Orange barrel shuffle

         The temps are cooling, the leaves are changing, the colors are vibrant in the forests and the road projects are blossoming.  This year was remarkable in our area as the towns  townships and villages come closer to the network of bike infrastructure which has been planned over the years.

One of the most important was the north/south corridor

 on Portage street which was dieted and bike lanes added.  

Lanes were buffered wherever road width allowed, 

Bus Boxes were painted in red at bus stops

and bike boxes painted in green at the appropriate intersections. This is a project which has been planned more than 10 years.  Most projects are that or longer from planning to implimentation.  This will extend farther south to the interstate in the next couple of years 

and the city of Portage is adding a trail extension south of I94  to connect with with their  trail network which will finally extend to the village of Vicksburg 

using the newly completed trail east of Austin Lake.

    That's not all the City of Portage is doing. They've continued the improvements on the south end of Portage Rd and developed new MUP's leading from the residential areas  to the retail area between Austin and West Lakes.

    Things keep developing with the KRVT trail extension to Battle Creek and the Fruit Belt Trail on the other side of town.  Most of the work is a significant part of scheduled road improvements which have been planned for years.  As a cyclist who has been engaged in urban cycling for over 50 years I am ecstatic to see these improvements.  Hell, I still think ADA curb cuts are a luxury.  Watching this interconnected network developing is overwhelming and can only lead to better and more practical cycling while the cities develop safer driving corridors.