Alta has been a part of the City of Portland's bicycle master planning process since the early 1990's when Alta principal Mia Birk wrote the award-winning 1996 Bicycle Master Plan as the City of Portland Bicycle Coordinator. In 2006, the City turned to Alta to help update the Bicycle Master Plan with the goal of reaching Platinum designation by the League of American Bicyclists. Alta led the public process, including mapping of system deficiencies, survey of international bicycle related policies, and field evaluation of qualitiy for all on-street bicycle facilities. Based on this information, Alta worked with City staff to create two unique analysis tools - Bikeway Quality Index (BQI) and Cycle Zones Analysis (CZA). Portland subsequently became the first large city in the United States to gain the Platinum designation.
"The Portland Bicycle Master Plan for 2030" set aggressive goals for increasing ridership through improvements to safety and comfort, and inserting a "Green Transportation Hierarchy" into City policy. Alta Principal Mia Birk is Co-Chair of the Master Plan Steering Committee.
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