Missouri Bicycle News

A variety of articles have appeared about proposed cuts to Enhancements funding. Transportation Enhancements are the main source of federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Here are couple of articles about the proposed cuts:

• Bike paths may suffer under funding plan, Lawrence Journal World
  
• Bike trails' roadblock, The Boston Globe

Before ISTEA and TEA-21 (1992-present), with their mandate to provide bicycle and pedestrian facilities "where appropriate" and with a certain amount of funding set aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects, MoDOT's policy was that no MoDOT road was appropriate for bicycling or walking and so no facilities were provided.

Unfortunately, MoDOT roads are the major arterials cutting through every Missouri city and town. Typically, such roads are the main commercial centers. Making these major roads unbikeable and unwalkable meant that, from the bicyclist's and pedestrian's point of view, every Missouri city was cut into small, disconnected pieces and access to important commercial areas made difficult or impossible.

Since federal guidelines and funding have changed in 1992, the attitude in Missouri has slowly changed. If federal guidelines revert to pre-1992 status, don't be surprised if MoDOT's policies revert, too.

Your senators and representatives need to hear from you now about your support for bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly policies and funding. permanent link to article: "Federal program to make roads friendlier for walking and bicycling is under fire"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/31/2003 12:53:00 PM |comment on this article

Tom Yarbrough, one of the moving spirits behind the Missouri Bicycle Federation, the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society, the Bicycle Fun Club, and Trailnet, passed away Saturday.

From a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

Over 25 years, Mr. Yarbrough organized hundreds of bike rides, attracting as many as 1,000 bicyclists for a single event. He was bicycle program manager for Trailnet, a nonprofit group that promotes walking and biking. He was chairman of the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council's bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee.

In the mid-1970s he began working for the Touring Cyclist. He was a store manager for the company and tour coordinator for the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society.

In 1996, he founded the Bicycle Fun Club, which sponsored more than 20 rides a year in Missouri and Illinois. For the past 3 1/2 years, he worked for Trailnet, continuing the work of the Bicycle Fun Club.

From Tom's obituary published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

YARBROUGH, THOMAS G. 'TOM', 56, passed into the arms of our Lord, Saturday, July 26, 2003 after a valiant battle with cancer; dear beloved husband of Gail E. Yarbrough (nee Fletcher); beloved father of Anne Marie 'Annie' and Paula Jeanne Yarbrough; dear beloved son of Wilson H. and Clara Yarbrough; dear brother of James (Audrey) Yarbrough and Sharon (Timothy) Brennan; dear son-in-law to Leah and the late Thomas A. Fletcher; dear brother-in-law, uncle, and cousin.

Tom will also be greatly missed by his many friends and associates within the bicycling community in the St. Louis Metro area and throughout Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. For 25 years Tom produced/coordinated bicycle rides first for The Touring Cyclist as the St. Louis Bicycle Touring Society, and in 1996 he founded the Bicycle Fun Club. He joined Trailnet, Inc. in 2000 and kept producing the popular one day and two day rides in conjunction with Trailnet.

The family is being served by the BAUE Funeral and Memorial Center, 3950 West Clay, St. Charles, MO. Visitation Tuesday, 2-9 p.m. and Wed., 9-10 am. Services Wed., 10 a.m. Baue Funeral and Memorial Center Chapel. Interment St. Charles Memorial Gardens.

Memorials to American Cancer Society or Trailnet, Inc.

permanent link to article: "Tom Yarbrough, St. Louis-area bicycle advocate and organizer"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/30/2003 07:38:00 AM |comment on this article

A St. Joseph News-Press article reports that construction on St. Joseph's long-delayed Riverwalk can proceed:

In his decision, Mr. Kellogg ruled that St. Joseph Riverboat Partners Inc. does have a lease on the so-called Weaver Tract and a right-of-first-refusal on riverfront land north of the tract. However, the “Riverwalk” trail doesn’t violate the lease agreement and isn’t subject to the right of first refusal because it isn’t development within the meaning of the original lease.

