provide input on the Yakima Bicycle Master Plan. An online survey is currently available on the City of Yakima’s website. In addition to the survey, an interactive map allows users an opportunity to draw bike routes, point out problem areas for bicyclists, and identify popular designations. The online survey and interactive map can be accessed by clicking http://bit.ly/1KoSqF8.
The City has hired the Toole Design Group of Seattle to help coordinate the bicycle master plan development process for Yakima’s 300 miles of streets. The Yakima Bicycle Master Plan is expected to be finished in late 2015 or early 2016