Missouri Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails News

Young cyclist remembered

Today's Kansas City Star had an article about activities commemorating Dan Eiermann, an Independence middle school student who was killed while riding his bicycle last fall.

"Dan was struck about 8 p.m. Sept. 27 by a 1984 Ford Mustang when the boy tried biking across 23rd Street in Independence. Police said the motorist had the right-of-way and officials found no wrongdoing."

The incident raised questions about whether cyclists and pedestrians need better facilities for safely crossing streets like 23rd Street. 23rd Street is a four-lane street with heavy, fast-moving traffic. There is much pedestrian and bicycling activity in the area; area teenagers and adults can often be seen walking along or crossing 23rd Street. 23rd Street has very minimal facilities to help pedestrians and young cyclists cross the street safely.

This incident, which happened after dark, also reminds cyclists of the importance of adequate lighting. A headlight and rear reflector or light are required by state law when riding after dark.

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Bike + video game = ?

Too cold to ride outside? How about hooking up your exercise bike to your video game console . . .

The Reebok CyberRider allows you to pedal your way around Playstation games--car race type games, for instance.

A hobbyist came up with a more home-made solution when he made an exercise bike interface to Tron . . .
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Ride the Lewis & Clark Trail

Missouri and Kansas are poised to play an important role in the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Atchison, Leavenworht, and Kansas City are planning a massive celebration on the 4th of July, 2004, called "Journey Fourth". Lewis and Clark celebrated the 4th of July, 1804, near what is now Atchison, Kansas.

Atchison is planning to open a new hike/bike riverfront trail in time for the celebration. Kansas City is planning to open a riverfront site used by Lewis and Clark, and Fort Osage (approx 15 miles east of Kansas City, MO), established by William Clark in 1808, will be the site of a new $3.9 million visitors center.

In May 2004, re-enactors will launch their keelboat from St. Louis. They will re-enact Lewis and Clark's original timetable, arriving in the Kansas City area in late June.

The re-enactment and associated activities will be the focus of national and international attention. According to a Kansas City Star article, "National planners estimate that 25 million travelers will hike, bike, drive or paddle in Lewis and Clark's path during the bicentennial."

MoDOT is planning to have a signed Lewis and Clark bicycle route in place by 2004. It will likely be followed by thousands of cyclists. The route has not been finalized yet, but the preliminary plans are to follow the Katy Trail from St. Louis to Booneville; then Hwys 41, 65, 224 and 24 to Kansas City; FF, 45, and 59 to St. Joseph; and K and 111 north of St. Joseph. Details will follow as they become available.

Two Kansas City-area cyclists rode the complete Lewis & Clark route in small chunks, 1998-2002. Their web site has a journal, route descriptions, and maps.
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Jefferson City makes city center pedestrian-friendly

Jefferson City has spent $1.27 million making its downtown more pedestrian friendly. Speed limits have been reduced from 30MPH to 20MPh and several mid-block crosswalks have been installed. Other changes have been made, as well.

The EQC [Environmental Quality Commission, which spearheaded the changes] earlier this week passed a resolution to compel the city to make efforts to increase motorists' awareness of crosswalks on High Street -- particularly the new mid-block crossings.

The action was spurred by recent statements in the media by the police department, which members felt undermined not only pedestrians' having the right of way while in a crosswalk, but the objective of the entire project.


(A previous News-Tribune story had this comment from police: Dean said vehicles should yield to pedestrians at those mid-block crossings. However, that doesn't mean pedestrians have the right to walk in front of traffic, he said. If a car is approaching, Dean said, the pedestrian needs to yield to the motorist.)

"We would like to see the administration work with the police department, informing them that pedestrians have the right of way," stated Jim Crabtree, EQC secretary. "Secondly, we would advocate the city initiate publicity opportunities to convey this to the public over the next 30 to 45 days. We would like to see strict enforcement of those ordinances."

