Fwd: History of Walk, Roll & Bike Network Plan and Need for Public Hearing
Janet Sterman
From: KeepNewtonMoving <keepnewt...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 11, 2025, 2:18 PM
Subject: History of Walk, Roll & Bike Network Plan and Need for Public Hearing
To: KeepNewtonMoving <keepnewt...@gmail.com>
History of the Walk, Roll & Bike Network Plan and the Need for a Formal Public Hearing:
As the Council prepares to consider the Walk, Roll & Bike Network Plan, it is important to recognize that the City has never held a formal public hearing on the final version of this plan. The public engagement to date has been limited, outdated, and focused only on preliminary concepts; not the comprehensive, citywide redesign now under review.
The only citywide public presentation was a virtual meeting that occurred on June 13, 2023, when the plan was still early in development. At that meeting, residents were shown initial brainstorming concepts, not finalized network maps, corridor priorities, design cross-sections, or projected capital investments. The feedback received at that time reflected reactions to draft ideas; not the complete plan currently before the Council.
Following that initial session, the plan continued to evolve throughout 2023 and 2024 without any additional public presentation of the full proposal. The plan’s scope, branding, and proposed network expanded significantly, yet residents were never given the opportunity to review the updated materials or ask questions directly of staff and consultants.
The next official action involving the plan occurred more than two years later, on October 22, 2025, when the Public Facilities Committee met and voted 8–0 to advance the plan to the full Council. This was a committee meeting—NOT a public hearing—and no presentation of updated traffic analyses, emergency-access impacts, or environmental modeling was provided. Most importantly, there was no public testimony on the completed plan.
At no point has the City Council held a formal, advertised public hearing dedicated to reviewing the final version of the Walk, Roll & Bike Network Plan as submitted in September 2025. Residents, businesses, and emergency-service professionals have not had an opportunity to evaluate or comment on the actual streets-level proposals now under consideration.
For a plan of this magnitude with long-term implications for traffic flow, emergency response, business access, emissions, and neighborhood safety, residents deserve a transparent, updated, and fully informed public hearing. We urge the Council to schedule such a hearing before taking any vote on approval.