The Dale Carnegie Hiking/Biking Trail in Maryville is also moving forward. permanent link to article: "Judge rules that St. Joseph riverfront trail can proceed; Maryville trail moves ahead"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/29/2003 11:45:00 AM |comment on this article

According to an article in the Jefferson City News-Tribune, a Department of Revenue program that allows citizens to send confidential complaints about Missouri drivers, if they have first-hand knowledge that the driver may be unsafe, has resulted in 2300 letters to drivers asking them to take steps to prove they are still able to drive safely.

About one-third of those who receive the letters end up losing their driving privileges. Some additional percentage receives driving restrictions.

Safety of older drivers has been a national focus since an elderly driver crossed into the opposing traffic lane and drove through a group of bicyclists in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a 86-year-old man drove through an outdoor market, killing ten and injuring more.

The Dept. of Revenue has a page with information about the program and a downloadable form to report unsafe drivers.

The AARP has a Driver Safety Program. permanent link to article: "2300 confidential complaints about bad Missouri drivers in 2003"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/27/2003 03:44:00 PM |comment on this article

The July 18th St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an interview with David Fisher, who leads St. Louis's Great Rivers Greenway:

David Fisher was recruited in 2001 from Minneapolis to lead the new Metropolitan Park and Recreation District. He was charged with building a connecting web of trails and greenways. Last week, the district renamed itself Great Rivers Greenway, a moniker it hopes will become a mind-set, redefining this Midwestern industrial region as "clean, green and connected." . . .

When you dream of what this can do for St. Louis, what do you see?

I think it will turn it around economically. ... Watch out Chicago. Watch out (San Francisco) Bay Area. Why do you want to live in the sprawl of the Bay Area or the traffic madness of Chicago or New York? Here's a place we can build and have people live in these corridors, in these wonderful green cells. It can be one the great cities of the United States again. I can feel it. I can almost feel it.

permanent link to article: ""
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/27/2003 02:03:00 PM |comment on this article

The federal government's Transportation Enhancements program is currently under attack in the U.S. House of Representatives. Enhancements currently helps pay for most bicycle and pedestrian projects and improvements.

Enhancements came into being with the passage of ISTEA and continued with its re-authorization, TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century). During the time period 1992-2002, Missouri had approximately 474 projects funded by Transportation Enhancements with a total federal contribuation of $115 million.

Highlights:

Katy Trail--including many phases and associated projects
Chain of Rocks Bridge, St. Louis area
Carter Creek Bike/Ped Trail, Rolla
St. Louis County Sidewalk Program
Trolley Track Trail (Kansas City)
Riverfront trails in Hannibal, Cape Girardeau, St. Joseph,
St. Louis, and Kansas City areas
Indian Creek Trail (Kansas City area)
Award-winning urban parkway/trail system in St. Joseph
Ozark Greenways Trail System
Many other greenway projects around the state
Many other sidewalk projects around the state

A complete list of Enhancements projects in Missouri, 1992-2002, is available in Excel 97 format and in Word 97 format.

The list of projects (which can be searched by project type and by state) comes from the Project page at Enhancements.org. permanent link to article: "Missouri Enhancements projects"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/26/2003 01:36:00 AM |comment on this article

The KCStar's Mike Hendricks wrote a column Monday about speaking at an awards ceremony for winners of the Bike to Work Week competition the same week four KC-area cyclists and pedestrians were killed in hit-and-run collisions:

As I've told you before, KC is the 26th largest metro area in the United States, yet ranks No. 20 on a list of cities most deadly to pedestrians.

Too many drivers go too fast and don't look out for cyclists and walkers.

permanent link to article: "KCSTar column on Bike-to-Work Week; recent KC hit-and-run deaths"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/25/2003 06:05:00 PM |comment on this article

MoBikeFed, along with most bicycle advocacy organizations across the country, has been involved in the effort to restore the funding for Transportation Enhancements in the federal transportation re-authorization. The funding was cut by a House subcommittee.