Still, Garner added that, in most cases when a pedestrian is hit in a crosswalk, the assumption will be against the motorist.


Missouri state law (echoed by most municipalities across the state, including Jefferson City) states that the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger. No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. (RSMo 300.375, Jefferson City Code 22-113)

Read the complete story in the Jefferson City News-Tribune.
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TEA-21 Enhancements in Missouri, 1992-2002

Executive Summary
We get a heck of lot of federal money from TEA21 Enhancements that funds an awful lot of interesting bike/ped projects around Missouri--474 total projects (not all bike/ped) and $115 million in federal funds over the past 10 years.

The reauthorization of TEA21 is coming up in the next congressional session. If you want the new TEA-3 legislation to continue to fund
  • these kinds of Enhancement projects, which often focus on
    bike trails, sidewalks, and the like, *and*
  • Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) projects, which
    are often focused on bike transportation issues, *and*
  • the general push to integrate bike and pedestrian planning
    in all road design, which has been an essential part of
    both ISTEA and TEA-21,

then you'd better be on the phone, mail, and email with your congressman and senators *repeatedly* over the next year, to let your voice be heard, and to let your representatives know that you support the re-authorization of TEA-21, and that you specifically and especially support the bicycle and pedestrian elements.

In particular, be sure to write and call Senator Kit Bond, as he holds a key transportation committee chair position.

You can find the contact info for all your federal officials on our Resources Page.


Please also consider joining and supporting AmericaBikes.org. AmericaBikes is leading the nationwide advocacy effort for bicycle transportation funding in the TEA-21 re-authorization.

Enhancements Summary, 1992-2002, State of Missouri
Source: http://trade.railstotrails.org/perm.html

This summary includes "Enhancements" only. It does not include projects funded under CMAQ (Congestion Management/Air Quality), which is also part of TEA21 but a different pot of money. Bike/ped projects get funding in other ways, too, besides Enhancements and CMAQ, and those projects are not listed here.

(In fact, according to TEA-21, bicycle and pedestrian accommodation is supposed to be part of every funded road project, except for roads where bikes/peds are not allowed access--but in practice this often doesn't happen.)

With those caveats, here is the data for Missouri Enhancements, 1992-2002:

Total number of projects: 474
Federal funds: $115 million
Local funds: $56 million
Total funds: $172 million


Statewide breakdown of projects by type
The Twelve Transportation Enhancement Activities Are:

Number, Name
285, Bicycle and pedestrian facilities
0, Bicycle and pedestrian education and safety
3, Scenic and historic acquisitions
12, Scenic and historic highway programs and welcome centers
88, Landscaping and scenic beautification
10, Historic preservation
38, Preservation of historic transportation facilities
31, Rail corridor preservation and trail development
3, Billboard removal
0, Archaeological planning and research
2, Highway runoff mitigation and wildlife crossings
2, Transportation museums

Statewide highlights for Missouri
Katy Trail--including many phases and associated projects
Trolley Track Trail (KC)
Riverfront trails in Hannibal, Cape Girardeau, St. Joseph, St. Louis, and Kansas City areas
Indian Creek Trail (KC area) and many other greenway projects around the state
Many sidewalk projects around the state
Several highway/freeway landscaping & beautification projects around the state
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St. Louis 5th, KC 17th fattest cities in America . . .

Men's Fitness magazine ranks U.S. cities by their fatness quotients. The ranking includes such things as air quality, water quality, and number of parks, as well as weight of residents.

In 1999, Kansas City was the 2nd fattest city, but this year St. Louis was 5th fattest and KC had dropped all the way to 17th.

"[N]ow experts say food isn't so much to blame as exercise, or lack of it. Here in the metro, the commute to work doesn't allow for most people to walk or ride their bikes to their jobs."

Read the complete story on the NBC 41 home page.
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Riding across Missouri

Charles Hansen wrote a fascinating account of his trip across Missouri. He flew to St. Louis, rode the Katy Trail to Booneville, then on-road to Kansas City, where he took Amtrak back to St. Louis.

