Title
Adopting the update to the Saint Paul Bicycle Plan as an addendum to the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan. (Public hearing closed and laid over from April 17, 2024)
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Bicycle Plan was first adopted in 2015 and subsequently amended with minor updates in 2017; and
WHEREAS, the Bicycle Plan has been updated in order to remain consistent with best practices, local planning efforts, and the desires of the community; and
WHEREAS, the Bicycle Plan has been updated in several ways including to provide for more separated bikeways, to reflect bikeways added since 2015, to establish new priority bikeways, and to provide additional policy guidance on operation and maintenance; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the Bicycle Plan is to increase the number of people biking in Saint Paul, consistent with the policies of the 2040 Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS, the 2040 Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan contains a number of policies for improving the bicycle network and increasing bicycling in Saint Paul that are furthered by the Bicycle Plan, such as:
• Policy T-3. Design rights-of-way per the following modal hierarchy: 1. Pedestrians, with a focus on safety; 2. Bicyclists, with a focus on safety; 3. Transit; 4. Other vehicles;
• Policy T-10. Design… trails… for personal safety (real and perceived), including by providing lighting and boulevards;
• Policy T-21. Reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 40% by 2040 by improving transportation options beyond single-occupant vehicles;
• Policy T-22. Shift mode share towards walking, biking, public transit, carpooling, ridesharing and carsharing in order to reduce the need for car ownership;
• Policy T-24. Implement the Bicycle Plan to make bicycling safe and comfortable throughout the city, and to increase bicycling mode share; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, staff conducted widespread and targeted community engagement to establish community priorities for the Bicycle Plan update; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, staff conducted widespread and targeted community engagement to receive feedback on a draft version of the Bicycle Plan, with the feedback informing the subsequent recommended version of the Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on February 2, 2024 regarding the draft updated Bicycle Plan and held the record open for written comments through February 5, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the Transportation Committee of the Saint Paul Planning Commission, having reviewed the public hearing testimony, a summary of the testimony, and a list of updates made since the previous version, provided a recommendation for consideration by the Saint Paul Planning Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Planning Commission considered the public testimony and recommendation of the Transportation Committee on the Bicycle Plan on March 15, 2024 and recommended to the Mayor and City Council adoption of the updated Saint Paul Bicycle Plan dated February 23, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Bicycle Plan is found to be consistent with the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council adopts the updated Saint Paul Bicycle Plan dated February 23, 2024, as an addendum to the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan, with one additional change:
1. A new line be added to the Planned Bicycle Network map on Maryland Avenue east of Johnson Parkway, in a manner that recognizes and prioritizes transit planning processes in that segment, consistent with the recommendations in the March 8, 2024 memo titled Bicycle Plan Update, Transportation Committee resolution re: Maryland Avenue, Johnson Pkwy to Ruth St; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the previously adopted Saint Paul Bicycle Plan be decertified and replaced by the new, updated Plan; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that staff is authorized to submit the Comprehensive Plan addendum to the Metropolitan Council for review.