A controversial program to make streets more pedestrian and bicyclist friendly won passage from a key Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission committee Tuesday.

Communities requesting federal funds through NIRPC for street and road projects will have to map out how each project takes account of a concept known as "complete streets," which encompasses project components ranging from bicycle lanes to striping crosswalks.

The complete streets program passed by NIRPC's Transportation Policy Committee on Tuesday consists of a series of guidelines outlining how such components can be included in street and road projects.

It represents a compromise in that individual projects will not be "scored" on how they meet the guidelines, according to NIRPC planner Mitch Barloga. That could have led to unneeded competition to score projects highly and thus win NIRPC approval.

"It was controversial in the sense it could have become a dog-eat-dog situation," Barloga said.

That would also have made the requirement absolute instead of providing for some flexibility for communities. Instead, the resolution establishes a "to the most practicable extent" standard for implementing the complete street guidelines in any individual project.

The resolution must now be approved by the NIRPC executive board at its March 18 meeting to be implemented.

In another win for the exercise-minded, the committee on Tuesday also approved a project that will put more than 500 bicycle racks at locations around the region including schools, parks and even a senior home in LaPorte County.

"It will promote the notion people should have a safe place to park a bike when they go to shop or work," Barloga said.

The program includes the placement of 10 bicycle lockers with keyed locks at the parking lot for the ChicagoDash bus in Valparaiso.