Transportation Enhancements help fund most bicycle- and pedestrian-specific plans and projects across the country--everything from "Share the Road" signs, to state and regional bicycle coordinator positions, to bike lanes, bridge access projects, dangerous drain grate replacement projects, creation and implementation of state, regional, and municipal bicycle plans and bicycle-friendly roadway specifications, bike lanes, sidewalks on major streets, and bike paths.

Here is the latest development in the fight to retain Enhancements funding, from BikeLeague News:

On July 24, 2003, the House Appropriations Committee failed to pass an amendment offered by Congressman John Olver (D-MA) to fully restore enhancements funding by a vote of 29-33. While this is a setback, it is not a complete loss. The vote was closer than we expected and sets the stage for a battle on the House floor when Congress returns from its August recess.

Thanks to all of those who have made calls and sent messages to Congress! They are making a difference. The League of American Bicyclists will continue to keep you in the loop on our next steps. We will really need to triple our efforts and amplify our voices to be successful when Congress returns. This issue is not over! It will be an uphill battle, but one that we can and will win in September! Stay tuned… If you have any questions, please write mele@bikeleague.org.

The KCStar carried an Associated Press article on this issue today.

To find out what you can do to help, visit MoBikeFed Advocacy Alerts. permanent link to article: "Vote to restore Enhancements fails in House Appropriations Committee"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/25/2003 05:40:00 PM |comment on this article

A judge has heard arguments about a dispute over land owned by St. Joseph City, on part of which is planned a riverfront trail. The city is planning to move forward with the trail before the ruling, moving the trail if necessary if they lose the case, so that the trail has a chance to be completed in time for the Lewis & Clark bicentennial in 2004. An article in the St. Joseph News-Press has details. permanent link to article: "Lawsuit around St. Joseph riverfront trail moves forward"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/25/2003 05:36:00 PM |comment on this article

From BikeLeague News:

Today the Senate unanimously approved the Conserve by Bike Act (http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/durbin_amendment.pdf) as an amendment to the Senate Energy Bill. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Act.

The House of Representatives adopted a Conserve by Bike Amendment to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act, on April 11. When the Senate completes action on its full Energy Bill, a conference committee will meet to work out differences in the two energy measures. Because both the House and the Senate have approved identical Conserve by Bike language, it is virtually assured of passage when the House and Senate conference committee meets to work out the differences in their two Energy Bills.

Senate passage of the Energy Bill and conference consideration will not begin until after Labor Day. Once both Houses agree, the President must sign the Bill into law before the US DOT can begin to determine what the pilot programs should look like. For more details on the Conserve by Bike Act, visit the League’s Online Advocacy Center at http://www.bikeleague.org.

permanent link to article: "Conserve by Bike Act Approved by U.S. Senate"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/25/2003 04:15:00 PM |comment on this article

A St. Joseph News-Press article has details about several new multi-use trails planned in St. Joseph and other northwest Missouri communities.

Remember that the Enhancements funding that helps create these trails is now under attack in the U.S. House of Representatives. permanent link to article: "New paths planned in northwest Missouri"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/25/2003 04:13:00 PM |comment on this article

An anti-bicycling letter appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this week. Some excerpts:

Post-Dispatch Letter 7/20/03:
Get bikes off the road

Your story about pedestrian safety brought to the foreground a question I've had for years: Why are bicyclists allowed to share the streets with cars?

I shudder every time I see a cyclist on a flimsy bike with no protection but a helmet trying to assert his equality on the streets with mammoth SUVs, trucks and cars.

. . .

Today, cyclists belong on safe, specially designated bike paths.

