MARION (WSIL) -- Marion city leaders and planners are asking for your help developing the city's new bike plan.Â
They've hired a contractor and are in the early stages of planning.Â
The City of Marion is trying to keep up with demand of more riders like John Giffin and Josh Stafford of Vienna.
It's focused on building a plan for better and safer biking throughout and around town.
"I can't get from where I live to in town in a safe route so I would appreciate it if there were some way in-between that were a little bit safer,"Â said Marion cyclist Sherry Nelsen Smith.
That's just what the city plans on doing by using a Mixture of mixed traffic, visually separated, and physically separated routes.
"We're looking at developing a bike network that works for the city and connects all these great things like schools and parks and the Crab Orchard Greenway that's in development and of course the square," said Senior Complete Streets Planner Laurel Harrington.
"I'm happy with the progress being made just in town," added Smith.
But other riders are looking even further to the future, visualizing nearly all of southern Illinois connected through cycling routes.
"Southern Illinois has a ton to offer, it is a gorgeous place and to start building a network of bike trails that all interconnect would be a great thing and would be fun to see Marion be a part of that," said Vienna cyclist Josh Stafford.
Planners say for now that part of the plan is a long way down the road.
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