This is part of a series, "What has MoBikeFed done for you in 2010?" Read the remaining articles here. This time of year many are asking--what have you been doing? What have the Federation and the Foundation been doing? We've put together a multi-part report. Here is part three: Working with MoDOT and dozens of groups and organizations across Missouri to
identify the state's bicycle and pedestrian priorities This
year for the first time ever MoDOT approached bicycle and pedestrian groups
across Missouri to ask them to identify the highest priority projects, as
identified and prioritized by users, for bicycling, walking, and Americans With
Disabilities Act (ADA) projects in all 10 MoDOT Districts across Missouri.
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 You would think a headline like "MoDOT builds a sidewalk" would be like "dog bites man"--interesting if you are the man or the dog, but otherwise so common as to not be newsworthy.
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 We have previously published an estimate of the number of non-drivers and non-driving adults in Missouri. Here is an updated estimate, based on the most recent data available ( 2007 Federal Highway Administration data). In brief: - 30% of Missouri's population does not have a driver's license.
- Over 16% of adults do not have a driver's license.
The question, as always: How well does Missouri's transportation system and policies provide for the needs of this large minority of the population--100% of children under the age of 16 and 16% of adults--who live in our society, go to school, have jobs, and pay taxes, but cannot drive? Overall population (2007)
Missouri population
| 5,878,415
| 100%
| source
| Number of licensed drivers
| 4,161,957
| 70.8%
| source
| Number of non-drivers
| 1,716,458
| 29.2%
| |
Population age 16 and above (2007)
Population age 16 and above
| 4,976,668
| 100%
| source
| Number of drivers
| 4,161,957
| 83.6%
| source
| Number of non-drivers, age 16 and above
| 814,711
| 16.4%
|
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KSHB-TV has a followup about the bicyclist who was hit and injured by an angry driver in September. The incident happened on the downtown Kansas City airport loop road, a very low-traffic road very commonly used by bicyclists. The KSHB article says:A cyclist injured by a hit and run is angry the alleged driver is not facing more serious charges.
On Wednesday, a Lee’s Summit woman was charged for the incident in Clay County Circuit Court. Dawn Mais, 29, faces the class A misdemeanor of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.
“I’m absolutely dumbfounded,” said Chuck Pullium, who was hit while riding his bike near the Wheeler Downtown Airport on September 26. “The woman threatened to do bodily harm and then carried through with her threat.”
Pullium accused the driver of honking her horn, yelling at him to get off the road, and then hitting him on NW Lou Holland Drive. The accident mangled Pullium’s bike and left him with a cracked tailbone.
The driver didn’t stop, but Pullium and his son returned to the area the next day. They located the suspected vehicle parked in a secure lot at the airport and called police. A probable cause statement said that “officers observed a scratch on the right front of the vehicle.” Full story on the KSHB web site here.
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 Missouri landed its second officially designated Bicycle Friendly Community today, as the League of American Bicyclists named the city of St. Louis, Missouri, as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community. Columbia, Missouri, was recently designated as a silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community. Missouri also has two Bicycle Friendly Businesses: REI St. Louis and the Velocity Cafe and Cyclery. The goal in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling & Walking in Missouri is one silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community, five bronze-level, and at least 5 more working towards BFC status by 2012. So we're getting there! And if your community isn't working towards BFC status--why not? click here to find out more about the national Bicycle Friendly Community program. From the League of American Bicyclists' press release: St. Louis, Mo., for example, is one of the 70 largest cities surveyed in the ACS and a new BFC.
The community nearly doubled their number of bicycle commuters from 2000 to 2008. The city has completed several noteworthy projects within the past year, including 53 new miles of on-street additions to the bikeway system, a $10 million investment, and an expansion of bicycling education offerings for children and adults. "St. Louis like cities across the country, is making smart investments in building a welcoming community for biking that will inevitably lead to more, healthier and sustainable transportation options and increased recreational opportunities." stated Bill Nesper, League Director of the Bicycle Friendly America program.
