Anchorage’s Federal Transportation Funding entity, AMATS, is currently accepting proposals for transportation infrastructure spending for 2015-16. We at your favorite non-profit all-volunteer organization – Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage – plan to submit a variety of bike infrastructure proposals. To help shape this request we’d like to hear from you!

To get your ideas, BCA will host an open house at REI this Friday, 10/18, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. BCA representatives will be prepared to (1) discuss what is already in the funding pipeline, (2) share some of BCA’s draft proposals for 2015-16 funding, and (3) get input from you as to your priorities for (a) new bike lanes, (b) new multi-use pathways, (c) needed maintenance or rehabilitation of existing bike lanes and paths, and/or (d) any other bicycling infrastructure projects that you think would make Anchorage/Eagle River a more bicycle friendly community. Using feedback from this open house, BCA will finalize a set of proposals and submit them to AMATS by the deadline of 10/28. We intend to submit projects totaling at least $10 million, our hoped-for bicycle infrastructure funding level for this planning period.

All ideas are welcome, but projects that help implement the Anchorage Bicycle Plan score extra points in the competitive project selection process. Don’t exactly remember what’s in the bike plan? Download a copy here:

http://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/AMATS/Documents/AdoptedBicyclePlan.pdf

Want to better understand this AMATS call for projects? Bike infrastructure typically gets funded under the “Transportation Alternatives” category. More information here:

http://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/AMATS/Pages/TIP.aspx

Hope to see you Friday!