Hearing on Complete Streets Resolution Thursday; in-person and written testimony needed

UPDATE: The hearing February 17th went well. The committee will most likely vote on the resolution Thursday, February 24th.  Email messages and phone calls to committee members in support of HCR 23, Complete Streets are very helpful. The list of committee members with contact info is here.

The House committee hearing on the Complete Streets Resolution, HCR 23, sponsored by Rep. Sally Faith, will be held in the
Transportation Funding and Public Institutions on Thursday, February 17th, at 8am in House Hearing Room 6 of the state capitol.

Rep. Sally Faith

• If you or your organization can attend the hearing and testify in favor of the resolution, that would be very helpful.
   
• If you can't attend in person, sending written testimony is also very helpful.  Ideally it would be in the form of a PDF or Word file with your organization's letterhead.
   
• If you are an individual who would like to show support for the resolution, please sign our Complete Streets petition.  We will submit the petition and all signatures at the hearing.  You can also send an email of support to Rep. Faith or committee members.

If  you send written testimony to me by noon Wednesday I will print it out and submit it to the committee Thursday morning.  Email to director@mobikefed.org

If you can't get it to me by that time, just submit it directly to Rep. Faith: Sally.Faith@house.mo.gov

Click here for the bill's page at the Missouri General Assembly or here for the full text of the resolution.

SAMPLE WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF THE COMPLETE STREETS RESOLUTION

Rep. Sally Faith, Chair
Transportation Funding and Public Institutions Committee

RE: HCR 23, Complete Streets Resolution

Representative Faith,

I am writing in support of the Complete Streets Resolution, HCR 23.  Complete Streets are designed to create a transportation network that meets the needs of all users of the state's transportation system: pedestrians of all ages and abilities, bicyclists, disabled persons, public transportation vehicles and patrons, and those who travel in trucks, buses, and automobiles.

We strongly support the Complete Streets in Missouri.  Missourians bicycle and walk about half the national average, and the main reason is that we lack Complete Streets and other bicycling and walking infrastructure.

Creating more Complete Streets is the most cost-effective way to improve the health and fitness of Missourians while also improving our environment.

Complete Streets are very flexible and will look very different in urban, suburban, and rural locations.  For instance, a busy urban arterial Complete Street might include bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks.  In a rural setting, providing a simple shoulder meets the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.

Including these facilities up front is the low-cost solution--it is always far more expensive to add them later.

Creating communities with complete bicycling and walking networks makes our cities economically competitive in today's global economy.  People want to live, and high-quality businesses want to locate, in places with great options for bicycling and walking.

Complete Streets is moving forward in Missouri, with 11 cities and three Metropolitan Planning Organizations adopting Complete Streets policies--9 of this within the past year.  Over a million Missourians now live in cities with Complete Streets policies.

To be most effective, Complete Streets policies must be adopted by local, regional, state, and federal transportation agencies and carried out in a systematic manner throughout our communities and our state.  This resolution of support will help us develop that cooperation and coordination for Complete Streets in Missouri.

Thank you for your support and sponsorship of HCR 23 and we encourage the committee to give the resolution a favorable recommendation.

Sincerely yours,

etc.

Send your written testimony to director@mobikefed.org. I will submit it during the committee hearing.

Related information:

• More about Complete Streets in Missouri
• The national Complete Streets movement
• Letters and statements of support for the Complete Streets Resolution (PDF)
• Compilation of existing Complete Streets Policies in Missouri (PDF)

File: 

Letters of Support for Complete Streets, Feb 2011

Complete Streets Policies in Missouri