Article by Emily Wang, White River Now
Crews have started construction on a section of Batesville’s Main Street for a new bike and pedestrian path that is part of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
The new bike and pedestrian lane will occupy what was the former right lane of Main Street, beginning at the Bank of Cave City at 12th and Main streets. The lane will continue down Main Street and stop at 5th Street.
New benches, trees, light poles, and the type of brick to be used have all been strategically chosen to blend seamlessly into the surrounding area on Main Street, according to city officials. (Scroll down for digitally generated renderings of the path.) The project, which will be a portion of the Batesville Greenway System, is part of the Batesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, which is meant to enhance transportation alternatives.
The plan, developed with community and steering committee input, targets safe accessibility for residents and addresses connectivity, alternate transportation options, physical activity, and economic development.
According to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan draft, “Four percent of Batesville’s population walks to work, more than double the 1.7% of the population statewide. Forty-four percent of housing units in Batesville have one or fewer vehicles available, compared to 40% statewide. Ten percent of Batesville’s households have no vehicles available, compared to 6% of households statewide. Each of these comparisons indicates a need for additional transportation options.”
“This project on Main Street is an offshoot of a project we did back in 2018 from a grant from the health department to do a study for our master pedestrian and cycling plan for the city,” said Jeff Owens, the city’s parks and recreation director. “We’ve been working on it and doing pieces as time and money have come about, and we ended up with a grant to do it.”
The estimated $1.1 million project, which is expected to be completed by December, received funding from the ARDOT Transportation Alternatives Grant Program, which is an 80/20 match program, with 80% coming from the state and 20% locally.
The eventual goal is to connect the Batesville Greenway, a multi-use trail that was constructed for running, walking, cycling, and all other forms of non-motorized transportation, with the Boardwalk at Riverside Park.
In conjunction with this, the city is also working on a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) study funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
“The SS4A program focuses on improving vehicular, pedestrian, and cycling safety by evaluating our current infrastructure and policies,” said Owens. “The improvements to our traffic system may include such things as technology improvements in traffic signals and pedestrian crossings, trail and sidewalk improvements, educational programs, and possible policy changes within emergency services. The overall goal for this project is to make navigating our city as efficient as possible while greatly reducing or eliminating fatalities and serious injuries associated with traffic accidents.”
Above are images showing Main Street at the Bank of Cave City branch. The images on the left are current, while the images on the right are digital renderings of how the street will look after the completion of the pedestrian and bike lanes. Some details on the renderings are not final.
Images provided by the City of Batesville
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