'Bike-N-Brainstorm' Set in Akron Area

The Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) is hosting its third Bike-N-Brainstormof the 2013 season in Barberton.  

The Barberton Bike-N-Brainstorm will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Snyder Avenue Trailhead (Wolf Creek Trailhead) located at 33 Snyder Avenue in Barberton.  

The agency’s popular Bike-N-Brainstorms are an innovative way that the agency uses to gain public insight as to what should be done to improve biking in the Greater Akron area.  

A Bike-N-Brainstorm begins with cyclists meeting at a designated area before embarking on a group bike ride along key corridors to experience firsthand what it’s like to bike there.  At the end of their ride, group members participate in a brainstorming session with agency personnel and local officials to share their ideas as to what can be done to improve bike travel within the area. 

Participants will ride a 9.7-mile route through various parts of Barberton, including through downtown and along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.  Short breaks are scheduled along the ride to highlight diverse riding conditions and potential improvements.  

The agency uses feedback it receives from ride participants to plan and prioritize bike infrastructure improvements. 

The information to be gleaned from this event will also be used in future Barberton planning efforts. In May, the city was one of two recipients selected by AMATS to receive a $50,000 grant from the agency’s Connecting Communities Planning Grant Program for itsNorth-South Community Connection Plan. 

Bath Township was the other recipient.

The plan will identify how to overcome barriers and improve connectivity between residential neighborhoods and downtown and enhance bicycle, pedestrian and transit options.