Sign Plan For Bike Routes In Fairfield Goes To Police Panel

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Aiming to have two new, fully identified and clearly marked off bike routes on town road shoulders in place for the warm weather bicycling season, the Town of Fairfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee will present bike route signage plans to the Fairfield Police Commission on Wednesday, Feb. 10 for its review and approval.

This is how the Bike Route signs will look in Fairfield.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Ken Davis

02/03/2016 4:10 a.m.

Interested members of the public are welcome to attend the session at 4:30 p.m. at the Fairfield Police Department.

“We believe our proposed signage, striping and road-marking plan for the emerging bike route network in Fairfield will greatly increase motorist awareness of cyclist road travel and help to make cycling safer for all users of the road,” said Keith Galinelli, chairman of the Fairfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee appointed by the town’s Board of Selectmen.

The signage plan, developed with the town’s Engineering Department, supports two bike routes approved by the Police Commission last year. These include the Shoreline Bike Route, which extends 6.4 miles from the Westport to the Bridgeport border with Fairfield as well as the 4.25-mile-long Library to Library Route, which connects the Fairfield Woods branch library to the main Fairfield Public Library.

An earlier bike route extends along Mill Plain Road and the surrounding vicinity. The signage and road-striping work are made possible by funding from the Fairfield Health Department through the Connecticut Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant.

“Additional bike routes are planned for the future as well as other steps to also make walking a safer activity in Fairfield," Galinelli said. "We welcome public comment at the police commission hearing."

An online poll of 107 Fairfield residents conducted last year by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee found that a lack of developed bike routes or lanes was a major reason keeping them from using bicycles more frequently for primary transportation.

For more details on that survey and information on the committee and its work, visit http://www.fairfieldct.org/bikeped.

The Fairfield Bicycle and Pedestrian committee was created in 2014 by Fairfield town government leaders to encourage healthful walking and biking for transportation in order to conserves energy, improve air quality, reduce car traffic and the need for parking.

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