Bicycling, walking, PedNet, mixed use development issues in Columbia, MO, elections

Like many communities in Missouri, Columbia is having Municipal elections April 3rd.

Making a walkable and bicycleable community, the current PedNet Project to encourage more nonmotorized transportation, and the issues of growth, annexation, and mixed-use developments to reduce the need to drive long distances for basic necessities are all part of the candidate discussion as reported in the Columbia Missourian:

[Mayor Darwin] Hindman said that growth is inevitable and that the city is not growing too quickly. As growth occurs, however, he thinks the city should strive for more mixed-use neighborhoods and more annexations. . . .

[City Council candidate Karl] Skala noted that new developments far from existing businesses require people to drive everywhere and keeps Columbia in a rut. The city, he said, needs to “redesign how we live.” . . .

[City Council candidate Gary] Kespohl also supports mixed-use neighborhoods, saying they promote the goals of the PedNet Project by bringing goods and services closer to buyers.

“I think the PedNet project is a great project, but I don’t see someone in central Columbia riding their bicycle to a Wal-Mart store. It’s too far.” . . .

[Mike] Holden, also a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said he, too, would like to see more mixed-use developments. He wants Columbia to move away from “an automobile-based society.”