Support from members and supporters like you allowed MoBikeFed to make progress like this over the past year:
VISION: Synthesized years of input from bicyclists, pedestrians, organizations, and businesses from around the state to create MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri, summarizing where Missouri stands, where we need to go, and the action plan to get us there. See MoBikeFed.org/vision
REPORT CARD: First annual Report Card on Bicycling and Walking in Missouri, detailing exactly where we stand in 47 areas. See MoBikeFed.org/2008ReportCard
LEGISLATION: Moved two major pieces of legislation in the General Assembly, Safe Streets and Complete Streets (neither passed this year, but each had good movement, committee hearings, and built support and momentum for passage in a future year).
BICYCLE DAY AT THE CAPITOL: Bicycle Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City--now in its second successful year, it is very successful in providing a way for bicyclists and pedestrians to talk directly with legislators about issues that are important to us. The 3rd Annual Bicycle Day will be February 24th, 2009.
NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT: The largest Missouri contingent ever at the 2008 National Bike Summit was crucial in bringing that national support for the issues you support in your local area, and our best chance to get real policy change (like Complete Streets policies) adopted across our entire region. National Bike Summit 2009 will be March 10-12.
TENS OF MILLIONS IN COMMITTEE SPENDING--SPENT BETTER: MoBikeFed representatives sit on committees spending some tens of millions of federal bicycle/pedestrian grant money annually across the state; we cooperate with other organizations on those committees and work hard to make sure that money is spent as well and effectively as possible.
PROMOTING MORE BICYCLING AND WALKING: MoBikeFed worked to promote Bike Month, Bike to Work Week, and Walk/Bike to School Day activities as truly statewide events--an effort that will increase in 2009.
QUAD STATES TRAIL: MoBikeFed has worked to support the idea of a truly multi-state, interconnected trails system--reaching millions of Missourians, rather than the mere 200,000 currently within walking/bicycling distance of the Katy Trail network.
NEW KS STATEWIDE ADVOCACY GROUP: A year ago at the Kansas Trails Summit MOBikeFed Executive Director Brent Hugh gave a presentation in which we started to organize the much-needed Kansas statewide advocacy group--KanBikeWalk. Our strategy is to get powerful advocacy groups going in ALL states in our region, so that the change you want to see in making Missouri better and safer for bicycling sweeps across the entire multi-state region.
VOTER GUIDE: This Fall MoBikeFed created and distributed the first "Voter Guide for Bicycling and Walking" for the November elections. This was a valuable resource for voters, but even more important it helped us develop a relationship with candidates (future elected officials!), helped us identify which candidates will be willing to work on the issues we all care about, and helped us educate these candidates about these issues.
Recent years Over the past several years, here is what we have been able to accomplish--with your help:
LEGISLATION: A number of important bicycle laws and resolutions have passed in Missouri, including bike lane regulations, safe passing of bicyclists, improved regulations about bicycling on the shoulder, support for bicycle trails in state parks, and resolutions in favor of bicycle month, walk/bike to school day, and the Tour of Missouri. Each one of those has required coordinating support from citizens and groups from around the state--without that support, legislators won't move a bill.
PREVENTION: We have been able to nip several anti-bicycling or proposed bad bicycle or pedestrian laws in the bud--proposals for wrong-way bicycling, changing passing regulations in a way that would be more dangerous for bicyclists, laws discouraging trails, etc.
PROPOSED LEGISLATION: We have several more important pieces of legislation in the pipeline, including Safe Streets, Complete Streets, and a Missouri "Share the Road" license plate.
KATY TRAIL EXTENSIONS: Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City--Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Doyle Childers said that without the citizen advocacy effort led by MoBikeFed that sent thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls in support of the connection, the DNR would not have been able to stick its neck out to include the Katy Trail connection in the Ameren settlement. This same citizen support help prod DNR to complete the last 11 miles of the Katy east of St. Charles and work to create the Katy Connection across the Missouri River to Jefferson City (construction starting soon). Thousands of citizens from organizations like yours have poured favorable comments into DNR--and that has really made a difference.
TOUR OF MISSOURI: Many of the connections and bicycling supporters we were able to activate due to your support of our lobbyist and advocacy efforts in Jefferson City, played a key role in turning the Tour of Missouri from a gleam in the eye of Gov Blunt to an actual, successful, internationally recognized event. In particular, when the Governor's office called MoDOT's bike/ped coordinator (who was in place due to MoBikeFed lobbying) she was able to include MoBikeFed Board member Mike Weiss & MoBikeFed Executive Director Brent Hugh on the initial committee. Mike is the one who connected this committee with UCI and Medalist Sports--the two connections that turned the Tour from an idea to reality.
We'd like to year your input--what of the above do you consider the most important? What other issues would like like to see MoBikeFed address? Leave your thoughts in the comments, below.
MoDOT's latest bicycle map is still in draft form.
You can see it here (under heading "Draft Bicycle Map":
http://mobikefed.org/momaps.php
As far as finalizing the maps &
printing them, I talked with Melissa Anderson of MoDOT early in 2008 and
she suggested they would try to get them completed & printed in time for
Tour of Missouri 2008 if possible. But that's the last I've heard of it
from MoDOT's end.
Support from members and supporters like you allowed MoBikeFed to make progress like this over the past year:
http://mobikefed.org/momaps.php
As far as finalizing the maps & printing them, I talked with Melissa Anderson of MoDOT early in 2008 and she suggested they would try to get them completed & printed in time for Tour of Missouri 2008 if possible. But that's the last I've heard of it from MoDOT's end.
Web link: http://mobikefed.org/momaps.php