Knoxville bicyclists last year identified roads where they think improved riding conditions would create better connections for bicycle transportation, and a planning committee and professional design consultants teamed to study 220 potential projects in an 80-mile network.

City of Knoxville officials will present that plan - the finalized Bicycle Facilities Plan - at a public meeting that is being scheduled. The meeting time and location will be announced when finalized.

Hailing Knoxville's "bicycling renaissance," consultants Kimley-Horn and Associates and Toole Design Group prepared the Bicycle Facilities Plan. The plan identifies the improvements that could develop a system of connected bike corridors, including on- and off-road facilities, that is focused on improving the accessibility, safety and convenience of traveling by bicycle.

The consultants, with input from City and Transportation Planning Organization staff and members of the Bicycle Plan Steering Committee, narrowed and prioritized a list of more than 100 recommended projects needed to develop the bike facility network. These projects are sorted into immediate, short-term, mid-term and long-term timeframes. The priorities in the plan will help guide the use of current and future funding.

"If you put in good infrastructure for cycling, the whole city benefits. Investing in bicycling is investing in the city," said Jon Livengood, the City's Alternative Transportation Engineer, who works in the Engineering Department.

Click here to viewthe finalized report for the Bicycle Facilities Plan.

Click here to view the plan's appendix, whichcontains maps of proposed projects and a list of all the recommended projects.

At the upcoming public meeting, planners will present a map of the proposed corridor enhancements and the priority list of more than 100 projects - mostly new bike lanes or other safety accommodations, to be designed to account for traffic flow and road conditions.

Public input helped shape the final plan. More than 50 people attended a May 21, 2014, public meeting and commented on the plan's purpose, preliminary recommendations and upcoming milestones. More than 60 people also submitted comments through an online survey.

Last fall, the League of American Bicyclists recognized the City of Knoxville with a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award for the second time - and offered the City some suggestions. Click here to view suggestions.

Mayor Madeline Rogero has made it a priority to enhance bicycling in the City by making it safer and more convenient. Among some of the City's initiatives in the past year:

* The City added its fourth signed bicycle route - the 3.5-mile East Knoxville Bicycle Route, with directional signs showing the way from Gay Street through the Old City and the Parkridge neighborhood to the Knoxville Zoo and back.

* Two "bike corrals" - designated spaces for on-street bicycle parking - were installed in the 500 block of Gay Street and on Central Avenue. They were the City's second and third bike corrals; the initial one was built in the Old City.

* The City has incorporated bicycle lanes as a standard part of Streetscape work and as a consideration when roads are redesigned or resurfaced. New bike lanes on Prosser Road, connecting Magnolia Avenue and Chilhowee Park with the Knoxville Zoo, is an example.