At a committee meeting last week, the Capital Region Council of Governments approved a policy to give funding priority to municipal road construction or reconstruction projects that accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. Connecticut’s regional planning bodies make annual recommendations to the state Department of Transportation regarding which municipal road and transit projects should be first in line to receive state and federal funding.The new policy will add substantial points in the agency’s calculus to projects that include bicycle paths, sidewalks, or traffic calming infrastructure.

“The intention is basically to get the region and state thinking more about bikes and pedestrians as they go through their design processes,” Thomas Maziarz, director of transportation planning for the Capital Region COG told the Hartford Courant.COG reps also said that if Conn DOT does not respect their new policy in its allocation of funds, they will likely approve an even firmer recommendation or requirement.

The CT Bicycle Coalition strongly supports approval of the measure and says it will be approaching the state’s fifteen other council of governments and regional planning bodies to do the same.

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