Members of a consulting team for the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization discuss the Active Tyler transportation plan at East Texas Brewing Company on May 17, 2018 in Tyler, Texas. (Erin Mansfield/Tyler Morning Telegraph) 

Regional planners are seeking public input on where new bike lanes, walking trails and equestrian trails should be built in the area.

The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization held a reception Thursday night at East Texas Brewing Company to gather public feedback.

The organization does transportation planning for most parts of Smith County, including the cities of Arp, Bullard, Hideaway, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Noonday, Troup, Tyler, Whitehouse and Winona.

Heather Nick, the executive director of the Tyler Area MPO, said the purpose of its latest initiative, called Active Tyler, is to come up with a long-range plan for people who want to bike, run, ride horses and otherwise be physically active.

She said active transportation will help promote public health, and that recent community surveys performed by the city of Tyler show that members of the public want more active transportation options to improve their quality of life.

Brent Bradberry, a senior planner for the Tyler Area MPO, said the Active Tyler plan being compiled from public feedback will give local governments a document that makes it easier to apply for state and federal transportation grants.

Members of the public who showed up for the event said there should be more pedestrian trails in the region and more bike lanes to improve safety on the roads, which a few said were unsafe to ride their bikes.

Graham Jones, 49, of Tyler, said he’d like to see running trails, especially in the southern part of the city. He suggested the city build them from crushed gravel and put water fountains along the route.

“Most of us runners, basically, we can run around Rose Rudman trail, run up and down Grande (Boulevard), around Faulkner Park, but if all of that was sort connected and going south and maybe even west over to Lindsey Park,” that would be nice, he said.

“(It would) be great if we had more than a 3-mile stretch of road to run on because a lot of us do 15 to 20 mile runs, so if we had somewhere that we could just go out and back,” Graham Jones said.

Brandy Jones, 48, of Tyler, is a triathlete. “Biking is pretty important because it’s pretty dangerous on these rural roads, so if we can have some areas that we can get off the main roads, we’ll be better off,” she said.

Leesa Lewis, 55, of Tyler, suggested bike racks be placed throughout the city because when she rides her bike to run errands she has to either lean it up against a building or bring it inside with her.

She also spoke to safety issues.

“I do ride on the road, and I ride on the sidewalks,” Lewis said. “I prefer not to ride on the sidewalk, but sometimes I feel like I take my life into my own hands if I’m out on the road. I’d like for motorists to be a little more receptive.”

Bill Lewis, 56, of Tyler, said he’s thrilled about a project the city of Tyler is working on with UT Tyler to paint 130 miles of bike lanes on 12 different routes throughout the city.

“Basically the only thing Tyler knows is driving,” Lewis said. There is very little alternative transportation in Tyler, so good sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, blinking yellow lights encourage people that they can walk and be able to not worry about their safety.”

Bradberry, from the Tyler Area MPO, said about 40 members of the public filled out surveys online on Thursday morning. People who still want to submit a survey can do so at www.ActiveTyler.com.

TWITTER and INSTAGRAM: @_erinmansfield