The Go Plan keeps moving forward as the City of Broken Arrow just received another $2,500 Pathway to Health grant from the Tulsa County Health Department.
Adopted by the City Council in 2016, the Go Plan recommended 136 miles of bicycle facilities, including signed routes, shared lane markings, bike lanes, cycle tracks, side paths, and trails.
The grant is the third Pathways to Health grant Broken Arrow has received in consecutive years. Of the $20,000 in available program grant monies this year, the City’s $2,500 grant is a substantial gift.
“We feel very thankful and quite fortunate for the $2,500 we received this year,” said Brent Murphy, senior planner for the City of Broken Arrow. “With the City’s matching funds, we will add 66 bicycle route signs to the 93 signs that have already been installed.”
Last year, Broken Arrow also received a $2,500 grant for the installation of 33 route signs. The City matched this gift with 33 additional route signs, and the Broken Arrow Street Department has already installed all 66 of those signs.
In 2018, the Pathways to Heath program awarded Broken Arrow with a $1,000 grant, which, when coupled with the City’s matching funds, paid for 27 bike route signs to be installed at that time.
This latest grant, along with the City’s matching funds, will pay for the installation of an additional 66 signs. These signs are currently in the process of being prepared and will be installed later in the year for a total of 159 signs installed within three years.
Liberty Trail, the bike trail along the Creek Turnpike, was completed in 2008. This trail connects Northeastern State University-Broken Arrow with the Creek Turnpike Trail enabling bicyclists to ride roundtrip to the city of Sand Springs.
According to the Go Plan, “From 2009 to 2014, there were 815 pedestrian and 363 bicycle crashes reported in the region. Most of these accidents occurred on the high-speed, high-volume arterial streets that connect major destinations in the region …”
To make a safer environment for all bike riders, the GO Plan identified bicycle routes throughout neighborhoods along local streets with particular emphasis given to routes that connected schools, parks, and other neighborhoods.
With the improvements of the bike trails, lanes, and routes, bicyclists will be able to ride from the Creek Turnpike in south Broken Arrow to the popular Rose District.
Other routes connect multiple neighborhoods to Main Street and Centennial Middle School to the Shops at Broken Arrow shopping district. With the grants and other funding sources received, the City of Broken Arrow continues on its pathway to better health.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.