Missouri Bicycle News Article

We saw some good positive movement in support of bicycling and walking in the 2008 Missouri legislative session, but it is clear there is still much work to be done on some important issues.

Moving legislation forward is always a long-term process of developing legislative initiatives and priorities, developing relationships with legislators and committee chairs, developing language that is clear and that accomplishes what it needs to, working to make sure that legislators know of citizen support for these issues, and then working over a multi-year period to accomplish those goals.

Thanks to the support of MoBikeFed's members and the groups and organizations across the state that have worked together towards our common goals, we have been able to take bicycle and pedestrian issues to a completely new and higher level of visibility and awareness in Missouri's capitol.

The number and quality of the legislative initiatives that have moved forward this year is a testament to the progress we have made in Missouri over the past several years--and that progress has been made only because of the strong support of MoBikeFed members and bicyclists and pedestrians across the state.

Here is a summary of what happened with each of those issues during the Missouri General Assembly's legislative session that wrapped up on May 16th:

Bicycle Day at the Capitol
Bicycle Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City February 26th was a big success. About 40 Missourians from all across the state met with legislators and state officials, presented MoBikeFed's new Vision of Active Transportation in Missouri, presented summaries of key issues prepared by MoBikeFed Legislative Chair Eric Rogers, and presented awards to key officials.

Katy Trail Connection - funding approved by General Assembly
The $18 million from the Ameren settlement for connecting the Katy Trail to the KC metro area was appropriated by the legislature. The money to build the trail comes from the settlement with AmerenUE over the Taum Sauk disaster, but before the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) could actually spend the money, it had to be approved as part of DNR's annual budget. MoBikeFed worked with residents and local legislators to be sure that the legislators involved understood that depth of public support for the trail project. Special thanks goes to Representative Shannon Cooper, whose house district includes Windsor and Clinton.

With the budget now approved, DNR can get started building the actual trail now. DNR is confident they can get it done in the next 3 years.

With the project approved and funded to extend the Katy from Windsor to Pleasant Hill, a number of local cities, agencies, and groups are working hard to make the connection from Pleasant Hill to various other parts of the Kansas City metro area.

Bike Month, Bike Week, and Walk/Bike to School Month Resolutions - approved by Governor and General Assembly
Resolutions in support of National Bike Month (May), Bike to Work Week (May 12-16), and Walk/Bike to School Month (October) were sponsored by Representative Mike Sutherland of Warrenton and passed by the Missouri House of Representatives.

Governor Matt Blunt signed official proclamations for Bike Month and Bike to Work Week.

This is the first year in our memory where both the legislature and the governor have officially recognized National Bike Month and Bike to Work Week in Missouri. The recognition is, of course, largely ceremonial but in shepherding the resolutions through the legislature, a significant amount of awareness and education is created in the legislators involved.

Complete Streets bill - passed Missouri House
MoBikeFed and a number of other bicycle and pedestrian groups worked with Representative Mike Sutherland to introduce Complete Streets legislation. This legislation, HB 2206, provided that, when building, improving, or planning for, streets and roads, the needs of all users, including those who walk, bicycle, use transit, and have disabilities, must be taken into account.

After the bill was introduced in a House Committee, MoDOT objected to some provisions of the bill. Negotiations with MoDOT resulted in a bill that had less teeth than the original version but was still a positive step forward. This bill moved forward as a consent bill, passing in the Missouri House by a vote of 139-9.

When the bill came for a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee, MoDOT representative Eric Curtit testified against the bill, indicating that MoDOT policy already encouraged the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities on the one hand and on the other, that the bill would reduce MoDOT's flexibility to omit bicycle and pedestrian facilities during its upcoming funding crisis. MoDOT's opposition to the bill killed any chances for moving the bill out of committee or to a vote of the full Senate this year.

