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SPOTL I GHT : PROTECTED NORTH- SOUTH B I KEWAY

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

Create a North-South Bike/Pedestrian Corridor

A third strategy for reducing vehicular traffic in and through Downtown is to enhance bicycle and pedestrian connections to and through the area. As a complement to Main Street - the primary north-south automobile corridor through Blacksburg - the town should build a north-south bike/pedestrian corridor on less- heavily trafficked streets that provides a clear path through Downtown. Based on Downtown’s current grid of streets and alleys, the most promising streets for this corridor are Progress and Draper. Progress runs from North Main to Jackson Street within Downtown, and also connects to neighborhoods north of North Main. Draper would provide riders and walkers a straight path from College Avenue to the Huckleberry Trail. A well-placed connection across Main Street would complete the corridor. It is recommended that funds for bike/ pedestrian facilities on Progress and Draper be included in future capital improvement plans. The town has already committed funds for the first phase of a Corridor Improvement Project for Progress, as well as for streetscape improvements on Draper. Utilizing the design recommendations found in the town’s Bicycle Master Plan the town should determine the types of facilities that will best serve the community’s needs, and incorporate those design practices into the upcoming streetscape projects.

DRAPER STREET

HUCKLEBERRY TRAIL

Establishing a North-South transportation alternative as part of a broader bike and pedestrian network can complement Main Street’s roadway capacity and help to manage traffic downtown. Draper and

Progress are both less-heavily trafficked streets that present potential routes for this bike and pedestrian corridor. This corridor can also connect several popular parks in downtown, and to the Huckleberry Trail.

STRATEGY 3 OBJECT I VES

 Improve multimodal access to and within Downtown area  Increase Downtown's capacity for growth and efficiency of land use by developing centrally-located structured parking

Chapter 2 - Analysis: A Framework for Downtown

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