Active Transportation Plan
Our Vision
People of all ages and abilities living, working, and visiting the City of Dayton have access to affordable, safe, and convenient methods of cycling, walking, and other types of micro-mobility.
What is Active Transportation?
Active transportation is human-powered transportation that engages people in healthy physical activity while they travel from place to place. People walking, bicycling, using strollers, wheelchairs/ mobility devices, skateboarding, and rollerblading are engaged in active transportation.
Active transportation planning involves community engagement specific to the needs of people who walk and bicycle, but also those who use mobility devices, such as scooters. An active transportation plan outlines the vision, goals, and strategies needed to support safe, convenient, and accessible active transportation options. It is important and beneficial to meet the needs of people walking and bicycling by planning for and directing investments in infrastructure and programs that support active transportation options.
Why Did the City of Dayton Complete an Active Transportation Plan?
Dayton is notable for its unique geography along the Great Miami River and its tributaries, the Stillwater River, Mad River, and Wolf Creek. Due to these natural amenities and relative lack of major elevation change, Dayton is ideal for active transportation pursuits, as it is part of the Miami Valley region’s 350+ mile network of paved, multi-use recreational trails--the Nation’s Largest Paved Trail Network--connecting schools, parks, historic landmarks, and area attractions. By establishing a clear vision and implementation plan for Dayton’s Active Transportation Plan (ATP), the city can leverage this network to improve the quality of life of its residents and further cement its reputation as a recreation destination.
The Active Transportation Plan will help the city prioritize projects and identify appropriate funding sources to complete them and in doing so, move closer to realizing our vision.
Learn More
Visit our planning website to see notes and results from the 2021-2023 planning process.
Access the final plan on our Plans, Studies, and Reports page.
Explore the analysis of existing conditions and safety realities on our roadways by exploring the State of Walking and Biking report.
Network Vision
The existing conditions analysis, public input, and steering committee meetings led to a vision for a complete active transportation network, see the map below. Infrastructure recommendations include adding:
- 10 miles of sidewalks,
- 124 miles of on-street bikeways,
- 12 miles of shared use paths; and
- improvements to the 252 intersections.
Three projects were selected to highlight and create visualizations of what the implemented projects could look like. More details on the projects can be found in the Priority Projects chapter of the Active Transportation Plan.
Visualization of Project 12 (W 3rd Street from western boundary to Williams Street)
Visualization of Project 38 (W Stewart Street and Randolph Street from E Edwin C Moses Boulevard to McCall Street)
Visualization of Project 49 (E Monument Avenue from N Jefferson Street to N Keowee Street)
What's Next?
The creation of this plan and final recommendations intentionally focused on collaboration and community input; implementation will follow the same standard. In March 2024, the Bike.Walk.Ride Committee reconvened to begin guiding implementation of the various programs and projects identified in the Active Transportation Plan.
Check out their Action Plan, approved in 2024, and view agendas and notes from quarterly meetings below.