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Salem city officials are looking at turning one-way streets to two-way streets, adding bike paths and making other changes to make getting around town easier.

Salem‘s will include a list of projects and cost estimates scheduled to go before the Salem City Council and Urban Renewal Agency next spring and summer. The study was identified as a top priority for the Downtown Strategic Action Plan in February 2011.

Members of the study committee are just beginning to develop alternatives, said Scott Mansur of , the firm working with the city on the project. Mansur and city planners primarily want to improve motor and pedestrian circulation in the area bordered by Market, 14th and Trade streets and the Willamette River.

Annie Gorski, a project manager with the city’s Urban Development Department, said the final plan will be phased in to make sure altering the flow of traffic on one-way streets and other changes don’t adversely affect traffic patterns.

Kenji Sugahara, the executive director of and the chairman of the West Salem Neighborhood Association, serves on the study committee. He said Salem is nowhere near Portland as a bike-friendly community. Nonetheless, Sugahara said, cyclists will enjoy what they see in the study.

“I think it’s good news for cyclists,” he said. “It’s also good news for people who are on the fence about biking with their families or commuting by bike. What’s percolating along in the study might help some people get out and starting cycling.”

The study in general has been a positive process, he added. “It is a great mobility study,鈥� Sugahara said “We have the right mix of people. We have representatives from the chamber of commerce, downtown businesses, Salem Hospital, bike interests. I think we’re going about it the right way.”