MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake adopted a set of new guidelines geared toward improving bicycle transportation options in the city.

The Urban Bikeway Design Guide released by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) presents ideas for how bike lanes and other methods can be used to advance alternate transportation in urban areas.

Municipal Services Director Gary Harer recently told council members there is nothing mandatory about the guidelines, which present universal designs that can be altered to suit the individual needs of a city.

"It gives different options for the city and for the developers out there so we can come up with something that works for the City of Moses Lake," he said.

The Moses Lake Planning Commission recommended the city adopt the NACTO guidelines at the suggestion of the Moses Lake Trail Planning Team, which said the guide provides proven treatments and solutions to decrease the fear and increase the safety of cyclists.

The planning team noted the guidelines are based on collaborative ideas from some of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities and were selected because of their utility in helping cities meet their goals related to bicycle transportation.

Moses Lake's own goals include providing a transportation system that "promotes mobility for Moses Lake's citizens and workers by providing a range of transportation alternatives" and "emphasizes facilities and services which support and encourage transit, ride sharing, bicycling and walking as alternatives to the use of the automobile."

Councilman Jon Lane said the NACTO guide will provide the city with an idea of what direction to take in regards to creating streets accessible to all users.

"It makes it better for pedestrians and bikes and it's something a lot of cities are moving to," he said. "Spokane, Portland and Seattle are some of the leaders in this effort and I think it's something that will be good for our community too."

Moses Lake already adopted one suggestion put forward by the NACTO guidelines.

The city approved a pilot project to paint "sharrows" along Third Avenue, Fourth Avenue and Balsam Street linking bike lanes along East and West Broadway Avenue last July.

Sharrows are chevron symbols painted in a portion of the right traffic lane to notify bicyclists and drivers that the road has space for both. In the coming months Sharp-Line Industries out of Spokane will paint 68 of the symbols along the routes at a cost of about $5,800, according to Moses Lake City Engineer Shawn O'Brien.

The project should be completed before a "sharrows festival" scheduled for mid-May, which will feature education on the safe use of bike routes, family activities and a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a 5-mile bicycle ride or a 3-mile walk.

Karen Liebrecht said the community will benefit from additional information on sharrows as well as the use of bike routes.

"After reading (the NACTO guidelines), it actually was very enlightening," she said. "I don't think in a town this size the general public has an idea of how those actually operate."

"Education is the key," Harer agreed, adding the city is currently working to spread the word about sharrows.

For more information on the NACTO guidelines, visit www.nacto.org and click on "Urban Bikeway Design Guide" at the bottom of the page.