City of Sonoma Active Transportation Plan Available for Public Comment

The public is invited to review and comment upon the draft Sonoma Active Transportation Plan developed in cooperation with the Sonoma County Transportation Authority.

This plan “focuses on improving active transportation connections within the city and creating low stress connections to surrounding jurisdictions.” A review of the existing bike and pedestrian infrastructure such as sidewalks, dedicated paths, bike lanes and safety devices is included in the plan, as well as proposed and available funding sources for the implementation of the plan’s recommended goals.

In the words of the plan, “The primary emphasis of this planning effort is to increase access to active transportation modes by planning for infrastructure projects and identifying supportive policies. Active transportation refers to “human-powered” modes of travel, like walking, biking, or using mobility devices. Creating an environment that encourages a shift from automobile trips to walking or biking trips also promotes improvements to mental and physical health, air quality, reduces noise, and improves social equity. A safer and more connected network gives members of the community flexibility in their travel, so they do not need to rely on a personal vehicle to travel through the city and larger region.”

The plan focuses on:

• All Ages and Abilities – Creating spaces for people to walk, bike, and roll that are low-stress and lower risk to create more opportunities for more people to walk, bike, and roll.
• Regional Coordination – Identifying and planning regional routes between jurisdictions as part of the larger Countywide ATP.
• Implementation – Prioritizing projects and identifying funding to focus and streamline implementation. Low-stress network analysis was used to identify opportunities to upgrade or enhance existing or previously planned projects. The network analysis considered community and regional destinations, traffic safety, and gaps in existing facilities to help inform recommendations for enhanced or new active transportation improvements. Community input was gathered to ground truth and expand findings from the network analysis to create a robust project list and supporting policies.

To review the plan, click HERE. Comments may be submitted through November 30, 2024.