Missouri Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails News

Lee's Summit plans for Longview Road

Lee's Summit, MO, is soliciting public comment about their plans for reconstruction of Longview Road between 350 Hwy and Longview Lake. You can read some details on the Lee's Summit web site.

The plan includes curb and sidewalk on both sides of the road, as well as a short segment of bicycle path. It is unclear what on-road bicycle accommodations are planned.

A public meeting is being held at Longview Baptist Church, 1300 Longview Road, on Wednesday, January 29, 2003, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Comments can be sent to Scott.Eason@lees-summit.mo.us or (816) 969-7307.
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William Least Heat-Moon speaks at Ozark Greenways Thursday

Missouri author William Least Heat-Moon (Blue Highways and River-Horse) will speak at the Ozark Greenways meeting in Springfield on Thursday, January 30th, 2003.

Also to be announced at the meeting are a number of new and planned trails in the Springfield area.

For more details and a summary of the planned trails, see the article in today's Springfield News-Leader.
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St. Louis-area village receives payment for rail-to-trail conversion

Grantwood Village received a $30,000 payment from the federal government this week, for land that was part of a rail-to-trail conversion.

Property owners along Grant's Trail, the Katy Trail, and other rail-to-trail projects have sued the federal government for compensation. Grantwood Village was part of a class-action lawsuit that included many property owners along the Katy Trail in Missouri. Property owners won their suit; Grantwood Village is one of the first to actually receive payments from the federal government as a result of this lawsuit.

Grant's Trail is operated by TrailNet (which, incidentally, is looking to expand Grant's Trail). The Katy Trail is a Missouri State Park. Some have assumed that the large monetary awards related to the creation of these trails would have a devastating effect on the organizations that operate the trails. But the authority to create rail-to-trail conversions came from the federal Rails-to-Trails Act, and so the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the federal government--and not the local organizations or government bodies who may operate the trail--must pay any compensation due to adjoining landowners.

So far, Congress has felt that the value of maintaining the continuous right-of-way of the (former) railroads is well worth the payments involved. If the rights-of-way were allowed to disintegrate, the cost of re-assembling them would be many times greater than the court ordered payments will be.

Some groups representing property owners near rail right-of-ways, including the Farm Bureau, have fought long and hard, first to prevent rail-to-trail projects from moving forward and then, when court rulings made that impossible, to get property owners the compensation to which they felt entitled. The federal government, for its part, has fought the lawsuits brought by property owners tooth and nail.

The payments to Grantwood Village represent one of the first definite conclusions to any part of this hard-fought battle.

See STLToday's story on Grantwood Village here.
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Shawnee, KS, tries innovative program to curb speeding

Shawnee, Kansas, recently announced an innovative program to help identify and control speeding problems on neighborhood streets. The city will issue radar guns to a pair of citizens, who will use the radar to monitor vehicle speeds on neighborhood streets for a two-week period. The pair will monitor vehicle speeds from a parked car at the location of their choice. One person will operate the radar gun while the other will record speed, time, and information about the vehicle.

Citizens will not give tickets or fines or confront speeders, but the city will send letters to motorists identified as exceeding the speed limit by ten miles per hour or more.

Cities across the country have used this idea to monitor and curb speeding in neighborhoods, but this is the first time it has been tried in the Kansas City area.

See the complete story on the KCStar's web site.
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$237 million for mall, but no money for sidewalk

KTVI Channel 2 in St. Louis recently covered the issue of sidewalks at the West County Mall in Des Peres. When the mall was renovated, planners "forgot" sidewalks. According to the KTVI story:
Public sidewalks come to an abrubt end at the mall's entrance. Area residents noticed. "All of a sudden, you're stepping out in front of traffic--and if you're a cyclist you're going to be looking to see people merging in front and behind you and it creates a dangerous situation." [said Bob Foster of the Missouri Bicycle Federation].

"Opening weekend, we noticed a lot of people walking to the mall particularly - people from neighborhoods to the south. That sort of brought it to our attention.. We need to add pedestrian access to this facility."

Mall owners do not seem particularly worried about the problem, but Des Peres city leaders are planning to require the installation of the sidewalks as part of construction of a new restaurant at the mall. Sidewalks will be in place by next spring if all goes as planned.

The mall still does not have bicycle parking racks; St. Louis-area cyclists are petitioning the mall to add bicycle parking. Mall management can be reached at 314/288-2020 or by visiting the feedback form of the the mall web site.

A simple bicycle rack holding 6-10 bicycles can be purchased for under $100.

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Jim Konski, "Father of American Randonneurs", MU graduate

James L. Konski, known as "Father of American Randonneurs", died of natural causes December 17th at age 85. Konski graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in civil engineering and served as national director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He also founded the International Randonneurs and the Onondaga Bicycle Club in Syracuse, NY.

According to an article on the New York Bicycling Coalition web site, Konski "actively supported the 'good engineering' that resulted in roads and bridges that were safer for bicyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles at very little extra cost. Jim’s research proved that proper road shoulders not only improved safe bicycling, but for 10% more construction cost would extend road life by 20%."

See the article in VeloNews for more information.
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Missouri Amtrak service to be cut

Amtrak is one of the best ways for cyclists to transport themselves and the bicycles to touring destinations. For instance, many cyclists ride the Katy Trail one way and then take Amtrak back the other direction.Unfortunately, last year the Missouri legislature provided only $5 million of the $6.2 million needed to run the "Missouri Mule" (looping between Kansas City and St. Louis, stopping at 8 cities in between) this year. Unless funding is found, the Mule will stop running February 28th. This will leave only one daily train covering the St. Louis-KC route.MoDOT has asked the Missouri legislature to provide the funds needed to continue the Missouri Mule through the end of the fiscal year in June.See the full story in KOLR online.

