Crafton Tull was hired by Pulaski County to update the countywide Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan that our staff completed in 2006. The primary focus of phase one was to coordinate with cities and agencies to collect existing and planned bicycle & pedestrian infrastructure for Central Arkansas. After this data was compiled in GIS, the generator’s assessment began by analyzing walking zones around public and private primary and secondary schools. One and two-mile routes available from each school were generated to provide an understanding of access to current and planned trails and to assist with future infrastructure recommendations. The exercise illuminated the need for multiple regional trails that would act as network spines to the north and south to connect to the Arkansas River Trail, the planned Southwest Trail, and the future Southeast Trail towards Jefferson County. Additional routes to the northeast and northwest to connect the Arkansas River Trail northwest to Sherwood/Jacksonville and Faulkner County, respectively, have been considered, as well as the reinforced importance of a western loop to connect Pinnacle Mountain State Park to the Southwest Trail in western Pulaski County.

Phase Two of the plan’s update focused on future facilities between cities within unincorporated areas of the county to create full connectivity of bicycle and pedestrian networks regardless of jurisdictional lines.