City staff recently unveiled plans for an expanded all-ages-and-abilities bike network to increase safety, comfort and connectivity along paths and streets, though the undertaking could take decades.
The goal of the plan, as presented at an April public meeting, is to reduce gaps and missing links in the existing network and establish a “high-comfort” network consisting of shared-use paths, cycle tracks, separated bike paths, bicycle boulevards, and buffered or standard bike lanes.
In high-density areas, parallel high-comfort routes would be spaced no further than a half mile apart, meaning bikers would need to travel no more than a quarter mile in either direction to reach a low-stress bikeway. In lower-density areas, the spacing would increase to a mile…