PedNet project hits milestone

Columbia is inching closer to getting connected.

Since August, when the federal government awarded the city a $22 million grant to promote non-motorized travel, much of the work on the PedNet project has been in the planning stages. Construction and tangible changes to the city’s streets and trails have yet to be seen.

Today, the gap between planning and building shortens.

City Council will consider a resolution today to accept the PedNet Project Infrastructure Working Plan, which outlines a batch of projects ready for “preliminary engineering.”

“It’s a broad brush plan with some detail,” said Ted Curtis, senior urban planner for the PedNet Project. “There’s not a lot of information on specifics. The next step is to refine this plan through preliminary engineering.”

This upcoming step is an assessment process that works out the kinks in the various projects listed in the plan and nets more accurate cost estimates for them.

For example, Curtis knows that some streets or paths will need to be widened and that some intersections will need to be modified, but until preliminary engineering is done he will not know what materials and how much time and manpower will be necessary, as well as how much the overall projects could cost.

This process will also define which projects can be implemented, based on a set of criteria that includes their potential to increase pedestrian and cyclist traffic and their connectivity.

Projects will be approved based on their timeline.

Congress is expecting a final report in 2010 detailing Columbia’s

progress, so projects that can be completed by then will be given priority.

Some of the projects being discussed include creating a pedestrian overpass connecting Clinkscales Road with Cosmopolitan Park, fixing the overpass at Douglass High School, creating a better sidewalk system around the Columbia Mall area and building trails connecting the MKT, Hinkson and Bear Creek trails to neighborhoods.

The PedNet Project is aimed at getting more people to use means other than a car to get in and around Columbia.

“It’s about transportation,” Curtis said. “How do we get more people to use the network and an increase in modal shift?”

The budget for the PedNet Project is $28 million, $6 million of which is coming from city capital funds to be used for projects the city was already planning on implementing.

Engineers will be contracted to follow through with the assessment. Once a project is assessed, it will be presented to city council for approval. Projects will also be presented to the public for their input through meetings, workshops and hearings.

Once projects are approved, bidding for contractors can begin, which will be followed by actual construction.