Between 450 and 500 bicyclists met with city transportation officials recently to discuss a Bicycle Master Plan at University of Washington's Gould Hall.

The plan seeks to increase bike ridership and improve safety and representatives from Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Toole Design Group, the Maryland planning and design firm leading the project, laid out a systemic vision for how to get there and asked for the bicycling community to share their experiences, opinions and advice with city transportation officials

The plan, earmarked $300,000 for completion, builds on the policies laid out in the city's Comprehensive and Transportation Strategic Plans, and is part of the city's efforts to reduce gas emissions. The finished master plan will offer specific recommendations for connecting the city's network of trails and bicycle lanes. It will include low-cost, near-term actions, such as adding bike lanes to streets; middle-term solutions, such as providing signage for bike routes to improve navigation; and long-term projects, such as access to bridges.

The city expects to double the amount of bike lanes, which now exist on 6% of arterials, according to Pete Lagerwey, director of the city's bicycle and pedestrian programs.

A draft plan will be presented at the next public meeting in early December 2006. The public will be able to comment on the draft before it is submitted to the city council.

The draft will also include a ten year schedule for implementation and have "real budget numbers tied to it," Lagerwey said after the presentation. Completing the city's bike-trail network will cost as much as $30 million. Adding bike lanes and signs will cost much less.

"At the end of the day, you'll see more people bicycling in Ballard; that's what it's all about," said Lagerwey. "The facilities are a means to an end. We want more people bicycling and we want to reduce the number of crashes."

The finished plan would still only be a guide and not legally binding. There are no plans for adding it to Seattle 's Comprehensive Plan, which would make it an ordinance, according to Lagerwey.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW), a state-wide advocacy group, will campaign to have the master plan adopted as an ordinance in Seattle, said Barbara Culp, the alliance's executive director, in an interview after the presentation.

Attendees were invited to visit various work stations designed to gather public input. Stations included spot location issues, downtown access, north and south Seattle routes, and sign design.

"The Ballard Bridge is the major impediment to the north-south flow," said Davidya Kasperzyk, a bicyclist and architect who worked on the 2001 design study for completing the Burke-Gilman Trail. Currently bicyclists must cross at the Locks.

"Going from the Burke-Gilman Trail across downtown Ballard to Shilshole, you're taking your life in your hands," said James Dailey, a bicyclist who lives in Ballard. "We're not as fast as a car. We have to wait for a big gap in traffic, and that generally doesn't happen."

Education and enforcement will have to be written in for this to be a success, said Culp. Funding could be secured from federal grants.

"If the city were willing to apply for it the money is there," Culp said. The BAW and Feet First used a federal grant for their Safe Routes to School program, an education campaign that encourages children to walk and bike to school.