MoDOT Director Pete Rahn met with Complete Streets bill sponsor Mike Sutherland. Rahn indicated that MoDOT would move to make whatever changes are needed to improve bicycle and pedestrian accommodation through internal policy changes. Sutherland indicated that he would be watching carefully to see what direction MoDOT takes and if the changes it makes are not sufficient the bill can be re-introduced next legislative session.

Safe Streets bill - House Committee hearing
MoBikeFed supported a bill that would have increased penalties for drivers whose bad or dangerous driving injured or killed others. The bill was HB 2205 sponsored by Representative Mike Sutherland.

Thanks to the work of Rep. Sutherland and our lobbyist in Jefferson City, James Farrell, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill in March. The committee heard some very powerful testimony from family members and friends of those who have been injured or killed by unsafe drivers. In most of these cases, the driver receives very few consequences and is back driving within a short time.

Bills of this nature are very difficult to move out of committee, and we expect that it will take a multi-year effort to move this legislation. The committee hearing this year was a very positive step forward, however. Committee members gave very definite indications of the type of bill they are likely to support in the future, and thanks to the committee hearing and the good work done by MoBikeFed supporters during Bicycle Day at the Capitol, we have found some very good allies on the committee to move legislation forward in future years.

Safe passing of bicycles on solid yellow stripe - passed Senate
Missouri's Blueprint for Safer Roadways continues to push for stronger laws to prohibit passing when a solid yellow stripe is present. Preventing head-on collisions is one of their top priorities, and they feel that stronger enforcement of no-passing zones will help in this effort.

Previous versions of the "no passing on solid yellow" provision have included exceptions for passing certain slow-moving vehicles in certain situations (when safe) but not for passing bicycles.

This year MoBikeFed was able to work with the office of Senator Bill Stouffer, the sponsor of the bill and chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, to include the exception for crossing the solid yellow line to pass bicycles in certain situations (when safe).

The provision was part of an omnibus transportation bill, SB 761. The bill passed the Senate and the House Transportation Committee, but in the confusion of the last days of the session, the bill never came to a vote in the House.

The good news is, the language that was finally adopted by the senate was very good, and getting the language that far through the legislative process this year puts us on good footing to use the same language again when this issue resurfaces in future years.

Dead Red - passed Senate
For several years, motorcyclists have been working to have a "dead red" bill passed in Missouri. This allows motorcyclists who come to a traffic signal that fails to detect the motorcycle, to proceed through the red light after waiting a sufficient amount of time to indicate the signal has failed to detect the vehicle, and waiting until there is no conflicting traffic and it is safe to proceed.

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, and North Carolina already have similar legislation in place.

Currently most motorcyclists (and bicyclists) will simply proceed through the intersection in this situation (when safe). However, there is always the potential for receiving a ticket in this situation, because (regardless of common sense and lack of realistic alternatives) it is still technically illegal. The dead red provision simply changes this, making it legal to proceed through the intersection when the light will not change.

In addition, having this provision in Missouri's vehicle code will help in our efforts to encourage agencies across the state to install and properly adjust traffic signals to detect and change for smaller vehicles like bicycles and motorcycles.

MoBikeFed approached the motorcycle supporters as well as the office of the bill's sponsor (again, Senator Bill Stouffer) and asked that bicyclists be included in the dead red law. Both agreed and the language including bicyclists in the dead red provision was included in SB 761.

Again, SB 761 passed the Senate and House Transportation Committee, but failed to come to a vote in the full House of Representatives. As with the "passing on solid yellow" provision, having the language and a legislative history for this provision will help move this forward in future years.

Summary
The 2008 legislative session was a very productive year for bicycle and pedestrian issues. We need to follow through in the coming years with important issues such as Complete Streets legislation and Safe Streets legislation.

Related:

News: House clears six-year TEA-21 renewal bill

News: MoBikeFed draft legislative platform for 2008 released

News: Federal "Highway Bill" introduced; fails to transform but doesn't fail to disappoint

News: MoDOT halts Complete Streets bill; promises to implement it via internal policy

News: Complete Streets bill--MoDOT response