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Bikeway Master Plan

Laurel’s high population density, many retail offerings, expansive public park system, and compact size encourage the accomodation of transportation modes that differ from the omnipresent automobile.  With that in mind, the City's vision is to provide a safe and viable means for pedestrians and bicyclists to safely and easily navigate City streets and take advantage of all the City has to offer.

To that end, In August of 2009, the City of Laurel presented the Laurel Bikeway Master Plan for public comment.  In late September, 2009 the Mayor and City Council of Laurel approved and adopted the plan through Resolution No. 10-09.  As the City grows and changes, so should the Bikeway Transportation Plan.  To assure this, and to accommodate any new growth or revised land use, the Plan will be reviewed and updated as necessary every three years.  The adopted Bikeway Transportation Plan will be an adjunct to the City’s Master Plan and Capital Improvement Plan and will be part of Adequate Public Facilities review for all future developments.

1.  BIKE PLAN
(click image to download 3 MB PDF)

2.  Download your own Bike Map. 

Click HERE for 11x17 map (PDF).

3.  PLAN PROGESSION AND PENDING PUBLIC HEARINGS

The first streets to be designated as bike routes are 4th street and 5th Street.  A Public Hearing was held in Meeting Room #2 at City Hall on 7pm, Thursday January 28, 2010 on the topic of adding two miles of bike lanes along 4th Street and 5th Street. The on-street bike lanes will connect the Riverfront Park trail to the paths around Gude Lake Park. In addition, 4th Street provides direct access to Main Street, the Historic District, Laurel Commons and the Laurel Shopping Center.  More details of the planned improvements can be found here.

 3.1 UPDATE October 2010 
  1.  On-street bike lanes have been installed on parts of 4th Street.
  2.  2 miles of signed and Marked bike routes have been established on 4th street and 5th street.
  3.  The City has purchased and begun installing custom bike racks across the City.
  4.  The City has constructed a short hiker/biker trail to connect the intersection of 4th/Cherry with the Gude Lake     paths.

  3.2 UPDATE November 2010
  1.  With the Reconstruction of 4th Street into a tree-lined Boulevard, additional on-street bike lanes have been installed on 4th Street Between Ashforld Blvd and Greenhill Drive.  These bike lanes will continue to the southern termination of 4th Street at Cherry Lane; however, this work will have to wait until next spring
  2.  The sidewalk and medians on Cherry Lane has now been expanded to accomodate walkers and bikers from 4th street to provide greater access to the Gude Lake paths via the new access trail.

3.3 UPDATE April 2011
Phase 1 of the bikeway masterplan has been completed.  Phase 1 connects Gude Lake Park with Riverfront Park via 4th and 5th Streets. See here for more information.

3.4 Update August 2011
New bike lanes have been installed on Cypress Street, from Oxford to Mulberry. In addition, Laurel's first intersection bike box has been installed to aid cyclists turning left onto Mulberry Street.

Laurel Lakes Ave and Laurel Lakes Court will be designated a preferred Bike Route, per the masterplan.  These roads will be signed with "Bike Route" signs and marked on the street with sharrows. This work is expected to begin the week of August 22nd and be completed within a couple of business days, weather permitting.

 

4.  RELATED LINKS

 

5.  WALKLAUREL SURVEY RESULTS

Last November, DPW conducted a survey on the City pedestrian infrastructure.  The results are posted in two parts:  the graphical responses are HERE, and the user-comments (along with DPW responses) are HERE.

6.  PEDESTRIAN and BIKE CRASH DATABASE

DPW has developed a database for recording pedestrian and bike crashes.  The database cover from the beginning of 2007 up to the present and is continually updated. A map of pedestrian crashes from 2007 thru 2010 can be found here.