Complete Streets trainings criss-crossing Missouri this week

Complete Streets trainings, organized by Missouri Livable Streets and other organizations across Missouri, have been coming fast and furious this week.

Yesterday, Missouri Livable Streets held a Complete Streets advocacy training session in Kirksville while the Mid-America Regional Council organized one for Kansas City, Mo, and Raytown.

The Kirksville Daily Express reported on the Kirksville training:

“When you build a society preventing people from being active, it’s nearly impossible for people to be healthy,” said Robert Johnson, with PedNet Coalition of Columbia.

About 50 area residents attended the session, learning about how to approach street issues with elected officials and how to best support the development of a trail system and its benefits.

“Today will be a success if attendees feel better educated on what makes streets livable and it empowers them to go out and speak on bike paths, sidewalks, livable streets,” said Tre Harris, project coordinator with Missouri Livable Streets.

Harris said each session aims to connect area residents with their local advocacy group and equip them with tools and education to succeed in fostering more biker and pedestrian friendly streets.

“I feel really inspired,” said Rachel Ruhlen, with local advocacy group Kirksville Area Motion. “We really want this to be a Kirksville area group and want to show Missouri that rural areas are just as interested in biking and getting out as Columbia or St. Louis.”

The training for Kansas City and Raytown featured a day of intenstive training for city staff and an evening session for elected officials and decision-making groups.

Complete Streets seminar

I attended the Raytown session, which featured an overview of the Complete Streets concept and the reasons cities across the country are adopting Complete Streets policies.  This led to some vigorous and productive discussion among the elected officials and citizens attending, about what Complete Streets would look like in the city, why  they are needed, how much it would cost and how it could be funded, whether bicycle and pedestrian facilities will be used if they are built, and what the concept of Complete Streets really means.

Raytown Mayor David Bower summed up the meeting with a powerful vision about how adopting a Complete Streets policy could work for the city and how adopting Complete Streets as an over-arching goal would transform the city over the new decade or two, if the city and the board of aldermen would systematically implement these priorities and principles in every project and budget decision.

Missouri Livable Streets has recently conducted similar trainings in Ozark and Jefferson County.  Upcoming trainings are planned for Springfield, Kansas City, and other locations around Missouri.  Yesterday's training sessions were just one portion of the Mid-America Regional Council's Complete Streets program.

Adoption of Complete Streets policies by Missouri cities, planning organizations, and the state DOT is one of top goals in MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.  Kansas City's Mid-America Regional Council has recently adopted a thoroughgoing Complete Streets policy and these training sessions are part of the implementation of that policy. Missouri Livable Streets is offering training sessions and other support for Complete Streets across the state.