CEDAR FALLS - A task force looking at ways to enhance bicycling as transportation in Cedar Falls has recommended the city put together a comprehensive plan to make bikes more common on city streets.

The bike task force started working last summer to make the city more friendly to bicycle commuters.

"The trails in the metro area are second to none in Iowa, and from what I've seen as good as anywhere," said avid cyclist Bob Morgan, a member of the committee.

The extensive trails system has increased bicycling in Cedar Falls and attracted tourists to ride the trails, Morgan said. But use of bicycles as practical transportation could grow.

"Bicycling can do more for the city. It can reduce traffic. Bicycles don't send noxious fumes into the air, it doesn't pollute," Morgan said.

The committee asked the City Council to look at a comprehensive plan for bicycle transportation, including things such as bike lanes on new or reconstructed roads. It also asked the council to look at pilot projects to start this year and to plan for long-term adaptations to make streets more hospitable as bikeways.

Jon Taiber, who worked and commuted by bicycle in Chicago before he moved back to the Cedar Valley two years ago, said the goal should be to get a bicycle travel network between all the major points of interest. A logical starting point would be connecting downtown to other parts of the city.

"There are lots of low-cost things we can do," Taiber said. "The cost to do some of them versus developing bike trails is really pretty minor."

Kevin Blanshan, transportation director for the Northland Iowa Regional Council of Governments, would like the bike proposal to expand beyond just Cedar Falls. He said planning should incorporate on-street bike corridors that tie Waterloo and Cedar Falls together, making bicycle transportation more practical for people whose lives extend beyond city borders.

Blanshan said bicycle travel will become more a part of metro traffic planning.

"We've kind of given this lip service in the past and that's OK, but we fully expect that to change, and we are excited about this," Blanshan said.

An important part of a plan is educating cyclists and drivers to safely coexist.

Morgan told the council committee statistics show commuting by bicycle is safer than by car, but that is not the perception.

"To encourage people to ride bicycles we have to do something to make them feel safe," Morgan said.

Taiber said the city should strive to match the more than 30 miles of bike trails in the city with an equal number of on-road bike corridors.

Bike corridors would include more places to park bicycles, designate bicycle routes, bike lanes and separated facilities.

Additional facilities could include showers, either public or provided by employers, such as at John Deere and ME&V, among others.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.