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Comprehensive Plan Recreation and Open Space Element are open to the public can supplement other recreational facilities and increase the community's recreational opportunities. In the past, some school facilities have been unavailable for use by the general public. Currently, no formal agreements between the School District of Indian River County and the county exist for use of school recreation facilities. To address that issue, the county should coordinate with the school district to discuss public access issues and establish an agreement with the school district for use of school recreation facilities by the public. For that reason, a new policy should be established indicating that the county should coordinate with the school district to establish an agreement regarding use of school recreation facilities. In addition to schools, private facilities offer a range of recreational activities within the County. Privately owned, but publicly available recreational facilities include tennis courts, golf courses, health clubs, and other facilities. While some privately owned recreational facilities are not open to the general public, those facilities still provide recreational opportunities in Indian River County. Bicycle, Trail, and Pedestrian Facilities Since 1998 there has been a significant increase in the supply of bicycle and pedestrian facilities. This is evident from the 61 % increase (76 miles) in the miles of on -road bikelanes between 1995 and 2005. While additional bikelanes have increased the opportunities for fast -biking, tour -biking, fitness biking, and utility biking, such bike lanes are continuous on only a few roadways in the county. Also, some of these bikelanes do not connect to major bike/ped attractions like playgrounds, parks, schools, employment centers, and shopping areas. Overall, the increasing speed and higher volume of adjacent traffic, the increase in heavy or oversize vehicles on the adjacent roadways, poor intersection geometry, few dedicated crossings for pedestrians, and high crash rates cause unsafe biking conditions, discouraging residents from active use of biking as a source of recreation, as a means to a healthy lifestyle, and as a mode of transportation. The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan discusses bike/ped services in the county in further detail and provides appropriate recommendations. Since 1994, the county has seen an increase of 136% (57 miles) in the number of miles of new sidewalks. Most of the sidewalks provide walking access to new residential developments along state roads and along county roads. Those new sidewalk improvements have increased pedestrian access to destinations such as schools, parks, playgrounds, libraries, local stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and other destinations, resulting in increased pedestrian activity. One way that the county is addressing bicycle and pedestrian issues is through development of North Central and South County Greenways Plans. Through these plans, the county has identified opportunities for off road, non -motorized travel on facilities such as abandoned rail corridors, public rights of way, and canal easements. The first of these plans, the Central Indian River County Community Development Department Indian River County 40