M.B. Barutio
Creve Coeur

Bob Foster, Chair of the Missouri Bicycle Federation, responded with this letter that was published Tuesday in the Post-Dispatch:

Sharing the road

In response to the July 19 letter, "Get bikes off the road":

While grateful for M.B. Barutio's professed concern for the safety of cyclists, I think this letter is another example of the "ban everything" mentality run amok.

Logic would suggest that the greatest hazard to cyclists is posed by motorists, and if Barutio were truly concerned about cyclists' safety, why not propose banning "mammoth SUVs, trucks and cars"?

I propose instead stepping back and using common sense. No matter how many bike paths are built, they will never lead to every conceivable destination I may have. There are perfectly safe ways to get around by bike, using the roads we all pay for already.

For thousands of people in the St. Louis area, cycling is great exercise, creates no pollution and is a valuable alternative for people who cannot, or who choose not to, drive cars everywhere.

I shudder to think of living in a world in which we are forced to let our leg muscles atrophy by nannies who seek to "protect" us. What we need is a little common sense and for drivers of all vehicles - motorized and nonmotorized - to pay attention to what they are doing, exercise courtesy, and understand that everybody has someplace to go.

Bob Foster
Chair,
St. Louis Regional
Bicycle Federation
Webster Groves

permanent link to article: "Anti-cycling letter in St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/24/2003 02:40:00 PM |comment on this article

Yesterday Salon published an article about the recently proposed Transportation Enhancement cuts, entitled Congress to bikers: Get a Car:

For every bike commuter who proudly pedals to work under the mantra "one less car," Congress has a message for you: Get back on the highway where you belong, burning fossil fuel like a real American. That goes for you, too, you traffic-hazard pedestrians.

Fresh out of subcommittee, a new congressional transportation appropriations bill will entirely eliminate some $600 million worth of annual federal funding for bike paths, walkways and other such transportation niceties in fiscal year 2004.

Never mind the political fallout of U.S. oil dependency on the Middle East, or the fact that the average mileage per gallon for new cars and trucks in the U.S. is at its lowest level in 20 years. Members of the House's appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies know that what America needs now is fewer bike paths and walkways -- but more highways.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Visit our article on the Advocacy Alerts page to find out what you can do.

This issue is really catching the attention of the American public--the Salon article has shown up on the Popdex, which measures website popularity, and where bike/ped issues have only rarely appeared before. You can see various weblogs that have referenced the original story here.

An Associated Press talks about efforts of the Appropriations Committee to re-work the bill and re-instate the Enhancements funding. permanent link to article: "Congress to bikers: Get a Car"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/23/2003 11:48:00 PM |comment on this article

A 9-year-old boy, Luke Cunningham, and a 46-year-old woman, Toni Sena, have recently been killed while bicycling in the Kansas City area. Kansas City Star columnist Barbara Shelly responded to these incidents in an article today, which included these comments:

More than 100 bicyclists met for a group ride on a very hot evening Thursday. They were there to honor Sena, and also, I think, to announce that they would not live in a padded room. . . .

There is a freedom that comes from being on a bike, in motion, with a breeze on your face, that can't be replicated in any other activity. I know this from experience, and I know that taking away that sense of independence would kill something inside.

Incidentally, statistics show that the accident risk of on-street bicycling is about the same as for driving an automobile. But the health benefits of bicycling outweigh risks by a factor of 20-to-1. permanent link to article: "KCStar columnist responds to recent bicycle deaths in KC"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/20/2003 02:44:00 PM |comment on this article

Fairway, Kansas, has implemented a traffic calming policy. That makes it one of the few Kansas City-area communities to do so. According to a KCStar article,

The policy, which can be seen online at www.fairwaykansas.org/trafficcalm.html, sets traffic speed and volume benchmarks at which physical measures to slow speeds or reduce volume would be considered. It includes a survey of residents and input from the city's public works and public safety representatives. Traffic calming measures that could result from the study range from increased police enforcement of speed limits to physical barriers like speed bumps to dead-ending affected streets.

permanent link to article: "Fairway, KS, implements traffic calming policy"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/20/2003 12:05:00 PM |comment on this article

