The Bristol Byways Committee is asking all residents and visitors to the Pemaquid peninsula to complete an online survey about pedestrian and bicycle use and needs in the community.
The Bristol Byways Committee was formed to help implement the Bristol Byways project, which is a multiple-year program to safely connect Bristol’s residents and visitors with the beauty of the Pemaquid peninsula, its communities, and its neighbors.
Bristol Byways was initiated by the town of Bristol in 2009 as the Bristol Bicycle-Pedestrian Plan. Now, 10 years later, the committee is building on that original work by transitioning it into a collaborative program embracing Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus, the Central Lincoln County YMCA, South Bristol, and Damariscotta.
The goal is for Bristol Byways to be available year-round to walkers, bikers, wheelchair and walker users, snowshoe and cross-country ski users, baby carriage pushers, joggers, and, where applicable, snowmobiles and licensed passenger vehicles. Another goal is for these byways to conform with Americans with Disabilities Act standards and applicable state and local land use and development ordinances.
Wherever possible, Bristol Byways will employ existing paths, easements, and road shoulders to connect Bristol’s residents and visitors, as well as its villages, education and recreation sites, Coastal Rivers preserves, the East Coast Greenway, and the Maine Department of Transportation’s Tour 32 bicycle trail. New easements enabling new pathways to be created and enhanced shoulders installed when road maintenance is undertaken will provide more connectivity to more destinations.
In order to ensure that Bristol Byways meets the needs of the community, the committee needs members of the public to complete the survey by Oct. 15. Go to bristolmaine.org and select “Help Improve Pedestrian & Cyclist Access in Bristol.” Paper copies of the survey are also widely available in the community, at businesses, post offices, and the town office.
The survey results will be used to evaluate the adequacy of existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities, determine whether there are any safety issues, identify any improvements that should be made in the future, and help prioritize future state and local improvements to bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Bristol.
