Muscle Powered pushes walking and biking safety

Muscle Powered Carson City plans to put muscle into an effort to make sure walkers and bikers are safe when the freeway bypass reaches U.S. Highway 50 on the city’s south side.

The muscle involved will be inside and mostly at rest when a contingent from the organization, also known as Citizens for a Walkable and Bikeable Carson City, shows up late today at the Community Center’s Sierra Room for a meeting of the Regional Transportation Committee.

“We’re trying to get as many Muscle Powered members as we can,” said Donna Inversin, president of the 105-member group. That’s not all; she said the group has a contact list numbered at 227.

Anne Macquarie, a founder and board member of the group, said it will be interesting to see the turnout.

“It’s hard to say,” she mused when asked how many might show, “because we really haven’t asked our members to do something like this in years.”

The goal is to register the group’s concern that Nevada Department of Transportation plans for the intersection include what group leaders believe was agreed upon earlier.

“At the Carson City RTC meeting on Jan. 8, 2014, NDOT will be presenting their preliminary plans for the completion of the Carson City Freeway Bypass,” according to an update sent out by Muscle Powered.

“The city, Muscle Powered and NDOT had a meeting to discuss this issue and NDOT agreed to include a separate off-highway path from Old Clear Creek Road to Appion Way on the west side of Carson Street, and to add dedicated bike lanes,” the update said.

“However, we have not yet seen these changes shown on any revised plans.”

The RTC session is set to begin immediately after a Carson Area Metropolitan Organization meeting, probably about 5 p.m. today at the Community Center. The CAMPO meeting is slated for 4:30 p.m.