A Blue Springs man who is accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian while driving drunk, then fleeing from the accident scene, was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Read the KCStar article for details. permanent link to article: "Blue Springs hit-and-run driver charged with involuntary manslaughter"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/20/2003 12:04:00 PM |comment on this article

MoBikeFed News recently covered a number of recently-published complaints about Missouri drivers by bicyclists crossing the state. A recent article in the Daily Journal about a cyclist crossing the country on Adventure Cycling's TransAmerica route, which goes through Farmington, MO, lists a litany of such problems with rude--and even dangerous--drivers:

"Missouri is the worst," he said. "I hate to say it but Missouri is terrible. Everybody I met that was going westward warned me about Missouri."

From San Francisco to Kansas, motorists passing by him cheered him on and gave him the peace sign. Those states had shoulders on their roads, he said. In Missouri, he estimates one out of 10 people passing by gave him the finger. . . .

Ross said a motorist in a pick-up truck near Eminence threw firecrackers at him and a logging truck ran him off the road.

Ross, who just graduated from high school and plans to go to college this fall, said he will be glad when he gets out of Missouri. . . .

Tim White has been operating the bicycle shop on Jefferson Street in Farmington for 32 months. He picked his location because it is on the bike route. He said most people don't know that a cross-country bike trail goes through downtown Farmington.

"It's amazing how many businesses don't cater to them," he said. He believes it would be beneficial for hotels, bed and breakfasts, churches, and tourist attractions, especially those with campsites, to make themselves attractive to these cyclists. . . .

White said 50 to 60 percent of the cross-country bicyclists he has talked to have complained about the local route.

"They ask what is wrong with the people who drive here," he said.

A young woman who had an ashtray and a bottle of urine thrown at her came into White's shop hysterical. White said she quit riding and had her bike shipped to her home in North Carolina.

He said there is talk about rerouting it through somewhere other than Farmington and Iron County.

"The complaints have gone back to Adventure Cycling," he said. "It only takes a few apples like that to spoil a good thing."

permanent link to article: "Rude Missouri drivers in the news--again"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/16/2003 04:56:00 PM |comment on this article

An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses a few of the many problems facing pedestrians in St. Louis and some of the solutions that are proposed:

St. Louis, unlike areas such as Columbia, Mo., has no pedestrian advocacy groups. Instead, bicycle groups like the St. Louis Bike Federation often end up addressing pedestrian issues.

Bob Foster of the Bike Federation is on the streets a lot as a cyclist, and he has his own theory for the dangers there.

"Driver's ed has pretty well disappeared - there's very little driver's ed going on in the schools now," he said. "There's a whole generation of drivers who don't know that bicyclists are allowed on the road."

permanent link to article: "Perils for Pedestrians in St. Louis"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/16/2003 04:42:00 PM |comment on this article

A motorist who was trying to evade police after running down a pedestrian turned a corner at high speed and killed cyclist Toni Sena. Sena and her husband, Larry Denny, were riding in a small group near the end of the Brookside Ride.

The other cyclists in the group were not injured. The pedestrian struck by the truck is expected to survive. The motorist was later apprehended by police.

Jackson County, MO, prosecutors have charged the driver with second-degree murder.

Cyclists invited to next Brookside Ride, dedicated to Toni Sena, Thursday, July 17th
Carol Hatcher sent this message to Kansas City-area cyclists:

After the tragic hit and run accident that stole Toni Sena from us, we would like to dedicate this week's Brookside Ride to her memory. We must forever remember that biking is a wonderful way to socialize and to meet new friends and not let this senseless tragedy scare us off our bikes. It would be therapeutic for all of us in our own personal grieving process to attend.

This isn't to sound morbid... just the opposite. Perhaps this should be like a New Orleans wake: plenty of drinking, dancing, etc....a celebration of Toni's life, love of bicycling and a sign of our love for Larry. (Larry is all for this, by the way.)