Read the complete story, including details of his route from Booneville to Kansas City, on the Charles River Wheelmen page.
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Jefferson City Bike/Ped Task Force promotes city-wide walking day

The Jefferson City Bike/Ped Task Force is planning to choose a day to promote as a city-wide walk day. "Walk for the health of it," says task force member Betty Walker.

The Task Force is also planning a promotional campaign for bicycle recreation and safety in Jefferson City, and a plan to place signs along several area trails identifying them as bike routes.

Read the complete story on the News-Tribune web site.
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Cape Girardeau to build pedestrian bridge over Hwy 74

Plans for a pedestrian bridge over Hwy 74 at Ellis Street in Cape Girardeau were submitted this week. Planners feel the bridge is needed because pedestrians are jumping fences to cross the busy highway. The only available crossing point currently are Sprigg Street and West End Boulevard, which are five blocks apart. Many nearby residents support the construction of the bridge, but some oppose it.

Read the full story in the SEMissourian online.
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Cycling from cafe to cafe in the northland . . .

From the day after Thanksgiving until the day before Christmas each year an invisible dome comes down and settles over our town, extending out in all directions as far as I can ride on my bicycle, endowing every person I meet and every place I go with a Camelot quality.

Read the rest of this essay by Liberty, MO, cyclist Ed Chasteen in the Platte County Sun-News.

Note this tidbit: a new bike trail is being built around the perimeter of the new developments [in Kearney] back toward Liberty on Highway 33.
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KCStar story on walking, biking advocate

Today's KCStar ran a lengthy article on Dan Burden, one of the nation's leading advocates for creating bikeable, walkable communities. Excerpts:

Americans now use automobiles for more than 90 percent of their daily trips. . . .

The result of this automotive addiction: A world where children are sometimes bused 300 feet to school because they can't safely cross eight-lane suburban boulevards. Two-hour commutes on clogged highways. Quaint main streets forsaken for windowless hulks set in acres of asphalt.

"America is out of sync with its values," Burden tells 100 people who have gathered for a slide presentation in a school cafeteria. "We say we're for kids. We say we're for safety. We say we're for families. And we build this ..."

A slide comes up of a woman pushing a stroller along the shoulder of a busy road, a toddler with her walking inches from the traffic.

Children and the elderly suffer most when the automobile conquers a town, Burden says. In a car-dominated landscape, those who can't or won't drive suffer impaired mobility, recreation, health and peace of mind.

The damage can be repaired, Burden says. Our towns and cities can be refashioned into places where children bike to school and their parents walk to work, where picking up a gallon of milk doesn't have to burn a pint of gasoline.

Read the complete story on the KCStar's web site.

Visit Dan Burden's own web site, Walkable Communities, Inc..
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January meeting to combat childhood obesity in KCK

Kansas City Kids Obesity Project is holding a town hall meeting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 29 at Jack Reardon Civic Center, 500 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. The meeting is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The meetin'gs purpose is to discuss and find ways to solve the problem of childhood obesity and its causes, poor eating habits and inactivity.

The event will bring together children, pediatricians, chefs and fitness experts to discuss child obesity and educate participants about its dangers, especially for 9- to 13-year-olds. Presenters will describe simple things children can do to lower their risks for obesity, such as drinking more water and fewer soft drinks, playing outdoors more, and spending less time with computers and televisions.

In Jackson County, 16 percent of 5- to 20-year-olds are overweight, and 27.3 percent are obese, according to a WIC study.

Registration is required and limited to the first 300 persons. To register, call (816) 983-6908. Registrations must be received by Jan. 22.

See the full story in the KCStar.
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Join MoBikeFed's Advocacy Network

MoBikeFed is a statewide group of people like you, working together for better bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri. When you join our advocacy network you receive occasional important advocacy alerts and bicycle, pedestrian, and trails news from around Missouri.

Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network: