City council gives thumbs up to Bike and Pedestrian Plan
No project commitments made with plan’s approval
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – The City of Tomahawk Common Council this week took a step toward planning the future of bicycling and walking in the city.
During its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6, the council voted to approve the City of Tomahawk Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The plan was developed over the course of several years by the city’s Park and Recreations Committee and the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (NCWRPC) and was funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation grant. Additional funding was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), NCWRPC and the City of Tomahawk.
The plan’s approval does not commit the city to any specific projects, but rather signals the council’s support for developing a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly transportation system in Tomahawk.
The plan will provide guidance the city can refer to when making upgrades and additions to its bicycling and walking infrastructure.
A wide range of topics is touched on in the plan, including improvements to trails and parks; engineering aspects, such as trail design, signage and lighting; and bicycle repair and electronic bicycle charging stations.
Maps of the city’s biking and walking routes are also included in the plan.
Plan summary
A plan summary prepared by NCWRPC and presented to the council says biking and walking are “essential to maintaining and promoting the quality of life for residents and visitors of Tomahawk.”
The summary provides data on types of cyclists, separated into four categories. The information was gathered in a June 2021 survey of City of Tomahawk residents.
“Strong and fearless” cyclists are described in the summary as “confident in their abilities and will ride regardless of roadway condition, amount of traffic, or inclement weather.” 6.9% of respondents identified themselves as being in this category.
“Enthusiastic and confident” cyclists made up 35.4% of respondents. They are “comfortable sharing the road with motor vehicles, but they prefer to ride on separate facilities like bike lanes” and “may or may not ride in inclement weather,” the summary says.
The highest percentage of respondents (42.3%) said they are “interested but concerned” about their vulnerability.
“Very few of these people regularly ride a bicycle, but they like riding,” the summary states. “They are concerned that their route is not safe to ride, so they don’t ride very often, and definitely do not ride when the weather is bad.”
According to the summary, 15.4% of respondents placed themselves in the “no way, no how” category. Individuals in this category are “not interested in bicycling at all, not even for recreation,” according to the summary.
NCWRPC said the challenge to increasing bicycling among the general population in Tomahawk is “making biking appeal to the big ‘interested but concerned’ contingent, and to better support the large ‘enthusiastic and confident’ group of riders.”
“By building a bicycle network that addresses the needs for the ‘interested but concerned’ group, the more confident bike riders will also be served,” NCWRPC stated.
The summary also highlights facilities designed to assist pedestrians with limitations, such as the elderly, children and people with physical or mental disabilities.
NCWRPC noted that facilities designed to assist pedestrians with such limitations “will be welcomed by everyone else.”
According to the summary, the preferred design for a curb ramp placement at an intersection is to have a separate curb ramp aligned with each crossing direction to allow all pedestrians to cross at the same location. At most intersections, a pair of perpendicular curb ramps placed at 90 degree angles to one another is the optimal design for meeting these criteria, the summary says.
With many sidewalk ramps missing citywide, NCWRPC recommended selecting parts of the city on a yearly basis to receive sidewalk ramps until all sidewalks have ramps at intersections.
The summary also lays out a series of goals to make bicycling and walking more attractive to both residents and tourists.
At the local level, goals directed at improving walking and biking for residents include establishing safe and convenient bike routes between trip generators for transportation purposes (to and from work and social occasions, running errands, etc.), providing bicycle parking, making all roads in the city safe to walk, making all sidewalks Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, improving confidence with biking on the road by providing basic bicycle safety education and encouraging the creation of a bicycling club, and providing safe routes to school.
The summary also provides a “Tourist Initiative.” According to the summary, establishing scenic bike loop routes and providing bicycle-friendly lodging will improve walking and biking for visitors to Tomahawk.
To view the full City of Tomahawk Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, visit www.bit.ly/3RqBEOq.