El Paso City Council approves four hike-bike projects for submission to MPO

Hike and bike paths may soon be coming to your neighborhood. On Tuesday, El Paso City Council gave the green light to secure funding for four projects.

Those discussed are:

Resler Drive between Belvidere Street and Helen of Troy Drive in the west side.
Independence Drive between Yarbrough Drive and Whittier Drive in the Lower Valley. Viscount Boulevard between Montwood Drive and Ponder Park in the east side.
River Bend Drive between Frontera Road and Turnstone Drive in the Upper Valley.

Bike enthusiasts have been pushing for a wider connectivity network. Scott White from Velo Paso Bicycle-Pedestrian Coalition is one of them who spoke before city council before city reps unanimously voted to move forward with securing funding for the four projects across the city.

“Historically, El Paso has underfunded any sort of transportation projects out there. Almost all the projects have been going to roads, which is great for people who want to get around, but not for those who want to walk or bike,” White said.

White said many people are forced to use their cars to get around El Paso. Now that council has taken action, the projects, including their grand price tag of about $2.64 million will go before the Metropolitan Planning Organization for approval.

District 1 Rep. Ann Morgan Lilly said the bike lanes on Resler have been debated for eight years now and acclaimed city employees for their work.

“This time it looks like it’s going to be a real success. I thank you very much,” she said Tuesday.

Bike-ped activist White said it’s about more than getting from point A to point B.