Brookside Ride at 62nd Brookside Blvd (behind Breadsmith's), 6:30 pm Thursday evening for a 16-18 mile spin through Loose Park, Mission Hills, Prairie Village and KCMO. We usually meet for refreshments at Charlie Hooper's afterwards.

I hope you can join us.

More coverage
Read more details about this story in the Kansas City Star, the Lawrence Journal-World, KCTV5, and 3 stories and some video from KMBC Channel 9. permanent link to article: "Kansas City-area cyclist killed by motorist in high-speed car chase"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/11/2003 12:34:00 PM |comment on this article

An inaccurate email message has been making the rounds of email lists in Missouri. The message states that Missouri Senator Kit Bond has introduced an amendment to the TEA-21 reauthorization bill that would be a "poison pill" for the rails-to-trails movement.

There is a kernel of truth in the message, but most of the statements about Senator Bond's role in the section dealing with railtrails were false.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has been in contact with Senator Bond's office and has apologized for the part it played in spreading the inaccurate information.

The Facts
There was some truth mixed in with falsehood in the original message, so here are the facts of the matter:

Facts:

• There IS a Section 1617 which would have a devastating effect on rail-trails if adopted. However, this section was proposed by the Bush Administration as part of their SAFETEA proposal. It was NOT proposed by Senator Kit Bond.
  
  
• You can find detailed and accurate information about Section 1617, from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, on our Advocacy Alerts page.
  
  
• Senator Bond has not proposed any amendments to the TEA-21 reauthorization.
  
  
• The Bush administration's SAFETEA bill, which does have the "rail-trail poison pill" Section 1617, is NOT the same as the current Senate bill which Senator Bond is working on.
  
  
• According to Sen. Bond's office, he "is participating in ongoing negotiations with the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee members/staff to craft a bipartisan bill based on consensus."
  
  
• Senator Bond is a member of the Senate EPW Committee is Chairman of a subcommittee of EPW, the subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure. As such, he certainly is playing a key role in developing the TEA-21 reauthorization.

Please click the "comment on this message" button (below) to see the response to the inaccurate email from Trevor L. Blackann of Senator Bond's office. permanent link to article: "Inaccurate email message circulating regarding Railtrails and Missouri Senator Bond"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/10/2003 03:06:00 AM |comment on this article

John Oncken, a columnist for the Madison, WI, Capital Times, recently wrote an article about his recent bicycle trip across Missouri following the Lewis & Clark trail:

On several occasions we switched back to the highway running alongside and found ourselves the object of some rather strong language from passing motorists. "Get over on the [Katy] trail" was the gist of their comments, something we didn't understand in light of the few cars on the highway.

Another cyclist who recently rode up the Missouri River from New Orleans to Minnesota had this to say about Missouri's roads:

He said many of the roads he biked to Minnesota were dangerous and did not have shoulders. He said the highways in Missouri were the worst.

Worst of all, this cross-country rider wrote in his online ride log:

7/2/03 Dad had to go home, and that was really hard. Sometimes it just really hits, being alone
on this trip. Also found out that what bikers across the country had been telling him so far....."Missouri is the most unfriendly state to cyclists on this route!" The country is beautiful...but the road is narrow and there were no shoulders. The drivers let their feelings be known. Dusty had numerous objects thrown at him, including a M80 firecracker. ( He had heard that eveything from garbage to bottles would pelt you and found it to be true.) The highlight was the elderly lady in the car with the handicap sticker that flipped him off! He just put his head down and kept pedaling. Too bad the warnings turned out to be true...

Met some friends from Iowa that had driven down and stayed in Farmington, Missouri, where the hospitality was great. Was interviewed by the Farmington Paper! Said they'd send a copy. (Thanks folks for your interest and hospitality!)

Technical Talk: Day 25: Miles: 90.61, Avg: 14.54, Saddletime: 6h 13min 55sec, Max: 41mph.

