The city of Salem, Oregon has increasingly recognized the important role of biking and walking as a way of getting around the city.
The city’s Transportation System Plan identifies several active transportation projects as high-priority projects to be completed in the next 10 years. One of the high-priority projects is the Winter-Maple Neighborhood Greenway, which aims to create a safe, comfortable, and convenient corridor, provide better bike and pedestrian connections between downtown Salem and local schools, business centers, and activities, and reduce motor vehicle volumes and speeds.
What makes the Winter-Maple Greenway particularly significant is the presence of three schools along the route, including the Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) and two elementary schools. The presence of so many young children and the Deaf community is why advocates were committed to making the Greenway as safe as possible from the very beginning – and why they refused to back down when the first version of the plan didn’t adequately address safety.