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way states and communities evaluate their quality of life,
sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The application process to become a BFC is rigorous; currently only 124 of the 318 total applicants have a BFC four-year designation. The renewal process and four levels of the award – platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. The BFC application process itself for St. Louis was a major job--the process was spearheaded by a committee including representatives from the Great Rivers Greenway District, the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, TrailNet, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, the City of St. Louis, and a number of others. Congratulations to all involved on a job well done!
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You may remember that the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation has led a multi-year effort, in cooperation with local bicycle, pedestrian, and community groups, to great safe bicycle and pedestrian access across the Missouri River near downtown Kansas City, Missouri. There is currently no good, safe way to bicycle or walk across the Missouri River anywhere in the Kansas City metro area--despite the fact that the river cuts the metro area in half. Two results of that effort were announced recently: Bicycle/pedestrian retrofits of the Heart of America and Chouteau Bridges near downtown Kansas City. CHOUTEAU BRIDGE PROJECTMoDOT's web site has more details about the proposed Chouteau project--which will include both bicycle lanes and a separate sidewalk on each side of the bridge: What's the Need? In 2006, MoDOT conducted a bicycle and pedestrian feasibility study as part of the Interstate 29/35 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The study team included representatives from Kansas City, North Kansas City, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), Missouri Bicycle Federation, Bridging the Gap, Federal Highway Administration, Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) and MoDOT. The study team identified the Heart of America Bridge as the preferred river crossing for bicycles and pedestrians. The Chouteau Bridge is a candidate for similar retrofitting, based on safety, connectivity, condition of the structure and need. What's the Solution? MoDOT plans to retrofit the 8-year old bridge as part of already-scheduled bridge work. The department will use existing pedestrian access to provide greater access for both foot and pedal traffic. When complete by 2010, the Chouteau and Heart of America bridges will help Kansas City achieve its goal of a phased network of 600 miles of on-street bicycle routes within the city. What's the cost? The bicycle and pedestrian retrofitting will cost about $2.8 million, of a nearly $5 million project that also includes some needed bridge repairs. The funding is from allocated state and federal money.
Read more and leave your feedback on the project here.It looks like the Chouteau Bridge project will be a very good, very well designed project. HEART OF AMERICA BRIDGE PROJECTThe Heart of America bike/ped retrofit project will be a major improvement as well--though it faces a greater challenge simply because there is less space to work with on the bridge deck. Heart of America could be a much better, safer project for bicycling and walking--more like the Chouteau Bridge project, in fact-- if the agencies involved would give full consideration to removing an (unnecessary) third travel lane on the southbound side of the bridge. So far MoDOT has not fully considered that option, so leaving feedback asking them to do so would really help out. Contacts are: Stephen.Porter@modot.mo.gov
Senior Community Relations Specialist
MoDOT, District 4
816-622-6329
and
Joab Ortiz
Joabortiz@burnsmcd.com
Senior Public Involvement Specialist
Burns & McDonnell
816-349-6766 Click here for more details about the Heart of America project.
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According to a recent Blue Spring Examiner story, there is a "bicycle boom" going on in Blue Springs--the direct result of a new, citywide bicycle route system that has recently been greatly expanded: At no time during the past 30 years has Roscoe Righter seen it.
Bicyclists on U.S. 40.
Until now, that is.
"Maybe it's a coincidence, but I'm thinking that it isn't," Righter, director of the Blue Springs Parks and Recreation, said Thursday. "I'm seeing them in other places in the city, too."
But the sudden and unsurprising appearance of bicyclists throughout the city the last couple months was intentional, after all. . . .
The citywide bicycle/pedestrian path project, nine years in the planning and development, is now coming to its end. City work crews have been busy putting down lanes and erecting the signs alerting drivers and cyclists. Since the beginning of the summer, when the city began the final push to finish the project, as many as five new bike routes have appeared . . .
A suburban city that prides itself on recreation and activities notwithstanding, the project in question makes sense: once completed, it will offer several miles of designated bike and pedestrian paths in the city, many of which will link together. . . .