It looks like we've got some work to do . . . permanent link to article: "Missouri highways gain poor reputation among cross-country cyclists"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/09/2003 03:19:00 PM |comment on this article

Cyclists who ride in Kansas may know that Kansas has a "mandatory sidepath law":

8-1590(d) Wherever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.

Most cyclists would take this at face value. And it is bad and discriminatory law for cyclists--most paths paralleling roadways are awkward for cyclists traveling a long distane to use, and research shows that more often than not, they are less safe than cycling on the roadway.

The choice whether to use the roadway or a path should be left to the cyclist.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation went to considerable trouble a few years ago to repeal Missouri's mandatory sidepath law.

But it turns out that a Kansas Supreme Court ruling negates the Kansas mandatory sidepath language. According to a post by Kansas cyclist Dale Crawford, the reference is Schallenberger v. Rudd, 244 Kan. 230, Supreme Court of Kansas(1989):

My understanding of the decision is a bicyclist may use the road when even if a parallel sidepath exists unless the sidepath is for the "exclusive use" of bicyclists, then the bicyclist must use the roadway. I do not know of any such "exclusive" sidepaths in Kansas. All I'm aware of are "shared-use paths" or wide sidewalks available of pedestrians, roller bladders, skateboarders, runners, moms & baby strollers, dogs on leashes, etc.

permanent link to article: "Kansas sidepath law?"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/03/2003 01:50:00 PM |comment on this article

A story in Monday's Examiner about a crash involving a motor scooter has ramifications for cyclists using the roadway and for the Missouri Bicycle Federation's campaign to improve Missouri traffic laws:

Jerold Cox, 56, died Saturday when his Honda motor scooter was struck from behind on eastbound U.S. 40 near 36th Street. Cox was thrown from the bike and suffered fatal head injuries.

Police gave this account:

The other driver, eastbound in a Chevrolet Malibu, came over a slight rise and saw the scooter. He tried to swerve but could not avoid the collision. The 19-year-old Kansas City man was not charged.

Witnesses told police the Malibu did not appear to be speeding or driving recklessly.

A principle of traffic law

As a general principle of traffic safety, drivers must be responsible for being aware of traffic in front of them--whether actual traffic they can see, or potential traffic in places they cannot see. Regardless of the posted speed, motorists must adjust their speed and drive slower when hills or curves are present. The posted speed limit is the maximum allowable speed under ideal conditions. But there are many conditions when a slower speed must be maintained for safety.

The driver approaching from the rear must maintain a speed that allows the vehicle to stop in time to avoid any actual or potential vehicle, person, or other obstacle in the road ahead. If the driver cannot see a section of road ahead, then the driver must assume the worst--there may be something there that requires the vehicle to be brought to a full stop.

This is the only rational traffic law for dealing with such situations. By careful driving at appropriate speeds, the driver approaching from the rear can completely eliminate the possibility of such accidents. There is little--and sometimes nothing--the driver in front can do.

There is a minimum speed limit on Missouri freeways, but no minimum speed limit on other Missouri roads and highways. Vehicles may be slowed or stopped at any point on the highway to make turns, for traffic signals, or for unexpected road conditions. Pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, agricultural equipment, bicyclists, or other legal and lawful road users may be ahead.

All drivers must allow for the possibility of any of these conditions appearing ahead in a portion of the roadway invisible to them because of a hill, curve, or other visual obstacle.

Ken Kifer calls the drivers who ignore anything they cannot actually see "Admiral Farraguts" ("Damn the torpedoes--full speed ahead!" in every situation, and "55 or die!"--with the result that many of them do). Kifer has a good explanation of why this kind of driving is so dangerous.

