RADFORD – The New River Valley Regional Commission recently developed an interactive plan to highlight existing bikeway, walkway, and Water Trails throughout the region.
Community stakeholders, local government, and transportation professionals identified areas where infrastructure could enhance alternative transportation capabilities in the New River Valley. The Bike-Ped-Paddle Plan presents a vision of safe, reliable, healthy, and environmentally-friendly alternatives to motorized transportation.
Existing and proposed bikeways and walkways are showcased in each of the five areas to include the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and the City of Radford. Examples of area priorities include: improving access to Jefferson National Forest, extending the Huckleberry Trail further into downtown Christiansburg, extending Heritage Pathways in Floyd, connecting the New River Trail to Randolph Park in Pulaski County, connecting parks and schools to the Riverway Trail in Radford, and extending the New River Water Trail from the Claytor Lake dam to its current terminus at the Giles County line, among other priorities.
The Bike-Ped-Paddle Plan is a web-based, interactive resource that was prepared in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation, local governments, and planning departments throughout the region. A new interactive format was implemented to build upon and enhance the accessibility of previous versions of the Bike-Ped-Paddle plan.
The adoption of this plan is a step towards reaching regional goals of multimodal transportation, connectivity of trails within and beyond the region, and development of new facilities in coordination with Virginia Department of Transportation projects.
The Bike-Ped-Paddle Plan can be viewed at https://arcg.is/1W188H.