Missouri Bicycle News Article

Leading up to National Bike to Work Week (May 11-15), the League of American Bicyclists has released its annual ranking of the 50 states for bicycle friendliness.

This year's rankings shows the results of years of work and support by thousands of MoBikeFed members and supporters--Missouri jumped 11 points in the rankings, from 28th place to 17th.

See the full list of 50 state rankings here, (PDF format).

A year ago, MoBikeFed gave Missouri a grade for bicycle friendliness, and it was a big fat D.

But even then we gave the state a C+ for progress--and that progress has accelerated even more in the past year:

* 2009 brought our first Bicycle Friendly Community (Columbia, Silver level) and at least four more communities actively working towards BFC status

* The number of Missouri cities with Complete Streets policies has gone from two to four.

* All indications are that the amount of bicycling and walking in Missouri is increasing steadily--while the amount of vehicle miles driven has decreased for the second straight year.

* The amount of bicycle routes and lanes installed in Missouri has increased dramatically--from 189 miles in 2007 to 275 in 2008. Another 75 miles of on-road bicycle routes are scheduled for installation in Missouri cities in 2009.

* Missouri now has nearly 500 miles of multi-use trails. Expansions of the Katy Trail are underway on both the eastern and wester ends. Trail building programs are active in the St. Louis area, Columbia, Springfield, Kansas City, and number of other cities across the state.

* Bicycle planning committees and bicycle plans are active in cities like St. Louis, Columbia, Springfield, Kansas City, Columbia, Farmington, Cape Girardeau, Maryville, Warsaw, and Kirksville.

* A federal pilot project underway in Columbia has proven the value and cost-effectiveness of spending transportation dollars to promote bicycling and create bicycle routes. In one year, Columbia more than doubled the amount of bicycling--from 3.4% to 8.7% of all commute trips--instantly becoming one of the premier bicycling cities in the United States.

* MoDOT has been doing excellent work to improve its accommodation of pedestrians--particularly in greatly improving compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

* Major barriers are being bridged: Major projects planned or underway will add a bicycle/pedestrian path to the Heart of America Bridge in Kansas City and the Missouri River Bridge in Jefferson City. New bicycle and pedestrian access was added to the recently opened Missouri River Bridge at Hermann and the McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Louis.

* The second annual Tour of Missouri brought out nearly half a million spectators and international attention to Missouri as a bicycle destination.

* A statewide Complete Streets Bill is under consideration by the General Assembly and supported by a large and broad coalition of supporters--from the Missouri PTA to the American Association of Landscape Architects to the Missouri Council on Activity and Nutrition.

Despite the progress, there is still much work to be done:

* The increase in the miles of on-street bicycle system is impressive. But the reality is that the vast majority of those miles are in only three cities: Columbia, St. Louis, and Springfield. We need to take this idea of creating an on-street system of bicycle routes using existing streets to every city in Missouri. It is the most simple, inexpensive, and cost-effective way of increasing the amount of bicycling.

* Only a few Missouri cities have bicycle, trails, or pedestrian plans or citizens' committees on bicycling and walking.

* A majority of Missourians choose to walk, bicycle, or use transit for at least some trips, yet few cities, transportation departments, or planning agencies have adopted Complete Streets policies to routinely consider and plan for safe routes for those who walk, bicycle, and use transit.

* Many simple, routine problems show up on Missouri roads--such as new drain grates that are unsafe for bicycles, new traffic signals that do not detect bicycles, traffic signals without crosswalks or pedestrian phases, or that do not allow enough time for pedestrians to cross safely.

* Many new road and streets are still being built without sidewalks, shoulders, or bicycle lanes where they are needed.

* Years of neglect of basic infrastructure for walking and bicycling is apparent in every part of the state--and will take many years to correct.

Bicycling and walking are by the far the cheapest and most cost-effective way to meet our state's transportation needs--to get Missourians where they need to go. More and more Missourians are routinely choosing to bicycle and walk--for recreation, fitness, and enjoyment, and as an inexpensive and practical way to get around town.

Building bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities makes our citizens happier and healthier, stimulates sustainable economic development, saves dramatically on pollution and emissions, and makes our cities more livable.

We're moving in the right direction in Missouri--in large part thanks to the core group of Missouri Bicycle Federation members and supporters who have spent years working to get Missouri moving in the right direction.

Now we need to get Missouri moving even faster--because our goal is to make Missouri a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly State.

A number of facts and statistics mentioned above come from MoBikeFed's Vision Results Tracker.

Related:

News: Harkin "Complete Streets" Amendment fails; MO Sen. Bond speaks against

News: MoBikeFed awards at Bicycle Day--list of honorees

News: National organizations support Complete Streets

News: Major national organizations endorse Complete Streets

News: What has MoBikeFed been doing for YOU lately?