Current and proposed Missouri law

This principle is stated in Missouri's current vehicle code this way:

Every person operating a motor vehicle on the roads and highways of this state shall drive the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner and at a rate of speed so as not to endanger the property of another or the life or limb of any person and shall exercise the highest degree of care. (RSMO 304.012)

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has been working with Missouri lawmakers to update Missouri's vehicle code. As we worked with lawmakers this spring to create our proposed Transportation Safety Bill, we suggested that Missouri law should spell out typical situations where motorists need to control their speed, as the Uniform Vehicle Code does.

The Uniform Vehicle Code begins with similar language to the Missouri Code. But it goes on to list specifics:

Consistent with the foregoing, every person shall drive at a safe and appropriate speed when approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad grade crossing, when approaching and going around a curve, when approaching the crest of a hill, when traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway, and when special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.

Legislators argued that there was no need to include these specifics in Missouri law, because they are already implied by the requirements to drive in a "careful and prudent manner" and "exercise the highest degree of care".

But cases such as this one belie this argument. Neither Missouri motor vehicle drivers nor police seem to understand that the motorist who approaches a blind spot over a hill must adjust speed so as to have time to safely stop in case of any vehicle or other obstacle in the blind spot.

If a motorist coming from behind strikes a vehicle or pedestrian who is operating lawfully and legally in such a blind spot, the fault must lie with the approaching motorist, who is driving too fast for conditions.

Perhaps this is not a case of a willfully malicious driver who should have serious criminal charges brought. But, clearly, the fault in the collision--and, at minimum, a traffic citation--must fall on the motorist approaching from behind, and not the motor scooter operator who was lawfully operating.

This is not "just an accident". It is a collision caused by a very specific, if very common, type of bad and dangerous driving.

Drivers must be educated about the necessity of adjusting speed in these situations. Unfortunately when drivers read newspaper articles such as the one quoted above, they receive just the opposite message--as long as they are sticking pretty close the posted speed limit, if they go over a hill or around a curve a nail someone, it's not problem. It's not their fault. It's "just one of those things" and nothing could have been done to prevent it.

Another fatal example

Another fatal example of the same kind of bad driving: Raytown, MO, next door to Independence, is very hilly. Many drivers here routinely roar over blind hills at too high speed. One such driver went over the top of a blind hill on a two-lane road, exceeding the speed limit by the usual small amount when driving "with the highest degree of care" would have required driving well under the speed limit. Just over the top of the hill in his lane was another vehicle waiting to make a left turn. The fast-moving driving had no time to stop, but swerved into the left lane to avoid the stopped car.

Of course, the left-turning car was stopped for a reason. A car was coming up the hill in the opposite direction. The swerving car hit the oncoming car. As is so often the case, the reckless driver was only slightly injured but an innocent bystander--a passenger in the oncoming car--was killed.

It is clear that under current law, neither Missouri drivers nor Missouri police officials "get it". Missouri's traffic law must be changed, Missouri motorists must change how they drive, and Missouri police officials must change how they enforce the law. permanent link to article: "Independence scooter crash has ramifications for cyclists"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/02/2003 02:14:00 PM |comment on this article

This letter appeared in today's Kansas City Star:

Think of cyclists

Steve Eddy, in a recent guest column in the Neighborhood News, asked why bicyclists ride in the road rather than the shoulder. The answer is that most cyclists will use the shoulder if it is continuous, clean and smooth, but very few in the metropolitan area are.

Now I've got a question for Mr. Eddy: Why do motorists insist on roaring around blind curves, speeding over blind hills, over-driving visibility on winding two-lane roads and in the rain and fog, over- driving their headlights at night, passing unsafely, speeding through residential areas in order to save eight seconds, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and driving within inches of bicyclists and pedestrians who are operating legally--when all of this is clearly against the law?

And why do our law enforcement personnel not enforce the law, and elected officials insist that it be enforced?

Most motorists drive safely, courteously and legally, but the 5 or 10 percent who do not make the roads dangerous for everyone.

Brent Hugh
Raytown

permanent link to article: "Letter to the editor: Why?"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/01/2003 11:48:00 AM |comment on this article