The Southern Pines Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt a comprehensive bike plan that will make the town more friendly to bike and pedestrian traffic if implemented.

The vote came after a public hearing in which Charles Flink, president of Greenways Inc. presented the plan to council. The town hired Greenways Inc., an environmental consulting firm based in Durham, and Henderson Consulting to prepare the comprehensive bike plan, with the help of a local bicycle steering committee.

The drafted plan is part of a $45,000 Bicycle and Pedestrian grant awarded to the town by the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) last December.

NCDOT reviewed the plan and called it a “great plan,” said Robert Reeve, director of the Southern Pines Recreation and Parks Department.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative matches funds with municipalities as an incentive that encourages municipalities to help improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

The plan stresses interconnectedness through physical structures such as bike lanes and off-road or greenway trails, as well as educational programs.

To read the complete plan, click here.