Bicyclists should also be aware that many of the city’s storm sewer grates have been replaced and more are scheduled for the near future. Along with lane and sign work next week on Missouri, workers will be replacing grates there, too. . . .
This year will see not only the completion of the bike/pedestrian project, but also additions and improvements to the city’s trails. The city recently finished the walking trail around the lake at Gregory Grounds Park; the small dog park at the dog park is finished as well and the Disc Golf Course at Young Park will be finished in late December for spring use. More about Blue Spring's bicycle network is on the city's web site.
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 In the aftermath of the Tour of Missouri, MoBikeFed met with two key members of Governor Nixon's staff: Jeff Harris, Policy Director, and Scott Holste, Press Secretary.
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Drury University in Springfield is planning Bike Week, according to an article in the Drury Mirror: [A]s fall approaches, Drury's environmentalist group, Think Green, plans to keep the campus "green" all year long.
This week, Think Green plans to launch a week long initiative called "Bike Week" to promote sustainable transportation for students, and provide education and resources for current bicycle-users.
According to a Think Green publication, Bike Week will include a "Biking School" seminar, technical assistance for non-part repairs, free T-shirts, and air for bicycle tires.
Bicycles are already popular on campus, and Bike Week is an attempt to showcase that, according to Brett Marler, president of Think Green.
Marler believes that Drury's campus caters too much to automobile interests because of the assumption that students prefer to use cars. Marler wants to "give a voice to the underrepresented biking population on Drury's campus, and make bicycle usage on campus easier for students."
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Today's MoDOT Express Lane--MoDOT's twice-monthly email newsletter--included this article about MoDOT's bicycle friendliness: Missouri is Bike Friendly
MoDOT works hard to factor bicycle and pedestrian travel into its highway projects, and has made a lot of headway making state roads and bridges user-friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians. In fact, the League of American Bicyclists recently ranked Missouri as the 17th most bike friendly state in the nation, an 11-spot jump from last year.
The ranking is based on Missouri’s commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation, policies and programs, infrastructure, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement.
“MoDOT strives to factor bicycle travel into its highway projects,” said Melissa Anderson, MoDOT ’s non-motorized engineer whose focus is on bicycle and pedestrian travel. “We’ve had some great success, and we continually look for ways to make our roads and bridges user-friendly for bicyclists and pedestrians.”
Anderson cited the planned rehabilitation of the Heart of America Bridge, which connects downtown Kansas City with north Kansas City via Route 9, as a good example of MoDOT’s bike friendly approach. Under the project, the bridge will be reconfigured to provide a barrier-protected path for bicycles and pedestrians. Signs reminding bicyclists and motorists to share the road will also be installed.
Other bike-bragging project achievements include:
* The project to rebuild Interstate 64 now under way in St. Louis called for two new bicycle/pedestrian underpasses, which are now complete. A multi-use path at Hampton and I-64 that used to cross over a heavily traveled road now passes underneath to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from traffic. In addition, a new, more open bypass just west of Kingshighway lets bikers and pedestrians cross safely under the interstate.
* A protected pedestrian/bicycle walkway was built down the center of Kansas Expressway over Interstate 44 in Springfield as part of a diverging diamond interchange project that was completed in June.
* MoDOT is collaborating with the city of Rolla on a multi-phase project that has provided 9.07 miles of biking and walking paths to date, with an additional 1.72 miles planned. Once complete, the paths will connect to provide a comprehensive bike and pedestrian sidewalk network.
* Working with the city of St. James, MoDOT built a 5.2-mile hiking and biking trail through divided Historic Route 66 and an old growth pine forest area. The completed trail is part of an overall plan to connect trails from St. James to Meramec State Park.
* An asphalt bicycle/pedestrian trail is being built in Riverview Park in Hannibal with federal enhancement funds. When finished later this summer, it will connect Riverview Park visitors to downtown Hannibal.
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