League of Illinois Bicyclists

 

Hosted by the City of Ottawa, the League of Illinois Bicyclists will be holding an “introduction to bicycle planning”.   The purpose of this 2.5-hour seminar is to introduce the technical aspects and strategic issues of bicycle planning. Planning for bike-friendly communities is becoming more common in major cities, suburbs, and small towns across the United States. Everyday decisions by planners, engineers, and others affect how safe and convenient it is to bike for recreation or transportation. This seminar, a condensed version of our summer four-week University of Illinois-Chicago urban planning course, will familiarize attendees with car/bike interactions, relevant national standards, best practices, planning tools, related “political” issues and policy techniques, tips on available funding sources, and implementation strategies.

 

Topics:

·         Opening discussion: motivation, and needs of cyclists

·         Products and process of bike planning

·         Bike safety and motorist “Share the Road” lesson – car/bike interactions as a prelude to infrastructure discussion

·         Bikeway infrastructure: types of bikeways, national standards, other infrastructure

·         Planning Tools: Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS), Sidepath Suitability Score, etc.

·         Non-infrastructure programs: education, encouragement, enforcement

·         Implementation: costs and funding, policies, political and strategic tips

Instructor: Ed Barsotti is Executive Director for the statewide non-profit League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB). LIB is a bicycle advocacy organization that has served as consultant on over a dozen local bike plans and advisor for dozens of other Illinois communities.