Most people familiar with Akron mayor Dan Horrigan know he's an avid cyclist.

So it's our guess that no one was more thrilled at the recent $127,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that will support the creation of a connected bicycle grid across the Rubber City. The city will use the money to hire Montreal-based consulting firm Copenhagenize Design Co., which says it specializes in integrating simplicity and logic into transportation plans.

To anyone following Akron's recent development initiatives, such as the Downtown Akron Promenade Project that will remake Main Street, and the philosophy of city planning director Jason Segedy, who has suggested putting the city on a "road diet" to encourage cycling, it's clear to see the city's gravitation toward bikeability is about more than recreation. It's about the next-generation mode of transportation that will allow for livable, easily maneuverable urban areas that hopefully will serve as bustling hubs for both residents and businesses. The city's recent announcement of its Great Streets Akron initiative, which will look to create 10 neighborhood business districts, is also evidence of this push.

Bike lanes are also integral parts of the makeover suggestions at several recent Better Block events in Akron neighborhoods, such as North Hill and Middlebury.

The city already has 25 miles of bike lanes with 16 more in the planning or construction stages, according to a news release announcing the grant. And three big bike/walking paths are, or soon will be, part of the city's identity: the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, the Freedom Trail and the planned Rubber City Heritage Trail.

"To truly become a more bicycle-friendly community, Akron needs a core network of connected bike lanes that will link our neighborhoods to key destinations and business districts across the city," Horrigan said in the release. "Most importantly, to be effective, these bike lanes need to be safe and welcoming for all users, and designed with input from the residents and stakeholders they serve."

Copenhagenize — whose tagline, "Bicycle Culture By Design," probably best describes its mission — plans to develop standardized design principles that "will inform how, when, and where we implement bike lanes in Akron over the next several decades," Horrigan said. To do that, the firm will start this spring to reach out to residents and stakeholders to get input about the project.

"We are excited to talk to residents across Akron about cycling in their city and build a strategy that helps create long-standing improvements to bike safety, connectivity and citizen mobility," Michael Wexler, partner and urban designer from Copenhagenize, said in a statement.

So, get those baseball cards in your spokes and strap on your helmets, Akron. The future of transportation just might look very much like the past.