City of Lompoc logoLompoc City Council has approved and finalized the City of Lompoc Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.

The plan assesses current conditions within the existing pedestrian and bicycle networks, identifies needs, and scopes and prioritizes future improvements.  Safety and safe routes to school are intended to be focal elements of this plan.

Lompoc City Council voted 5-0 last week to approve the pedestrian and bicycle master plan, which is available on the city’s website at: City of Lompoc Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.

Council also directed staff to update the Plan with several projects that were deemed beneficial to the City, but not consistent with the City’s General Plan, Circulation Element. To facilitate this update, Council also directed Staff to update the General Plan, Circulation Element to include these projects. Once included in the Circulation Element, Staff will include them in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan. These updates are to occur over the next year, or as time and resources allow.

This plan focuses primarily along heavily traveled school routes with high pedestrian and vehicle volumes, higher than average accidents, higher vehicle speeds, and prioritizing safety improvements at those locations.

The pedestrian component of this master plan identifies and prioritizes future projects to create a pedestrian network that encourages and facilitates walking.  This plan will seek to improve pedestrian safety and access to popular destinations including schools, shopping centers, employment, public facilities, and parks by assessing and implementing needed safety improvements such as sidewalk gap closures and crossing improvements at locations with heavy pedestrian traffic.

The bicycle component of the plan is an update to the previous 2008 Lompoc Bicycle Transportation Plan, it assesses projects that have been implemented since, while prioritizing new and updated projects that focus on safety, convenience for high-demand routes and new bicycle facilities that promote healthy living and community growth.

City of Lompoc staff is working on this project together with Lompoc schools and the Lompoc Unified School District, Allan Hancock College’s Lompoc campus, the local business community, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) staff, Healthy Lompoc Coalition, Santa Barbara County Public Works, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), members of other partnering organizations, and community members in support of walking and biking.