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The second annual bike swap meet, St. Louis, Feb 16

Two Wheel Deals and More . . .

The second annual St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation's Bike Swap Meet is nearing. If you want to buy, trade or sell bikes or anything bicycle-related at great prices, then mark Sunday, February 16, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. on your calendar now. More than seven area bike shops, a dozen nonprofits, and bicyclists of all ages will gather under one giant roof with amazing deals for you: New bikes as well as previously owned models and other bike-related goods.

The swap meet location is 17355 Edison Avenue in Chesterfield Valley, MO, 63005, just off Chesterfield Airport Road near Lowe's.

Admission is $2 to the general public with proceeds benefiting the Bike Federation.

If you're interested in a 12'x12' booth for selling your own bicycle-related goods, or would like to sell on consignment, please contact 314-621-0220 ext. 333 or visit the swapmeet's web site by February 8.

"This swap meet is the best way to find great bargains on cycling equipment all under one roof," says Bob Foster, chair of the Bike Federation. "We're excited about this year's swap and all the bike shops, non-profits and individuals that are showing their support for this event. We've got a huge space, thanks to THF Realty, and it's great to see the cycling community come together to swap, learn and get ready for the arrival of spring."

"The Bike Federation is here to support the cycling community in every way we can, and one way to do that is to offer them the best deals in town."

A non-profit, all-volunteer organization, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation shares a vision of a bike-friendly region. Its vision includes, but is not limited to the ideals of: bicyclists have a right to safe, well-planned roadways; proper equipment and training is important to safe riding; and education of cyclists and motorists is needed. Go to: www.stlbikefed.org for more information.

Detailed information about the swap meet can be found on the St. Louis Bike Fed's web site.
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Kansas City MO Walkability Plan meetings Jan. 23 & Jan 28

Kansas City, Missouri, is planning two meetings to discuss the draft Kansas City Walkability Plan:
  • 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan 23rd at Northland Neighborhoods Inc., on the lower east-side level of Antioch Center (5312 N.E. Chouteau Trafficway).This presentation will cover the plan's impact on the northland area.
  • 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 28, 2003, Rockhurst University Community Center at 54th St. and Troost Ave. Guest Speaker: Ollie Gates
From a KCMO press release:

Walkability Friends:

The purpose of the meeting is to present:

§ why we are doing the Walkability Plan
§ what the process has been and who has been involved
§ what the major recommendations of the plan are, particularly those that relate to neighborhoods, and to the design of development to be walkable
§ what changes we should expect as a result of the plan
§ how you can be involved in revising the draft plan and plan adoption

Meeting Location for Jan 28th meeting: Rockhurst University Community Center, parking lot on north side of building, enter from Troost Avenue or 54th Street. Located on # 25 Troost bus line and accessible from Brush Creek or 55th Street exits off Bruce R. Watkins Drive.

The draft plan is posted on the City's web site.

For more information please call Lynnis Jameson (513-2853) (e-mail: Lynnis_Jameson@kcmo.org) or Gerald Williams (513-2897) (e-mail: Gerald_Williams@kcmo.org) City Planning and Development Dept., City of Kansas City, Missouri


You can also use KCMO's Neighborhood Walking Survey, which is part of the Walkability Plan, to document how pedestrian-friendly (or otherwise) your neighborhood is.
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Resources for Lewis & Clark rides

Stan and Ann Nelson recently wrote this, in a KCStar letter:

Recently we traveled 99 percent of the trail by car and bicycle and would like to recommend two excellent sources for cyclists: Bicycle Guide to the Lewis and Clark Trail by Tod Rodger and Adventure Cycling's detailed maps, which can be ordered at (800) 721-8719. . . .

We hope others will team up with families and/or friends to experience the trail or a section of the trail -- it can be done in bits and pieces over several years.


You can also find a huge collection of Lewis & Clark-related web pages at LCArchive.org.
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The MIssissippi River trail

According to an article in the Quad City (IA) Times, "A bicycling masterpiece could be in the making."

Planners in several states are hoping to use a combination and local and federal funds to put together a 2,500 mile bike route, the Mississippi River Trail.

"When completed, the trail will include a link of on-road and off-road trails from the birthplace of the Mississippi River in Minnesota to where it merges with Gulf of Mexico waters in Louisiana."

Missouri planners have been busy plotting out the part of the route through Missouri--you can find maps and information on MississippiRiverTrail.org. The Missouri section of the trail is already signed an in place from Hannibal to St. Louis and from St. Louis on south.
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Report: Pedestrian deaths rise, safety spending lags

A new Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) report says that dangerous street design and a lack of investment in pedestrian safety are to blame for an increase in pedestrian deaths nationwide. The report, "Mean Streets 2002," finds that while 12 percent of all traffic deaths are pedestrians, less than one percent of federal transportation dollars go to protecting people on foot.

The report found that nine of the top ten most dangerous metro areas are below the national average in spending of federal funds on pedestrian safety, averaging just 62 cents per person. The national average is 87 cents per person. STPP is calling for greater spending on pedestrian safety as part of the TEA-21 renewal bill, creating and funding a new national Safe Routes to School program, designing safer streets, and collecting better data on pedestrian travel.

According to the report, St. Louis is the 16th most dangerous U.S. city for pedestrians, and Kansas City is the 20th most dangerous. In Missouri, 7.8% of all traffic deaths were pedestrians but only 1.1% of all federal transportation dollars were spent on pedestrian/bicycle facilities. Missouri spends about $1.35 per resident per year on pedestrian and bicycle facilities and safety.

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