TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) -- Monday night was the first of five regional meetings across the state as the Alabama Department of Transportation looks to update its Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.
As the ALDOT makes improvements to roadways, it's looking for input from the community on how to better bike and pedestrian pathways.
"To compare to the other states I’ve biked in, it doesn’t seem to be as big of a priority," said Wayne Yarbrough from Alberta City said. "But the fact that we’re having this meeting shows that there is an interest in it.”
Yarbrough is a recreational and commuter biker. He said he wants to see Tuscaloosa be more biker friendly.
"Gets a little sketchy out there on some of these roads," Yarbrough said. "But to be able to have better bike paths, I think it makes it safer and relieves traffic and makes it where you can commute instead of just recreational biking, which is a smaller percentage of the people."
Rollins Baird has lived in Tuscaloosa for the last five years. He said some areas are nice for biking, but as a whole said some areas are disconnected, making it hard to bike across the city.
"You see a lot of people riding bicycles around campus, but if you want to actually get away from campus and see the rest of what Tuscaloosa has to offer just by walking or biking, it could make it more difficult to," Baird said. "Especially with roads like McFarland or 15th Street, they kind of separate areas of Tuscaloosa, and crossing that on a bicycle could be really intimidating.”
The ALDOT said it’s vital to get input from the people who use these paths every day.
"By having these meetings, we learn from the public on where they think these bicycle and pedestrian needs are, and we can incorporate those into future projects,” said ALDOT West Central Region Public Information Officer John McWilliams.
“More lanes, mixed-use paths would definitely be beneficial in Tuscaloosa, especially seeing how many of those are already funded is hopeful," Baird said. "I would like to see more shared-use paths and protected lanes rather than signage. But overall, I think there’s a lot of great things. It looks promising.”
The next meeting will be in Huntsville on Tuesday with one in Birmingham on Wednesday. You can learn more about the upcoming regional meetings by clicking here.