Pacific City Council votes 5-0 for pedestrian access on Meramec River Bridge; Franklin County still stonewalls

Earlier this month we issued an Advocacy Alert, asking citizens to contact leaders in Pacific, Missouri, and Franklin County in support of pedestrian access on a new bridge over the Meramec River just at the city limits of Pacific.

Old Meramec River Bridge (Hwy N) near Pacific. Will the new bridge allow safe pedestrian access?

Now the Pacific City Council has voted to support pedestrian access on the new bridge by a margin of 5-0--but Franklin County Executive John Griesheimer is still dead-set against modifying the bridge design to include pedestrian access.

The eMissourian reports:

Even though some aldermen said they did not want to halt construction of a new bridge over the Meramec River, they voted 5-0 this week to approve a resolution deeding a small strip of land in the project to Franklin County as a quid pro quo for adding a pedestrian lane to the new bridge. . . .

Franklin County has already bid the $4.5 million project and plans to award a construction contract as soon as MoDOT signs off on it.

The bid includes building a new bridge and improving Highway N with a new road and sidewalk from the bridge to Pacific city limits. The strip of roadway involved in this issue is included in the project.

Aldermen indicated at the Aug. 2 board meeting that they might withhold the land without a pedestrian lane, which prompted an angry response from Franklin County Presiding Commissioner John Griesheimer, who said Pacific was trying to hold the bridge hostage.

This new bridge was designed without any pedestrian access, even though Pacific aldermen asked for such access as long ago as three years.

It is unclear how the project got to this point without a careful examination of the need for pedestrian access.

This lack of examination seems to go against policy of East-West Gateway, MoDOT, and federal law.

In the year 2016, we don't build new bridges without good, safe pedestrian and bicycle access where it is needed. And we certainly do not do so without even examining the need to pedestrian and bicycle access at all.

How you can help--contact your elected officials in support of safe pedestrian access on the new bridge

Earlier this month we issued an Advocacy Alert on this issue.

If you live, work, visit, walk, or bicycle in this area, sending a quick note to officials in Pacific and Franklin County could make a big difference. Please take a moment to contact officials.

• Click here to contact elected officials in support of pedestrian access on the new bridge

What solutions are possible?

Even though this project is well along the process, there are still several avenues that could allow the bridge to be redesigned to include safe pedestrian access.  We strongly encourage all involved agencies and municipalities to work together to find a positive resolution to this issue.

Some possibilities:

• County Executive Greisheimer has already indicated the current design width can be altered easily to accommodate a three-foot walkway. With just a few more tweaks--shaving one foot off of each travel lane, which is a common design decision--that could become a 5 or 6 foot walkway.
   
• East-West Gateway and MoDOT could allow a special exception to its grant timeline to allow a bridge re-design. Considering the fact that this bridge has been allowed to proceed to this late stage of the grant approval process without a thorough examination of the need for pedestrian access--in contravention of federal and EWGateway policy--allowing a timeline change to proceed with this important evaluation is very reasonable.
   
• As a last resort, waiting four years for another federal funding opportunity is honestly a better option than proceeding with a deficient design now. For a bridge that will be in place and used for 75-100 years, a four year delay is insignificant.

Officials at all levels of government need to understand that planning and designing transportation projects in the year 2016, without fully considering the needs of the vast majority of citizens who regularly walk and bicycle is simply bad practice and bad policy.

It costs far more to omit pedestrian and bicycle access on projects than to try to retrofit it later. And simply omitting needed pedestrian and bicycle access has a high cost, as well.

Working towards a world-class pedestrian and bicycle transportation in Missouri is one of the top goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Working for safe access for pedestrians and bicyclists across major barriers like rivers is one of the most important ways we support that goal.

Your ongoing membership and generous financial support helps us turn out Vision into reality!