BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Walk Bike alliance has a mission of improving pedestrian safety across the state, but in order to build more infrastructure this group needs to secure funding from the state.
So the Idaho Walk Bike Alliance is hosting a state transportation conference at the Idaho State Capitol on Tuesday to bring city leaders, state lawmakers and other stakeholders together.
“We consider our partners to be people like the truckers, the loggers, the contractors, the road engineers and the Idaho Transportation Department," said Cynthia Gibson the executive director of the Walk Bike Alliance. "We want to work together to create a transportation bill that works for all.”
Over the last ten years the Bike Walk Alliance has been working to improve pedestrian safety and that includes working with lawmakers to raise two million dollars for a few years that went towards building 26 sidewalk projects in 26 different communities across the state.
However, this organization believes more needs to be done and it's not just creating walking and bike friendly cities, they also want to help rural communities who face a different challenge when it comes to pedestrian safety.
“That’s another part of what we are trying to achieve here is to raise awareness on walking and biking infrastructure in rural areas, particularly pedestrian crosswalks and children crosswalks," said Lance Giles who is lobbying for state dollars on behalf of the Idaho Walk Bike Alliance. "We are trying to bring everyone together not only to raise funding but awareness of transportation as a whole."
The transportation conference will be held from 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Idaho State Capitol on Tuesday and it's open to the pubic.
The Conference includes the following presentations:
· Moving Idaho Forward: The State of Idaho Transportation Infrastructure & Revenue Sources
· Facilitated Idaho Legislative Panel Discussion
· Facilitated Idaho Transportation Industry Panel Discussion
· Utah’s Pilot Project - Autonomous and Connected Vehicles; How They Interact with People Walking and Bicycling
· Public Transit Challenges and Opportunities in Idaho’s Rural & Urban Communities
· Transportation Design Study – How to Achieve Success Working with Multiple Jurisdictions & Transportation Needs
