RTC of Washoe County is working to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists within central Sparks as part of the Neighborhood Network Plan.
They hosted a community workshop seeking feedback from locals about gaps in the sidewalks, problems with crossing the roads, unsafe bicycle conditions, and other safety concerns.
"We want to make sure that the roads are safe for pedestrians, that they're safe for cyclists, skateboarders, people on scooters, however people want to get around," said Marquis Williams, Senior Transportation Planner for RTC. "We want to make sure they can do it safely; we want to make sure they can do it comfortably."
While the neighborhood network plan includes 12 different neighborhoods in the Reno-Sparks area such as Verdi, Sun Valley, Spanish Springs, and South Meadows. Now RTC is just currently focusing on Midtown Reno and Central Sparks. This is anywhere from the Victorian Square to Outlets at Legends and up to El Rancho.
Williams says, "It's really an exciting process to try to improve biking, walking, and a community that has such great weather year-round really even when it's cold it's not that cold so bringing safe walking and biking infrastructure to the community is just super cool and super fun to be a part of."
Throughout the workshop locals wrote post-it notes on different parts of maps in Sparks. Lots of them about bike lanes.
For example, one note says, "Sparks Boulevard doesn't feel comfortable to bike." Another one says, "Need bike lane on Vista. Vista Boulevard has speeding cars which makes it uncomfortable to bike and walk."
RTC is accepting public comments online through March 14th. To learn more information on the project and share your input you can click here.
