In the not too distant future, it could be a lot easier and safer to get around by bicycle in the City of Buffalo. The development of the city's Bicycle Master Plan is now in the works.Mayor Byron Brown says since he took office, 70 miles of bike lanes have been added to city streets. Ten more miles are on the way this year. Brown says to best plan further expansion, the city is in the process of hiring a consultant.
"It's all about making the city more livable,making the city more bicycle-pedestrian friendly, improving our quality of life, improving the health of our residents, and being protective of our environment as well," Brown says.
Brown says it will be a community driven process and the city will be working closely with GO Bike Buffalo. Executive Director Justin Booth says investing in infrastructure to encourage more bike commuting can have tremendous benefits for the local economy and improve air quality.
Booth says so far, Buffalo has provided bike racks to more than 400 businesses.
"That's been something that the city continually has to invest resources in because businesses want to provide bicycle parking for either their employees and or customers. There's a waiting list. Once those get installed, we're going to be up to over 600 bicycle racks for the entire city," Booth says.
Before the Bicycle Master Plan goes any further though, the mayor says the Common Council has to okay the consultant's hiring.
