By TORI JENNINGS

Special to The Gazette

The Stevens Point Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) is working to improve transportation convenience, safety and access for all road users with help from citizens and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP).

Geography major Elizabeth (Ellie) Corbin, used a 60-hour independent study program and volunteered additional time to create the Stevens Point Bicycling Routes Map. The user-friendly map represents city bicycle routes based on comfort-level and convenience.

The bicycling map project gave Corbin professional job and interpersonal skills outside the classroom. Corbin collected GIS data from Portage County, then designed and formatted the map, working across disciplines with Christine Koeller, a UWSP GIS faculty associate; Tori Jennings, adjunct faculty in sociology and social work; UWSP art and design undergraduate Laura Seeger; and Kyle Kearns, associate city planner and staff liaison to BPAC.

Map design is time-consuming and highly detailed work that requires both technical and artistic skills.

“Overall, this experience has grown my knowledge of ArcMap, Adobe Illustrator and the planning process behind a project,” said Corbin in an interview for UWSP Geo News. “I am thankful that the UWSP area continues to offer and promote experiences like this.”

Stevens Point residents and UWSP students have assisted BPAC in other ways as well. In September, BPAC conducted a two-day bicycle/pedestrian count with about 30 volunteers.

Following a training session, volunteers collected data using standardized count procedures established by the National Pedestrian and Bicycle Documentation Project.

BPAC member Bill Fehrenbach, organized and directed the 2016 bike/pedestrian count.

Fehrenbach has taught mathematics for 30 years at both the K-12 and university level. He currently teaches statistics in the UWSP Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Results from the count confirm the popularity of walking and biking in Stevens Point. In a two-hour period in 13 locations from around the city, 543 bicyclists and 1,122 pedestrians were observed on a Wednesday. On Saturday morning, the totals were 419 bicyclists and 3,649 pedestrians. The Saturday pedestrian counts were very high due to several popular events in the downtown area that day.

“This is by no means a comprehensive statistical study,” said Fehrenbach. “Rather, it is more of a couple of ‘snapshots’ of bicycle and pedestrian activity on two days in September.”

The overall results nevertheless show an increase in bicycle and pedestrian activity in many locations in the city when compared to previous counts.

Understanding bike/pedestrian traffic helps the city of Stevens Point make better planning and street design decisions. Stevens Point ranks fourth among the top 25 cities in Wisconsin for people who bike to work per the 2015 American Community Survey.

The Stevens Point Bicycling Routes Map will be available for free at the upcoming second annual BPAC open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Mid-State Technical College in Stevens Point.

BPAC members include Tori Jennings, chair; Trevor Roark, vice-chair; Scott Cole; Bill Fehrenbach; and Michael O’Meara.