Jim Wild named Executive Director of EW Gateway, the St Louis Region's transportation planning organization : STLToday

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Jim Wild is the new leader of a group that largely flies under the radar, but plays a powerful role in making funding decisions for major St. Louis area transportation projects.

He’s the executive director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the region’s planning arm that’s responsible for the roughly $900 million a year in transportation and other regional projects that require federal funding in St. Louis and its surrounding seven counties. . . .

He takes over at a time when many ideas — including MetroLink expansion and streetcars — are brewing.

But funding sources are scarce, a reality that shapes how available dollars must be spent, Wild said.

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Jim Wild named Executive Director of EW Gateway, the St Louis Region's transportation planning organization : STLToday

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MoBikeFed comment: Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) like East-West Gateway are one of the main drivers of transportation policy and spending in Missouri. Missouri has seven MPOs covering urban areas and 20-odd RPCs (Regional Planning Commissions) covering rural areas.

One of the primary goals of MoBikeFed and our allies across the state is to work with all MPOs and RPCs to develop policies and funding priorities that are more attuned to the needs of Missourians who walk and bicycle.

EWGW's recent 30-year transportation plan looks to be a positive step forward for the region, as bicycling, walking, and transit are identified as regional priorities:

http://www.ewgateway.org/trans/longrgplan/2015/Connected2045.pdf