What has MoBikeFed been doing for YOU lately?

MoBikeFed's Vision of Active Transportation in Missouri
Every year we like to put together a list of the things MoBikeFed has been doing for you--the citizens of Missouri who walk, bicycle, and use trails.

So here it is--the major bicycling, walking, and trails-related accomplishments in Missouri for 2007 and 2008 (so far):

* The first annual Tour of Missouri brought internationally renowned pro bicycle racing teams, worldwide attention, 367,000 bicycle fans, 22 million TV viewers, and over $26 million in economic impact to Missouri. State officials have announced support for the Tour for at least two more years.

* Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City: State officials announced an agreement to make possible the connection between the Katy Trail and the Kansas City metro area.

* The Department of Natural Resources has been working to complete the final 11 miles on the eastern end of the Katy Trail, between St. Charles and Machens.

* An agreement has been reached with MoDOT that will result in bicycle and pedestrian access on two or perhaps three Missouri River bridges in the Kansas City area over the next 5 years. For decades there has been no safe way to walk or bicycle across the river in the metro area.

* The new Missouri River bridge at Hermann includes a bicycle/pedestrian path that will connect the Katy Trail with the city of Hermann.

* The Missouri State Parks Foundation has completed fund raising that has brought in the final funds needed to add a bicycling and walking path to one of the Missouri River bridges at Jefferson City, connecting the city to the Katy Trail

* MoBikeFed has assembled a dynamic, talented, and forward-thinking Board of Directors made up of representatives of key groups and geographical regions around the state.

* MoBikeFed was represented in Washington, DC, at the National Bike Summit in 2007, and helped assemble the largest-ever contingent of Missourians for the National Bike Summit in March 2008. The connections the Missouri delegation made with our Missouri members of Congress have been invaluable in moving local, state, and national issues forward.

* The second annual of Bicycle Day at the Capitol brought dozens of MoBikeFed supporters to Jefferson City to make personal contact with state lawmakers and policy leaders. These personal visits, backed up by hundreds of messages, made a big impression on Missouri lawmakers.

* Thanks to the work of our representative in Jefferson City, Jim Farrell, MoBikeFed has continued to develop relationships with legislators and state officials in Jefferson City. Thanks to the Tour of Missouri, we have worked closely with staff from the Governor's office, Lt. Governor's office, and Division of Tourism on a number of projects.

* Legislation proposed by Representative Mike Sutherland, an avid bicyclist, and passed by the Missouri General Assembly, will make it easier for state parks to work with nonprofit organizations to build mountain biking and hiking trails in state parks. Sutherland's goal is to have mountain biking trails within a few miles of every Missouri resident.

* MoBikeFed is well into the process of bringing a "Share the road with Bicycles" license plate to Missouri.

* MoBikeFed's legislative committee has prepared a powerful line-up of legislative proposals for the 2008 legislative session, including proposals for:

- A Safe Streets Bill: Appropriate penalties for motorists whose careless driving injures or kills

- A "Complete Streets" bill for MoDOT, requiring accommodation for bicycling and walking where it is needed

- Bicycle-friendly passing zone and dead red laws. These proposals are working their way through the legislature completely independent of our efforts, but the original proposals did not consider the needs of bicyclists in these situations. Slight wording changes MoBikeFed has proposed will turn these into bicycle-friendly laws that will encourage safe passing of bicyclists and, when safe, allow bicyclists to proceed through those traffic signals that just won't change for us--and be able to do so without fear of a ticket.

* MoBikeFed met twice this year with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. MoDOT's governing board, to explain the need for better accommodations for bicycling and walking and the importance of the statewide bicycle/pedestrian program.

* A strong movement towards better bicycling and walking accommodations is literally sweeping through cities in Missouri. Just a few examples of what local organizations and local advocacy has been able to accomplish in Missouri recently:

- The Bike St. Louis system is expanding beyond the initial 20-mile "starter system"; TrailNet is working with a whole group of St. Louis metro area cities and counties to create city and county bicycle plans; a coalition of St. Louis area groups including TrailNet, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, and MoBikeFed recently worked with the city to apply for Bicycle Friendly Community status.

- The "World-class Cycling Summit" in Wentzville looked at how to make the Westplex region a world-class cycling center with events, programs, and facilities.

- The new federally funded "GetAbout Columbia" pilot project will put about $20 million into programs and facilities designed to help Columbia make the quantum leap to a completely connected bicycle, pedestrian, and transit friendly city.

- Kansas City has hired a new Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator and a Trails Coordinator, is implementing its bicycle plan and creating a citywide trails plan, and is holding a summit in late May to kick off its effort to reach Bicycle Friendly Community status.

- Springfield recently adopted a well-thought-out bicycle plan, held a Bicycle Summit to engage area leaders in taking the city to Bicycle Friendly Community status, and continues to expand one of the most comprehensive trail systems in the state.

- St. Joseph has created a new group, Quad States Trails of St. Joseph, to work towards an interconnected regional trails system and is in the first stages of planning a Bicycle Summit later in the year to start the city moving towards Bicycle Friendly Community status.

- Maryville is moving to connect its schools to the rest of the city with a citywide trails and bicycle plan, and to create programs and events to encourage a more active community

- Cape Girardeau is moving forward with a bicycling and walking plan and working towards incorporating ideas from Complete Streets and the Bicycle Friendly City program.

- Many other cities, too numerous to mention, are working to make the environment safer and more inviting for walking and bicycling

* MoBikeFed has released a major summary of where Missouri is and where it needs to g o: the Vision of Active Transportation in Missouri (PDF).

See some of our previous lists: 2004, 2005A, 2005B, 2006A, 2006B.

Please note that it is our policy and practice to work with bicycling groups and bicyclists from around the state. Not one of these things could have been accomplished on our own, without help and cooperation from many groups and individuals around the state. A big part of our job is to foster communication and coordination among groups all across the state, and to inform the statewide community about successful programs, groups, and projects across the state so that others can emulate these best practices. Many thanks to all who have worked to move bicycling forward in Missouri!

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