<p>Over the past decade, significant improvements have made Franklin more friendly for walkers, runners and cyclists.</p>
<p>Pathways and walking areas have connected neighborhoods to shopping areas, parks and schools all over Franklin. The greenway trail has created an east-west corridor from one end of the city to the other.</p>
<p>But city officials know that improvements can still be made, and they want the community’s perspective to best plan for that.</p>
<p>Franklin will host an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. today to discuss the city’s bicycle and pedestrian master plan. People are invited to come in and learn about potential improvements and additions to the city’s pedestrian infrastructure, not only for the immediate future but looking forward the next two decades, said Tricia McClellan, project manager at Rundell Ernstberger Associates, which is leading the project for the city.</p>
<p>"Franklin has done a great job to this point providing some different facilities, both for both bikes and pedestrians," she said. "But they also realize that they’ve been running with what they can, and not really looking at the entire city and how it works together, and also how it works in with proposed regional connections too. So the plan really is important to provide that roadmap for the future."</p>
<p>In 2017, Franklin was selected as one of 10 cities to receive planning funding from Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization to develop pedestrian and bicycle master way plans. Funding became available in 2018, and to help lead the effort, the city hired Rundell Ernstberger Associates, a company specializing in urban design, landscape architecture, planning, and civil engineering services.</p>
<p>Officials are putting together a comprehensive inventory of sidewalks, curb ramps, bicycle lanes and trails to determine where these amenities are, their conditions and what needs to be done to address any problems.</p>
<p>During a public meeting in June, people came together to provide ideas of where improvements were needed, and what should be added in future years.</p>
<p>Those ideas have been compiled, and all of the suggestions will be on display during the open house, McClellan said.</p>
<p>"At this meeting, we’ll be reviewing the proposed facilities that would be coming out of the plan: proposed bike lanes, greenways, multi-use paths, sidewalks — really everything related to pedestrians," she said. "We want to get input from the public about what they think about what we’re proposing."</p>
<p>No formal presentation is planned during the open house; people are open to stop by the Franklin Cultural Arts &amp; Recreation Center at their leisure to learn more about the pedestrian plan, as well as provide additional opinions about the direction the city should take.</p>
<p>Involving the public is a critical part of this project, and organizers want to be sure as many people as possible have a chance to contribute, McClellan said.</p>
<p>"We want to be sure we heard everybody right, and we haven’t missed anybody or anything in this plan," she said.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Franklin Bicycle &amp; Pedestrian Master Plan Public Open House</p>
<p>What: An open house event for the community to learn more about potential improvements to Franklin’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, as well as voice their own opinions.</p>
<p>When: 4-7 p.m. today</p>
<p>Where: Franklin Cultural Arts &amp; Recreation Center, 396 Branigin Blvd.</p>
<p>Who: The event is open to everyone</p>
<p>To learn more about the project: franklinbikepedplan.com</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
