DALTON, Ga. — Pedal power is showing up more often on the region’s roads.

More walking shoes are pounding the pavement, too.

Dalton is included in a regional plan by the North Georgia Regional Development Center. Cleveland, Tenn., is working toward a downtown pedestrian and bicycle plan through RPM Transportation Consultants, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based firm.

“Share the Ride” signs went up about a year ago on some Dalton streets, cautioning motorists and bicyclists alike.

The Dalton-based North Georgia Regional Development Center has been working with local governments in its five-county service area to put together bike and pedestrian plans. The RDC also is helping some Dalton schools apply for federal Safe Routes to School grants.

“It varies from community to community, but there is more interest in walking and biking,” said Larry Vanden Bosch, director of community and economic development services at the North Georgia RDC.

“There seems to be a renewed interest,” he said. “Gas prices may be a part of that. Health concerns may be a part. I see more people on bicycles who are obviously using them to go to work.”

The North Georgia RDC has developed a guide for bicyclists for each county in its service area, said Bradley Kotrba, a staff member. Each brochure includes a map of bike routes and rates them for difficulty.

The routes, although approved as part of a regional plan, do not yet include proposed improvements such as additional lane width or dedicated bicycle lanes, the brochure cautions. The guides also include rules of the road for motorists and bicyclists. It notes that Georgia law gives bicyclists the same rights and responsibilities as drivers.

Mr. Murphy of RPM said communities can choose from many alternatives, such as separate bike lanes, signage bikeways built along road shoulders or just wider outside lanes for more maneuvering room.

The planners in both states advise communities to incorporate bike and walking routes into plans for paving and sidewalk construction to keep costs down. Some can be funded from state sources, they said.

In Cleveland, consultants Preston Elliott and Robert Murphy brought a draft plan up for public comment and inclusion in the local transportation plan.

“I have long had a goal that Cleveland become more bike friendly,” Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland said. “I see more people riding bicycles downtown.”

Just as motorists and bicyclists are having to get along on the roads, Mr. Rowland said riders and walkers must peacefully coexist on the city/county greenway along Mouse Creek.

The greenway is being built with transportation grants that define bicycles as transportation as well as recreation. Signs will be posted soon along the greenway with some suggested courtesy rules, he said.

“We are all in a learning curve now,” he said.

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